Tag: volunteers
Police ‘arrested volunteers handing out rape alarms’ over coronation disruption concerns
Britain’s guide dog shortage: Volunteers increase after BBC story
Tech Volunteers Rush to Save Turkey’s Earthquake Survivors
‘It’s all very raw’: Family of one of two British volunteers missing in Ukraine break their silence
Unpaid Volunteers At CyanogenMod Successor LineageOS Maintain Builds For Old Android Devices
Every mobile device needs its own Android build because of numerous drivers that are not available in the source code. The need to maintain every version of Android for every mobile device means that many manufacturers eventually stop supporting updates. Often, smartphones or tablets that still work perfectly can no longer be used without worry because the manufacturer has simply ceased to offer bug fixes and security updates….
The LineageOS project, the successor to the CyanogenMod project, which was discontinued in 2016, proves that it is not impossible to keep these devices up-to-date. Unpaid volunteers at LineageOS do the work that many manufacturers do not want to do: They combine current Android releases with the required device-specific drivers.
The LineageOS project (Figure 1) provides Android systems with a fresh patch status every month for around 300 devices. The builds are released weekly, unless there is a problem during the build. The Devices page on the LineageOS Wiki provides the details of whether a LineageOS build is available for your smartphone or tablet….
I recommend the LineageOS project as the first port of call for anyone who wants to protect an older smartphone or tablet that is no longer maintained and doesn’t receive Google security patches. The LineageOS derivatives LineageOS for MicroG and /e/OS make it even easier to enjoy a Google-free smartphone without too many restrictions.
The article also describes how to use TWRP to flash a manufacturer-independent recovery system (while also creating a restoreable backup of the existing system) as an alternative to LineageOS’s own recovery tools.
And it even explains how to unlock the bootloader — although there may be other locks set up separately by the manufacturer. “Some manufacturers require you to register the device to unlock it, and then — after telling you that the warranty is now void — they hand over a code. Others refuse to unlock the device altogether.”
Thanks to Slashdot reader DevNull127 for submitting the article.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Volunteers Needed for Research. Must Like Talking About Your Cat
Researchers in California are calling for cat owners to do their favorite thing in the name of science: talk about their cat. The team aims to understand how to make remote vet visits more appealing to owners, in hopes of better ensuring that cats can get the regular medical care they need.