Yes I am a n00b...

[jleebiker]

Ok, I'm trying to get up to speed. I have some questions. I want to learn to develop apps for WP7, but there's so much to get up to speed on. I looked for a FAQ here, but couldn't find one.

1) What is unlocking? Do I need to do it if I want to develop applications?
2) What is homebrew? Does this just refer to an app that someone made on their own?
3) What is NoDo?
4) What is sideloading?
5) What is Chevron? Is this an app? Is it a utility for unlocking?

I found some links, but they sent me off to other forums that seem to get off topic pretty quick.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[alex6272]

I'll try to explain as many questions as I can

1) Unlocking allows you to sideload homemade apps onto your phone. Carrier unlocking is when you unlock the phone so that it can be used with different cell carriers.
2) Homebrew is apps, add-ons, modifications, etc that people make and are not available through the Marketplace
3)NoDo- short for 'No doughnuts'- was the update in the spring that brought copy and paste along with various other improvements. Mango is the most recent update.
4) Sideloading is installing apps that are not from the Marketplace onto an unlocked phone
5) Chevron is a "Windows Phone developer unlocking service" that unlocks a phone, for a fee of $9, so that developers can sideload apps onto it. I believe it is an online utility, but I've never used it so I cannot say for certain.

Hope that helps

 

[SolunaKitty]

1) I don't know too much about unlocking, but I think "yes" to the second part.
2) Yes
3) It was the major update before version 7.5 Mango
4) Sideloading is deploying apps on the phone without going through the WP Marketplace
5) ChevronWP7 Labs is indeed a utility for unlocking phones

Here's another way to unlock your phone: Developer Phone Registration

You can get it for free through Microsoft DreamSpark if you have a .edu address

Okay, I took too long to respond, and someone beat me to it; oh well... now you have links if you want them.

 

[jleebiker]

I'll try to explain as many questions as I can

1) Unlocking allows you to sideload homemade apps onto your phone. Carrier unlocking is when you unlock the phone so that it can be used with different cell carriers.
2) Homebrew is apps, add-ons, modifications, etc that people make and are not available through the Marketplace
3)NoDo- short for 'No doughnuts'- was the update in the spring that brought copy and paste along with various other improvements. Mango is the most recent update.
4) Sideloading is installing apps that are not from the Marketplace onto an unlocked phone
5) Chevron is a "Windows Phone developer unlocking service" that unlocks a phone, for a fee of $9, so that developers can sideload apps onto it. I believe it is an online utility, but I've never used it so I cannot say for certain.

Hope that helps

Thanks! That clears it up!

1) So I don't need to worry about carrier unlocking if I'm just developing on my carrier.
2) Gotcha
3) Gotcha
4) If I have the WP SDK, can't I load the homebrews on the phone via the SDK?
5) Will unlocking via Chevron invalidate any warranties on a carrier if you have a brand new phone?

 

[jleebiker]

1) I don't know too much about unlocking, but I think "yes" to the second part.
2) Yes
3) It was the major update before version 7.5 Mango
4) Sideloading is deploying apps on the phone without going through the WP Marketplace
5) ChevronWP7 Labs is indeed a utility for unlocking phones

Here's another way to unlock your phone: Developer Phone Registration

You can get it for free through Microsoft DreamSpark if you have a .edu address

Okay, I took too long to respond, and someone beat me to it; oh well... now you have links if you want them.

Thanks SolunaKitty! That seems more legit to me than paying for some 3rd party site to unlock it.

 

[SolunaKitty]

Ah, developer unlocking allows for a maximum of 10 apps to be sideloaded while another unlock, interop-unlock, allows for an unlimited number (and I believe that's all that interop-unlock does). At the moment, interop-unlocking is not available for 2nd gen HTC devices.

 

[jleebiker]

Ah, developer unlocking allows for a maximum of 10 apps to be sideloaded while another unlock, interop-unlock, allows for an unlimited number (and I believe that's all that interop-unlock does). At the moment, interop-unlocking is not available for 2nd gen HTC devices.

"interop-unlock"... is that the same as carrier unlock?

 

[thed]

"interop-unlock"... is that the same as carrier unlock?

Interop-unlock allows you to sideload apps that use interop services to access native code. It's required for apps that do things that normal apps could never do, like access the registry or the file system. It's completely unrelated to a carrier unlock.

 

[jleebiker]

Ok, so unlocking, carrier unlocking and interop-unlocking are 3 separate things? Correct?
What are the possible gotchas for going to interop-unlocking?

This might answer my other question. How does one just SEE the contents of a WP phone? Every other device I've had, I could peruse it via a USB cable. I can't seem to do that with this HTC Trophy on Verizon.

 

[SolunaKitty]

First question: yes
Second question: I don't understand
Third question: I don't know

Sorry I was not of more help

 

[jimski]

Interop unlocking would allow you to install a Reg Editor and File Explorer on most devices. But there is really not much to see. The file structure is very different than say, WindowsMobile, so even if you change/add something the OS won't give you access to it, as every app is sandboxed.

Downside of interop unlocking and apps that access the registry, is potential instability and registry damage should you touch the wrong thing. I had such a problem pre-Mango, after changing one key (playing with accent colors) requiring a hard reset. Safe homebrew apps won't make any registry changes.

To offer up apps through the Marketplace you Ned a dev registration ($99/yr) or a student registration, as was already described. To simply create Homebrew apps, Chevron or the student reg will work.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[3lackdeath]

If you have a Samsung device you can do a free Interop unlock by following the link below.

http://www.windowscentral.com/windowsbreak-free-interop-unlock-your-samsung-device#comment-72206