On Tuesday 06 August 2013 10:43 PM, insink71 wrote: > I hate to say this.. but the answer is.. it depends. Usually the > kernel image [or even a rebuilt kernel from source [[same version, > disassemble/decompile image [[[this software can be pricey; see HexRays > <https://www.hex-rays.com/products/ida/index.shtml>]]], diffed, add the > images change(s)]]] will work for the most part, but proprietary > binaries [sometimes referred to as blobs] that are included in the > kernel that control things [graphics, bluetooth, camera, etc] may or may > not work. It depends on the hardware and how adaptable this chinese > company compiled the binaries to be. Some adaptation can be made > through the HAL or Hardware abstraction layer to get the binaries > working sometimes [or rarely even open source implementations of drivers > can be substituted], but this is why many complain about proprietary > blobs inside a GPLv2 kernel. Has to be done because manufacturer's > don't won't to give up trade secrets, but dang, can it ever be so > frustrating to developers. Hope that helps answer somewhat. Sorry it > isn't definitive to your situation as all situations are not the same.
Thank you Rob, for the reply. Virtually all of these Chinese handsets come from the same manufacturer, MediaTek. In my opinion, they have some good products. The quad-core MTK6589 is a great ARM7 Chip with very low power consumption. But, from what I've seen and checked so far, they aren't the best to deal with free software philosophies. I am still new to the Android System, and from what I understand, and you too confirmed the same, it still is far from a complete modular OS. IIUC, the kernel and the HAL are tightly coupled. -- Given the large number of mailing lists I follow, I request you to CC me in replies for quicker response -- -- unsubscribe: android-kernel+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com website: http://groups.google.com/group/android-kernel --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Linux Kernel Development" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to android-kernel+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
