Android Market

[beej231]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

There is a new utility for that now. I did mine manually via terminal.

Everyone forgets the mac owners.

[Hope]

Originally Posted by ApK

You mention having rooted some Linux based devices, but everything about your posts sounds like you're far better off running stock with full manufacturer support and warranty.
Rooting and it's associated activities is a hobbyist endeavor for folks willing to experiment and assume some additional risk.
Regardless of how easy some utilities make it, it is still the "off-piste skiing" of the electronics world.
If you're unconvinced, by all means, don't do it. Stay on the marked trail!
Personally, I don't go down that path unless I have some reason to. With some iPods and other devices, I have. With the Fire, I so far have not.

@apk You were right. Firstly, I had the same problems people were complaining about in the installation thread which I managed to extricate myself from, but I discovered that I still have to have Rotating Wallpaper installed to have my wallpaper "stick" (it uses up 12% resources and so I was trying to get rid of it) and I discovered I can no longer use the Amazon Lending Library.
Was unable to install FireFireFire because of an ADB error message and trying to install the recovery utility put me into a FastBoot mode with an inability to either boot or see the Kindle files on my PC.
Other then that....
Really don't see any advantages. Maybe somebody could point them out to me.

[MikeGolf]

Hope, I would definitely recommend that you not travel down the rooted path. I really have to say, I do consider myself a technological genius and sometimes I don't properly estimate how easy things are to do.

I really just hooked my Kindle up.. ran the utility... followed the instructions and walked away with a rooted Kindle. I love google maps and google plus along with all of the other apps that are not available without the google API's installed. I love the fact that I can use google market but I chose to purchase all of my applications and books from Amazon.

I haven't lost one bit of my Fire's capabilities. The lending library, video, apps and books all function as they did before. The only thing I did succeed at was giving myself a lttle more freedom for the $199 that I spent.

I don't run any other application launcher since I don't trust them but I do hope that Amazon opens our capabilities to skin the device someday. Perhaps down the road I will go crazy and install CM7 or CM9 but for now I'll stick with my rooted fire and my Google applications.

[beej231]

Originally Posted by MikeGolf

Hope, I would definitely recommend that you not travel down the rooted path. I really have to say, I do consider myself a technological genius and sometimes I don't properly estimate how easy things are to do.

I really just hooked my Kindle up.. ran the utility... followed the instructions and walked away with a rooted Kindle. I love google maps and google plus along with all of the other apps that are not available without the google API's installed. I love the fact that I can use google market but I chose to purchase all of my applications and books from Amazon.

I haven't lost one bit of my Fire's capabilities. The lending library, video, apps and books all function as they did before. The only thing I did succeed at was giving myself a lttle more freedom for the $199 that I spent.

I don't run any other application launcher since I don't trust them but I do hope that Amazon opens our capabilities to skin the device someday. Perhaps down the road I will go crazy and install CM7 or CM9 but for now I'll stick with my rooted fire and my Google applications.

I like the appearance of some of those alternate android environments like CM7 or 9, and I would enjoy anything that adds more functionality.

[Hope]

Originally Posted by MikeGolf

Hope, I would definitely recommend that you not travel down the rooted path. I really have to say, I do consider myself a technological genius and sometimes I don't properly estimate how easy things are to do.

I really just hooked my Kindle up.. ran the utility... followed the instructions and walked away with a rooted Kindle. I love google maps and google plus along with all of the other apps that are not available without the google API's installed. I love the fact that I can use google market but I chose to purchase all of my applications and books from Amazon.

I haven't lost one bit of my Fire's capabilities. The lending library, video, apps and books all function as they did before. The only thing I did succeed at was giving myself a lttle more freedom for the $199 that I spent.

I don't run any other application launcher since I don't trust them but I do hope that Amazon opens our capabilities to skin the device someday. Perhaps down the road I will go crazy and install CM7 or CM9 but for now I'll stick with my rooted fire and my Google applications.

@Mike Sorry I made you feel bad about this installation. Not your fault. I got everything installed and rooted and the problem appeared to be that the downloaded Kindle Fire Utility v0.93 from the XDA Developers forum was missing a file! The file was twrp-blaze-2.0.0RC0.img. Now maybe it was supposed to download it when I chose the Install FireFireFire option but somehow it did not or they have changed the procedure since you did your installation.
I downloaded the file from the internet and placed it in the "recovery" folder in the Kindle Fire Utility v0.93 folder and then was able to proceed to install FireFireFire.
Also, mea culpa, I was WRONG (hardly EVER happens - ), and I was able to download a Kindle Lending Library book today. Read on the internet someone saying they were unable to use Amazon videos and the Lending Library after rooting - don't believe everything you read on the internet - especially MY posts. hee,hee. Have not tried videos though - have lousy ISP and can't stream or download huge amounts anyway.
At any rate, all is well. Now Android Market was not included in the Google apps for me so I had to follow some convoluted instructions somewhere to install it on my Fire.
Whew! I am disappointed that I still have to use Rotating Wallpaper, but I have access to the Android Market now so that is goodness.
Thanks for your concise instructions which pointed me in the right direction!

[beej231]

Originally Posted by Hope

@Mike Sorry I made you feel bad about this installation. Not your fault. I got everything installed and rooted and the problem appeared to be that the downloaded Kindle Fire Utility v0.93 from the XDA Developers forum was missing a file! The file was twrp-blaze-2.0.0RC0.img. Now maybe it was supposed to download it when I chose the Install FireFireFire option but somehow it did not or they have changed the procedure since you did your installation.
I downloaded the file from the internet and placed it in the "recovery" folder in the Kindle Fire Utility v0.93 folder and then was able to proceed to install FireFireFire.
Also, mea culpa, I was WRONG (hardly EVER happens - ), and I was able to download a Kindle Lending Library book today. Read on the internet someone saying they were unable to use Amazon videos and the Lending Library after rooting - don't believe everything you read on the internet - especially MY posts. hee,hee. Have not tried videos though - have lousy ISP and can't stream or download huge amounts anyway.
At any rate, all is well. Now Android Market was not included in the Google apps for me so I had to follow some convoluted instructions somewhere to install it on my Fire.
Whew! I am disappointed that I still have to use Rotating Wallpaper, but I have access to the Android Market now so that is goodness.
Thanks for your concise instructions which pointed me in the right direction!

Wow. I Paralyzed by fear here. I'm fairly certain I'd be pretty lost after one or two steps ran amuck. Amazingly my hubby said "Why don't you buy one just to play with?" Very bizarre coming from a man who doesn't like to purchase an extra package of cookies.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by beej231

Wow. I Paralyzed by fear here. I'm fairly certain I'd be pretty lost after one or two steps ran amuck. Amazingly my hubby said "Why don't you buy one just to play with?" Very bizarre coming from a man who doesn't like to purchase an extra package of cookies.

If it's your own money he's advising you to spend, then it's up to you, of course.


But if it's his money (as in 'our' money) then run out a get one! Don't hesitate! Quick, before he changes his mind!

[beej231]

Originally Posted by beej231

Wow. I Paralyzed by fear here. I'm fairly certain I'd be pretty lost after one or two steps ran amuck. Amazingly my hubby said "Why don't you buy one just to play with?" Very bizarre coming from a man who doesn't like to purchase an extra package of cookies.

If one day I were to try this, how hard is it to unbrick once you've screwed it up? And--are we due for an update? Does that totally brick it or just unroot it? Wish I had the time to do lots of reading and figure this all out.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by beej231

If one day I were to try this, how hard is it to unbrick once you've screwed it up? And--are we due for an update? Does that totally brick it or just unroot it? Wish I had the time to do lots of reading and figure this all out.

The term brick, strictly speaking, refers to an unrecoverable condition. The implication is the thing is now only an inert brick.

However, it seems the term is now applied to recoverable, pseudo-brick conditions, and there are unbricking methods, but I'd still think the answer depends on the particular brick condition.

I say this from general knowledge, not having used any of the Fire tools specifically.

(I still maintain that if you can 'unbrick' something, short of opening it up and replacing components, it was never really bricked.)

[beej231]

Originally Posted by ApK

The term brick, strictly speaking, refers to an unrecoverable condition. The implication is the thing is now only an inert brick.

However, it seems the term is now applied to recoverable, pseudo-brick conditions, and there are unbricking methods, but I'd still think the answer depends on the particular brick condition.

I say this from general knowledge, not having used any of the Fire tools specifically.

(I still maintain that if you can 'unbrick' something, short of opening it up and replacing components, it was never really bricked.)

Well, if it won't turn on and I can't figure out how to fix it, it's bricked for me. I agree that's a pseudo brick condition, but for me, it's pretty well bricked.

[beej231]

Originally Posted by ApK

If it's your own money he's advising you to spend, then it's up to you, of course.


But if it's his money (as in 'our' money) then run out a get one! Don't hesitate! Quick, before he changes his mind!

LOL. It is totally possible that I will do that.

[MikeGolf]

Originally Posted by beej231

If one day I were to try this, how hard is it to unbrick once you've screwed it up? And--are we due for an update? Does that totally brick it or just unroot it? Wish I had the time to do lots of reading and figure this all out.

As long as you have fire fire fire as your boot, you can bring the system all the way back to stock condition in two steps.

[beej231]

Originally Posted by MikeGolf

As long as you have fire fire fire as your boot, you can bring the system all the way back to stock condition in two steps.

Got it.

[Anabran]

Hi can "fire fire fire" be used with a mac computer ??

[Hope]

Originally Posted by MikeGolf

As long as you have fire fire fire as your boot, you can bring the system all the way back to stock condition in two steps.

Actually, I have the FireFireFire yellow triangle at bootup, but the recovery does not work. When I hold down the KF on button at the triangle and it turns orange I don't get a recovery screen at all. It just goes into a loop and then eventually boots up into the regular KF startup screen.

So I don't have a "two click" recovery at all. TWRP did not install properly. I see others have the same problem.

Does yours work?
Nevermind, I went back and for about the 6th or 7th time tried to install the TWRP software using the KFU and was successful. Then I immediately did a backup.
I have great difficulty getting the adb drivers to work properly in Windows 7 32bit. I have to do a lot of reinstalling the drivers, restarting the PC, restarting the KF to get the KF to be recognized by the PC as a drive.