[Fuzzballz]

I'm trying to understand the mindset here, not trying to bash anyone.

I simply can't fathom why anyone would use a "leaked" OS on their phone that the companies who made it didn't even trust enough to officially release.

Are most of the people here hobbyists who have another phone that they need to actually work? I read thread after thread here about this OS leak and that OS leak having problems and glitches and overall odd behavior. And I think "Why would anyone bother to completely wipe their phone and their apps and reinstall something that's so shady?"

As I posted in another thread, to me it's like: If you have one car, and you need it to get to work every day, and it runs fine, are you really going to start screwing with the engine to try to eke out a few more horsepower?

If you've got another phone you actually use for business, then I can understand tinkering with your BB if that's something that interests you. Like a vintage '63 corvette that sits half-apart in your garage much of the time.

And then I get the feeling that there are a lot of kids here (23 and under) who are in school or something and have a lot of free time on their hands and the worst thing that could happen if their BB is down is that their buddies can't text 'em and tell em where the best price on dope can be found that day.

So I assume, and hope, that most of you folks are smartphone hobbyists rather than professional users of the things. Right?

[ericjackson28]

Because a good bit of leaks are actually better than what is actually "official,"

And with phones (and your one car example) if you are smart enough, you won't be screwing anything up that can't be fixed with a few more min.

So if you don't have to have the "latest and greatest," then I guess just let people be...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[dchawk81]

I need my phone to work so I don't hack it. Not sure about everyone else. Good question though!

[Najo]

If you have the knowledge and have done your research it really is not that dangerous. I do for one rely on my Bold for work, but I do know that if I load a beta and it freaks out on my phone, I can fix it pretty quick. Blackberry's really are pretty bulletproof, it is amazing what I have brough mine back from! As far as why poeple do it, well you may get many different answers currently, but many people here like to tinker with beta's BUGS OR NOT! To see what the lastest changes are and what developers are working on.

[Fuzzballz]

If they're "better than stock," why haven't the companies actually issued them? Because they're really mean? Doubtful, it's because through their extensive testing of them they've found that they have more problems than the previous official OSs.

I've not seen one leak here that doesn't have a whole slew of complaints about it. And while the stock OSs do too, at least the stock OS complaints are common throughout the BB user population. For example, OS 4.7.1.40 had a bluetooth problem with super low volume making it almost unusable.

But the glitches and weirdness that happen with the "leaked" OSs are all across the board. You can't predict the problems you're going to have.

Look at 5.0.0.230. That's supposedly the best leaked OS, but there are zillions of threads about all sorts of problems.

[rayporsche]

Well some of the leaks could be or simply are better than the official ones, sadly we live in a world where 'liability' has become a 'big deal', by now you should know where I'm getting at.......right ? The same reason why sometimes I add airplane fuel to my cars even knowing that I might blow a piston, the rush, is just the constant search to improve, to push the envelope further and just swim against the current, human nature Dude and that's how change and improvement happens !!!! LOL

[se1000]

It all depends. I only install leaked OS's if I feel like there's still improvement to be seen with a new release. For example, towards the end of having my 8900, I didn't even bother with the releases.

Carriers are carriers and they release OS's for different reasons. For example, v4.5 OS's were out for 8830 MONTHS before Verizon decided to release it. A very large number of devices already had OS 4.5 but for no good reason, Verizon didn't release the OS.

It's just like anything else, some users would rather try the latest software releases while others prefer to wait until things are worked out. I tinker a LOT with my personal devices but only use carrier released OS's on my work BB. Different purpose devices, different attitude toward what software I run.

[Fuzzballz]

So I'm right, you guys are hobbyists. Nothing wrong with that. If I had a second BB and lots of free time I might do the same thing.

[Najo]

So I'm right, you guys are hobbyists. Nothing wrong with that. If I had a second BB and lots of free time I might do the same thing.

Uuumm....well if that's the conclusion you came up with, then yeah, ok, go with it.

[Fuzzballz]

Uuumm....well if that's the conclusion you came up with, then yeah, ok, go with it.

Is it wrong?

[ericjackson28]

Uuumm....well if that's the conclusion you came up with, then yeah, ok, go with it.

Yeah I guess we can't all be as professional as mr furballz here. Oh well, guess I'm a "hobbyist."

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Fuzzballz]

Can y'all deny it or are you just miffed that I've accurately summed you up in one word? I'd love to hear another take on it.

[billybobjones]

^RIM does not officially release anything. They give it to carriers to test and release. My carrier is not too much into that and I do not get constant updates.

Also, with the above said, some of the leaks, end up being official. So what happens is you run an official release before it is released. What is the issue?

This sint a hobby of mine. I dont feel good when mmy phone has bugs and doesnt run smooth. Do you feel better when your computer has security holes? or that people could steal your information? or if your bank ran an outdated insecure system, that did not fix some bug that allowed access to intruders? I think not.

Official isnt always the best, and if I want to make my devices as efficient as possible so I am not inconvenienced, then whats your issue with it?

[mr.wizard#CB]

I suppose anyone who doesn't work for RIM is a hobbyist. I have one car and one phone, and I try to get the most hp out of both. Lucky for me, when i screw up my phone it's an easy fix (unlike doing a 4g63t swap in a eagle talon). I guess I take risks.

[iammclovin804]

i put the leaked os/hybrid on my curve because it runs much better. i have experienced no major problems that make my bb unusable. the day i got my curve i came on here and put 5.0 on it. it just runs better and i think that most everyone would agree with that. besides, i don't feel like waiting 2 years to get an official update from verizon.

[Fuzzballz]

^RIM does not officially release anything. They give it to carriers to test and release. My carrier is not too much into that and I do not get constant updates.

So you're saying your carrier goes, "Yeah, this version is better than the previous version, but we'd rather just sit around and smoke stogies this week so we're not going to put it up." ??

Also, with the above said, some of the leaks, end up being official. So what happens is you run an official release before it is released. What is the issue?

Can you point me to these leaks that became official? And how many leaks (and how much phone down-time) did you have to go through before you got the one that was glitch-free enough to eventually become official?

This sint a hobby of mine. I dont feel good when mmy phone has bugs and doesnt run smooth. Do you feel better when your computer has security holes? or that people could steal your information? or if your bank ran an outdated insecure system, that did not fix some bug that allowed access to intruders? I think not.

Not sure this is relevant. I wouldn't patch my Windows or Mac OS with unofficial "leaks" either.

Official isnt always the best, and if I want to make my devices as efficient as possible so I am not inconvenienced, then whats your issue with it?

My issue is, from the number of complaints I've seen vis-a-vis ALL the leaks here, it seems that none of them is less glitchy than the official ones. This is supported by the fact that there are so many different sub-version leaks! If there were ONE leak of OS 5.0 that was convincingly better and less prone to error than the official OS release, I'd agree with you.

[Fuzzballz]

I suppose anyone who doesn't work for RIM is a hobbyist.

I'd say that those who tinker with their phones, looking for a small amount of extra performance, are hobbyists. If the official OS were riddled with problems, and there were one leak that was hands-down better, then it would make sense to me to do it.

[Fuzzballz]

i put the leaked os/hybrid on my curve because it runs much better.

Which OS is that?

[jlsparks]

If they're "better than stock," why haven't the companies actually issued them? Because they're really mean? Doubtful, it's because through their extensive testing of them they've found that they have more problems than the previous official OSs.

I've not seen one leak here that doesn't have a whole slew of complaints about it. And while the stock OSs do too, at least the stock OS complaints are common throughout the BB user population. For example, OS 4.7.1.40 had a bluetooth problem with super low volume making it almost unusable.

But the glitches and weirdness that happen with the "leaked" OSs are all across the board. You can't predict the problems you're going to have.

Look at 5.0.0.230. That's supposedly the best leaked OS, but there are zillions of threads about all sorts of problems.

Because of something called Technical Assurance. TA approves carrier builds. If TA finds a minor issue that might affect 2% of users they can fail the build and RIM has to fix the "problem." I live on my S2, mostly for email. It must work all the time (or as much of the time as reasonably possible.) I have no problem running hybrids and leaks. Know why? Because I put them on after 12+ hour days at work, usually about this time of night or later, and if something goes wrong I always have access to the carrier's release to reinstall. It's relatively apparent that you don't understand the build/test/approve(deny)/re-complile/re-test/approve(deny) process. See, basically, the build number increments with each build. So .323 is theoretically 3 builds after .320. .323 was leaked. It fixed things that are broken in .320, but which are fixed in hybrids. So having a basic understanding of both how the process works, what a leak is, what a hybrid is, and how to best utilize carrier releases, leaks, and hybrids is relatively important in assessing what to put on your phone and what to stay away from. Additionally, these are forums. Meaning there is instant feedback. If a leak/hybrid sucks then you'll know within about an hour of it being released. If it sucks, don't put it on your phone. If it sounds stable, you might want to give it a shot. If you want to wait ages, then use carrier releases. I suppose you would also argue that the 4.7 S1 final build was superior to .328 too, right?

[anon(1365634)]

Actually we are all professional. We work for RIM. We do our beta testing here and try to learn how to use our phones correctly so we go back to work the next day to impress our managers at RIM.

[dchawk81]

If you want to wait ages, then use carrier releases.

Not everyone is "waiting" though. I'm not "waiting" for anything because I have an officially supported phone on which everything works.

Maybe that's furb's point too.

[jlsparks]

I'd say that those who tinker with their phones, looking for a small amount of extra performance, are hobbyists. If the official OS were riddled with problems, and there were one leak that was hands-down better, then it would make sense to me to do it.

You didn't own the S1. You have no concept of the improvements from 4.7 to the 5.0 builds, even the crappy .1xx ones. However we were patient and the product improved with almost every build. As I said, .320 for the S2 lacks functionality that existed in .323 (which was leaked but not released for the S1) and .327/.328(official S1 VZW build). Your argument lacks any semblance of logic. I use Macs for work/home/home office. I use Chrome as my browser. It's in dev-channel, which isn't even alpha. I use Chrome most of the day doing online research in secured systems. Am I a hobbyist? If I used, instead, XP and used Chrome on that, doing the exact same work, would that make me not a hobbyist? Same core product, different release, different platform. Tell me how one is "better" than the other please.

[jlsparks]

Not everyone is "waiting" though. I'm not "waiting" for anything because I have an officially supported phone on which everything works.

Maybe that's furb's point too.

I'm not "waiting" either. I have a great OS on my phone now, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to see improvements. There's a difference between complacency and patience.

[prozart]

I've had one very small problem with .348 on my 8900. It took about half an our to switch to and restore all my settings. That one problem is that if I have it automatically switch to night time mode upon plugin, it resets about 10% of the time... big deal. The upgrades and new features from 4.6 to 5.0 make it worth the switch. Threaded sms and the new profile editor alone make it worth it to me. Why is it so hard to understand that people want the latest and greatest software?

And as far as not getting it until it's official, that can take forever sometimes. I still don't think they've released 4.5 for the T-Mobile Pearl 8100.

[prozart]

I'm not "waiting" either. I have a great OS on my phone now, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to see improvements. There's a difference between complacency and patience.

Agreed. Just because everything works on 4.6, doesn't mean new features, and improved features aren't nice.