Porting AOSP Ice Cream Sandwich to the Nook Tablet [ Edited ]

[roustabout]

Indirect, please, understand that I do not "think TF and Nook tablet are the same"

What I am saying is that a Honeycomb device is a much worse ereader than a Gingerbread or earlier device is for me and many others who use e-readers because we need to mount our devices as mass storage device to manage content using the best available tool, Calibre. 

Hence, an ICS port may well be of zero value to me in and of itself, if ICS retains the behavior of presenting its internal storage to a host computer via an MTP interface.  I have looked and so far, I have not seen a way to have Honeycomb present itself as mass storage, only as MTP.

I completely agree with the sentiment that Barnes and Noble is "not doing themselves any favors by locking development out of the device" and have expressed that opinion many times hereabouts.  If ICS is of value in improving the development environment so that civilian BN customers see more apps, BN customers will support it. 

I am sure that Adam intends to work on development that can be used either on ICS android builds or on Gingerbread builds, so his work can be appreciated by more users.

I am concerned that some folks in XDA are not particularly interested in what existing BN customers actually want or use their devices for primarily, though.  It's worth understanding that before trying to bring them on board. 

I tried to explain fairly carefully why content curation is important in this context, and why ICS would make that situation worse if it retains the MTP interface from Honeycomb as I expect it will.  The explanation seems to be such a foreign viewpoint to yours that it's simpler for you to think I'm confusing the Asus device with the tablet when, I am observing that the brand of hardware does not matter nearly as much as the major software revision, and that the current Android software load makes devices worse for many in an e-reader audience. 

The nook app is not the app I use for reading my library, as it does not support synching from a variety of content sources across my devices;  it only supports synching BN content. 

I have yet to find a way to access my Honeycomb device via a mass storage rather than the MTP interface;  if you have specific pointers you could recommend, I'd appreciate it. 

[Mark_OB1 Bibliophile]

> They removed side-loading, so there's no way to actually develop an app while demonstrating it's experience.  <

That's not completely true, Adam.  If you register with B&N and are provided with Nook App Developer status, you will get some provisioning files that open access so you can test your own apps on the device.  You'll have to do that anyway, to get your finished Apps into the B&N appstore.

And yes, I realize that's two IF's. 

- Mark

[Mark_OB1 Bibliophile]

indirect opined:

> Also, we would be able to get rid of that stupid status bar at the bottom or make it into a honeycomb / ICS statusbar. It looks moronic, let us fix it B&N! <

While it may seem stupid and moronic to you, and perhaps even to some Nook device owners, I can assure you that B&N does not consider it so.  

The argument that their UI is bad and you are going to fix it for them isn't going to go very far with B&N... if that is your goal.

It's not as if they wanted an ICS/HC statusbar, they're incapable of doing it themselves.  A statusbar is pretty simple stuff. 

- Mark

[DeanGibson Distinguished Bibliophile]

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roustabout wrote:

What I am saying is that a Honeycomb device is a much worse ereader than a Gingerbread or earlier device is for me and many others who use e-readers because we need to mount our devices as mass storage device to manage content ....  I have looked and so far, I have not seen a way to have Honeycomb present itself as mass storage, only as MTP.

 

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Note that the first bootable SDcard I created (actually, a downloadable SDcard image from XDA-dev, I think) had Honeycomb on it (I think perhaps a beta version), and I'm pretty sure the FAT partition was accessible as a non-MTP drive on Windows.  I still use the SDcard to "adjust" stuff on the NC (eg, to reinstall CWR after a B&N update).

More likely, Honeycomb releases on current devices have drunk the "MTP Kool-Aid" and don't have an option to choose between MTP and raw USB.

[jelabarre59]

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AdamOutler wrote:
...It's not an issue since your pictures are either going online or will get lost/destroyed in a hardware failue within 2-10 years anyways if they're not posted online...

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Haven't you heard of "backup", or perhaps "archiving"? <G>   I have both, and I don't have to rely on any cloudy outlook.

[bobstro]

I've heard of "fire". Off-site backup is a good idea. Cloud tends to run cheaper than Iron Mountain.

[Caesius]

Thanks for the effort. If I could return my NT I would. As it stands, I gave in and reverted back to prev firmware then rooted it (something I really hoped to avoid, for while I am good with tech, I am simply a user). Now, whenever asked about my NT, I will adamantly steer the interested party clear of this device. I know we all heard the argument. And I *used* to say, that what B&N did to my NT is no different than if I were to *buy* a car (not rent or lease, but buy) remove the stock am/fm radio and put in a CD & mp3 stereo. But after taking it into the dealership for scheduled maintenance, they not only put the stock radio back in, but included a lock preventing me from switching out again. But now I realize my analogy is flawed. It is more like I bought the car with the CD & mp3 player installed, and theytrplaced it with a stock am/fm radio when I took it in. IMO, they can do what they want with their device. But it is now mine. And bynot providing a warning nor an option to notaccept the changes, I see it as no different than the old bait & switch. Given the business practices of B&N plus that one may be prompted to hack thedevice just to get base functionality, then I cannot recommend it to anyone.

[elizabethspark…]

Adam... Do you have any updates on the information you put out a few weeks ago on the use of the processors? Actually, do you have ANY updates for any of the cons on the NT, including this regretfully-installed 1.4.1 update? Do you think there will be a new update to fix/cancel the blocking part of 1.4.1?

[wuziq]

coming in late to the party.  agree with indirect and adam.  NT has potential to do way more than what it's locked down to do.  lockdown leaves a bad taste in the mouths of consumers and makes them say, "nah, don't get the NT, get the NC or Fire".  imo, more people would want to buy the NT if it were opened up for open source development.  i suppose the concern is that it could hurt the b&n ecosystem, but you can still install the b&n app on a customized NT.  i did this with my parents' NC.  am i missing something?  sounds like there might be a PM of the NT who failed at the last mile....

[wuziq]

also, i hope the NT doesn't go down the path of my sidekick 4g, in that it has really good hardware (5-row qwerty included), but is closed off for development, which makes me regret getting the phone.  what is samsung trying to protect?  they didn't do any favors for themselves on that one.

[roustabout]

The NT no longer need the signing keys as far as I can see,  based on bauwks' exploit. 

This is the basis of the cm7 ports that are now being sold as n2a cards, of the cm7 and cm9 development projects which are ongoing, etc. 

the XDA forums are the best place for looking at the current state of NT hacking but from a functional perspective it is now close to as simple to work with as the NC - CWM boot cards are available, alternate ROMs are available, I've seen a few CWM installable modscripts out and about for those who want them. 

[Grammaknits02]

At least now, if the Tablet does fail, there are other devices that are affordable that we can use to replace the Nook Tablet.  B&N really is shooting themselves in the foot by not opening up the Tablet and the Color to the full Android Market.  I am really disappointed in the quality of the Tablet, and have had numerous issues with it, and when I go into my local B&N I get treated like Sh*T by B&N employees.  I am holding on to my tablet for the rest of this year, but it will be the last B&N item I ever buy.