Google Android Hacking Common Practices for Newbs

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

First things first you need to know where to go to find help for your self. Usually these sources also act as the place to go for help when you don't feel you can help your self any longer. These locations are filled with experts who donate their time to give you something for free, because they can and because they care. Don't take this for granted when you communicate with them. That being said here are those places.

Biggest and best is probably XDA.
http://forum.xda-developers.com
You can find a giant list of devices each with it's own active sub community. Roms and software are usually found in the "development" sub forums. Be sure you use the search tool because some times solutions to problems are sub sets of larger or different problems. You'll also get a negative reaction from most folks if you don't say/show that you made a best effort to think for your self before posing your question.

Most comprehensive general forum seems to be Android Forums.
http://androidforums.com/
These forums seem to be slightly less focused on development and more on general usage. They do have their fair share of brilliant folks. Being less specifically development focused they seem to have support for a larger variety of devices.

Getting gradually less technical but still useful threads and information at Android Central's forums.
http://forum.androidcentral.com/
Android Central is a pretty well respected Android news website and community. Their forums are less technical than the other two but they still have a great group of people willing to help and some good info to learn from.

Finally the Nook Color specific site Nook Devs.
http://www.nookdevs.com
This site is Nook specific but has some pretty clear concise and useful information and how-to on general Android things like using ADB. It's also the place to go on information about rooting the Nook and Nook Color.

So here's the breakdown on how Android is structured, as I understand it. I think I'm pretty astute and seem to have little trouble rooting/flashing and fixing things gone wrong on Android but I'm also not perfect so I could have some things wrong. So if you know more or see something I got wrong please let me know in the comments!

Barnes & Noble Nook Color Gets Another Update

This latest update is at best a moderate jump but still a welcome one. We're going from 1.0.1 to 1.1.0. The majority of the changes are to small things like pinch to zoom on the browser. Some have reported tighter touch sensitivity/accuracy and a sharper snappier responsiveness. The list of updates is as follows:

NOOKcolor Ver1.1.0 update contains enhancements to improve the overall performance, including:

• Improved performance of Wi-Fi connectivity, Home and Shop.
• Ability to pinch and zoom in browser.
• Enhanced reading experience for magazines and children's books.
• Access helpful NOOKcolor related information and support tips on the new default browser home page.
• Reduce mistyped passwords with "show password" option during registration and Wi-Fi set up.
• Easily identify NOOK kids Read To Me™ books with a new text banner next to the titles in Shop.
• General bug fixes and performance improvements.

The official update can be found here.

If you are reading this blog though I imagine you have some interest in rooting and unlocking the full potential of this awesome device. The great folks at NookDevs.com and XDA-Developers as always are on the ball. An update has been posted that, due to it's direct update nature, does not interfere with previously installed apps etc. It's not quite 100% stable but it worked like a charm for me and most others who have tried it. You can check the following thread to get the update package and list of instructions. If you are comfortable with your Android/Nook skills you can follow the following short instructions after the jump.