I would like for all users to answer some of my question in the form below. This will help me ensure the path of this project before making big changes to this ROM, as for the future Gaia 2.0.x release, it will be one of a kind.


For this project to sustain and continue giving satisfaction to users, these question will allow me to determine the path of this project. Thank you for your cooperation. 


Link here

Gaia 2.0.x RC Preview

With the next release is on the way, I will be renaming the ROM Gaia with a new version of 2.0.x, and the next release will be 2.0.1. 


There will be an overall changes to the ROM, with some of it are exciting and fresh for several users as said on the Lowyat forum thread. 


Changes are (for the RC preview) : 

• Translucent status bar as default
• New Splash image
• Nexus ICS bootanimation
• Based from Cyanogenmod 7.2 Source code
• ICS animation backport
• T9 dialer (thanks to cyanogenmod)
• New performance script
• Improved memory management out of the box
• 2.6.35.x kernel
• WiFi tethering working
• USB tethering working
• Improve "ondemand" CPU scheduler 

                                   

 Gaia 2 will promise the most refreshing feel to default Gingerbread look and feel, with minimal changes but still can give the most impact to user UI experience, so look forward for these changes in stable release of Gaia 2 this week with the following changes :

• Transparent Gingerbread launcher hotseat
• Better browser performance
• Improved UI rendering
• Better translucent statusbar support

The full release note will be publish here at the same time as the stable version is release. For now click on the link below for the RC preview of Gaia 2 :D

Gaia 2.0.x RC build download

UPDATE : Beta release (soon), development live docs view

For those who already know, I've already shared a link to the Lowyat.net community for the active document log, on Google Documents platform, for users / developers know what I already done and working on. Due to several factors, the release will put on hold to allow beta release so users can catch a preview of whats to come on the final release, this include performance and everyday usage of the Firmware / ROM. 

Google docs link : Click here

That said, there are several changes to be done to further enhance the ROM, although I am not sure whether beta release will cause fragmentation to the release cycle or not. 

Also, a full review of the phone + Gaia 1.2.0 will be posted soon, as you all know, I haven't review the phone since I first use it. So I would like to try myself to at least review the phone with Gaia 1.2.0 pre-installed so users can see the features for both Gaia 1.1.0 users and first time flashers. 

Also here's the link to the public mediafire folder of the MYGingerB / Gaia project : Click here

For now, that's all. Follow me up on twitter and Google+

Gaia 1.2.0 development Update #1

In respond to a fellow user/contributor to Android Gaia ROM, terry@android (which write the official guide for installing Gaia ROM in previous post), here's my respond to some of the planned updates on the development. So I shared the response here so users can read what might be the upcoming changes for the next big thing :)

taken from lowyat.net Gaia Dev official thread 

I've read it and I can say that it is a great idea, although stability and the chance with users who don't understand the inside of android may broke something is in question. 

Nevertheless several idea will be included with in the next update. Gaia development mainly developed with stability in mind. Also finding the perfect setting balance for both new users, and pro users is still an objective. Again I want Gaia to work out of the box as not many users know perfectly about flashing and script installation. 

VM heap size will be at 50mb as it is the perfect balance I tested so far, some app can use more that it should and depends on the VM heap size available as reported by Android system itself. So more than 50mb will result crash to home on certain app and games, as expected on low memory environment. I will however include RAM manager (free version) in sys apk. Several tweaks are remove as RAM manager does the same for the ROM.

Swapper 2 will also be included (if I can find the apk) for users convenient. 

Internal system will also be a complete overhaul to maintain stability, the updated adreno driver will be modified a bit to maintain high performance with stability. Same as WiFi capability to be stable enough with the included proposed kernel, the 2.6.35.14 EA. Tight integration with several third party app such as swapper and RAM manager.

About the readahead, 4096 is a good value as SD card nowadays can handle that much cache. I will include that value on this next update. SD swap script will also overhaul to be faster without much strain to SD card. 

I will look into the charging limit of the ROM, this is a delicate section where battery could be damage if overcharge. Still Android itself have a good battery management system given the right kernel installed. So that's an easy part (hopefully).

S2E, again this is one that I am still considering, as most users don't know how to maintain it and so far I could not find any stable script that I can use as different SD card brand reacts differently. However I can provide Link2SD as a sys app. It is still recommended by me as the apk are stored in ext3/4 fs, which still is better than CM/Android default app2SD.

ExDialer will also be included replacing the default phone.apk (miui look plus more features such as predictive dialing and less memory usage).

I've also planned to make a premium ROM exclusive for donating users. Again optional and and still in planning. Premium ROM will have all the tweaks that free version have, but more tightly integration with 3rd party app and revamp UI as a whole. Providing users with different experience that normal Android looks and feel. 

I will continue on ICS development, but not as active as Gaia ROM both free and premium. I can however I am collecting donation for a second phone for development solely on ICS as I can't reflash my phone every day as I need a stable phone for work and stuffs. Nevertheless, that is if the donations are enough to buy a second phone, I am guessing it is easy enough as the phone price drops alot right now. I also accepting donations for other phone owner wanting to port Gaia ROM for their phone, so far the list of supported phones are the same as Cyanogenmod list of supported phones. 

That said, I will try my best to make this little project stand out as best as I could in order to gain trust among users.

Upcoming Gaia 1.2.0 pre-release notes

Several users at the official MYGingerbread Gaia development forum, lowyat.net, have already known that the upcoming release of latest Gaia ROM for commtiva z71 series is coming near to release date. There are several notes before the initial release, and no, there are no confirmed release date as for now. There are several tests and tweaks to ensure that the firmware will run as fluid and stable as possible.

Development Environment Changes

As of this year, I am migrating my workspace again to a new box, since I had bought a new laptop for developing where ever I can hence decreasing development time as I can develop anywhere I can. The laptop is an older model of Asus A43SJ/K43SJ mobo based system with the following specs :

• A modest Core i3 2330M @ 2.2GHz
• 4GB DDR3 RAM
• CUDA enabled Nvidia GT520M
• 64bit Windows 7 / 32bit Ubuntu 11.10

This should make my work a little faster compared to my old trusty T2300 1.6GHz laptop :)

Upcoming Changes to Gaia ROM/Firmware

There are several changes that may or may not be implemented to the upcoming release. Most unique and "stand out" update are several UI changes such as overall changes to several parts of the firmware, this will include translucent status bar and notification tab revamp. This does not just make the overall experience more pleasing, it can make the interface more less cluttered and easy to manage. Several contrast issue are also fixed to provide more readability. Roboto font from the latest Android ICS are also implemented as default, the font are proven to provide the best readability for both large and small screen phones.


As to simply put, the upcoming release will include the following (do note that some might change depend on release) :

• Tethering are support for both USB and WiFi (2.6.35.14 EA kernel version)
• Much more stable then the last version
• Much more detail power usage and compatibility (2.6.35.14 EA kernel version)
• Apks are zipalign to provide more memory efficient system environment
• Translucent status bar as default
• SD read ahead increase to more than 2048 (still testing to find that perfect balance)
• VM heap size will be larger, although not more then 64mb
• Tweaked Auto brightness
• Custom Launcher may or may not be use
• Overall UI changes (not in beta release if any) [may or may not be release for 1.2.0 update, maybe release in Gaia 2]
• Updated Adreno 200/205 driver and module
• New Splash (thanks terry@adroid for suggestions)
• Custom DPI tweak may or may not be implemented
• Roboto font as default
• Better hardware acceleration tweak in conjunction with new Adreno 200/205 module
• Updated su bin (update Superuser app are recommended after flash)
• Updated codec are included, fully support mx player (mx player will be a sys apk as a seperate ROM package download)
• and much more, note that features are note to change depending on final release

This release should fix and provide users that longed for stable release of Gaia Android firmware such as Wireless tethering and also keep awake wifi for streaming over wifi when display sleeps. All and all, the upcoming release will be the best that changes everything about your phone, yet :)

Thanks to all at lowyat.net community forum for feedback and suggestion, come and see the latest discussion there. Follow me on twitter @_angelictears , or click the links on the sidebar. Also be sure to donate to this project to show your appreciation. 

Updated Installation Guide

Thanks to one of my friends and tester of the MYGingerbread ROM since the beginning, mr. Terry@android. He have given a complete guide on installing MYGingerbread ROM, specially Gaia 1.1.0. This is one of many method on installing the ROM, other method do work as well so follow this guide carefully if you are new to flashing ROM on you z71 variant devices. All steps are credited to terry@android as he took time and patience to make this ROM work flawlessly on his phone. Say thanks to him in the comment section below :D


Original post can be found at lowyat.net forum, the official discussion forum for Mygingerbread, and Gaia development, or click here .


* Do note that this method involve installing a script that mounts the ext partition of your SDcard as part of the internal storage so all apps installation are installed automatically to both internal and SDcard partition, giving more boost in performance and hassle free management. For those who like to manage their apps manually using other S2E script/app or Link2SD method, skip the script installation mentioned below. 






Download this script and put it into ur sd. http://www.mediafire.com/?8cic17fatjrcj4e

1. Dont be stingy, go buy class 6 or class 10 sd, high end sd with 32gb is perfect, no kingston, that brand sucks!
2. flash ur fone with cm7.0.2_z71_battery_memory_fix.nb0 using sutlr
3. reboot recovery, do not enter rom by rebooting. use 3 combo key
*4. straight flashing into cm7.1.zip (can be obtain on boston mania)
5. Again, reboot recovery to change da color of the cwm.
6. flash ur fone with mygingerb GAIA. no need to wipe dalvik or cache as u never enter da rom. 
7. reboot recovery after flashing and partition ur sdcard, choose wisely how much u wanted, as for gamers, 1gb is recommended, but for usual use, 512 will be enough with 0 swap. juz choose urself. This will format ur sd so after ur partition, choose mount on recovery and mount ur sd, plug ur cable into pc and paste da script and rom zip back inside, dont create folder or copy data first, leave ur sd with that script and rom or kernel zip only. Then install any kernel u wanted, as for me edgar#37
8. power off ur device, use 3 combo to master reset ur fone. wait till it end.

*as for me, after it reboot, i will install root explorer, giv da permission and copy bundles of apk such as (1)ram manager by juwe, (2)quadrant, (3)root explorer, (4)titanium backup (taken from phantom rom), (5)playerpro, (6)contact remover, (7)sdtools into system/app folder by allowing Mount as R/W, change all that apks permissions into rw-r-r, exit root explorer and uninstall it back, and reboot device into recovery. As for someone who already satisfy with mr angelictears system apks juz....

9. reboot recovery after step 8 without any change.
10. this step a lil bit tricky so read carefully.
i) choose on mount and storage and check if any list checked as 'unmount' if there is, change it back to 'mount'
ii) wipe dalvik cache and data partition.
iii) choose install from zip and install that damn script
iv) no changes will be made after this.
11. reboot ur device without any changes. Juz wait, screen maybe flicker or dead for a while, ignore that. juz be patient

*if after 20 minute without any changes, need to start back to step 4

12. after its reach rom, check ur internal storage in setting, it will convert into ur ext partition depending on how much u partition ur sd, if it doesnt change, thats mean u FAIL.

#do not tick 'Allow application moving' on cyanogenmod setting.
#if application u install move itself into sd. Go to setting/application/manage and move it back to phone. Whats da point partitioning ur sd into ext if u put ur application on fat32.
#from this point, DO NOT FACTORY RESET UR FONE. it will reset da script and ur fone will visit to heaven for a moment. juz clear cache and dalvik from titanium backup or other cache cleaner apks.
#if u got a 3 beep sound from ur fone, do all those step again.
#try quadrant and u will get 2200 score without any overclock. da IO will increase drastically.