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[pivotCE] TIP: preware.net solutions for WOSQI, Preware v1.9.13


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You may have heard that

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away from webOS Internals yesterday.  If not, what the heck?  You live under a rock?  I digress.

Long story short, preware.net is now the new home for all things Preware to include our beloved patches, homebrew apps, etc.  Don’t bother copying and pasting that as a link because until the ducks are lined up there won’t be much to see.  I’ve been assured that the app and get.preware.net will all be updated in the near future.  Come on.  This stuff takes some time.  Relax.

So this domain snatching business was pretty ugly.  Turns out “preware” means something very different to the folks that grabbed the domain and they have no intention of selling it back to webOS Internals which was the initial assumption.  No, in fact they plan to use it for whatever “preware” means to them.  Like you, I am waiting with bated breath for the answer to that mind boggling riddle. :|

But now that preware.net exists and more importantly, ipkg.preware.net, the home of patches, apps, etc., how do you fix your broken and Preware that point to preware.org?

Fix WOSQI

You’ve got a couple options here.  Until an official version bump is released you’re going to have to settle for some workarounds.  The good news is they are relatively simple.  The bad news is you’ll have to do more than just download a file.  What?  Work?  I know.  Sorry.

UPDATE: Jason Robitaille, creator of webOS Quick Install, has merged the commits by pattyland. He has not yet answered the question as to whether we can expect an updated build on the main WOSQI thread on webOS Nation Forums, however, pattyland went ahead and built a new version of WOSQI.  It is UNOFFICIAL! You can .

Option #1 – Edit your computer’s hosts file

This is probably not the simplest solution but it’s a solution nonetheless.  And I’m going to give you folks the Windows answer. Mac and Linux users, I assume you already know what you’re doing. Nerds. ;)

Hit the Windows key on your keyboard.  start_keyboard_windows_key

Type notepad.  Don’t open Notepad, right click on it and click Run as administrator.  Click yes on the box that appears or type in your admin password and hit yes.

 


In notepad, click File > Open and browse to C:/windows/system32/drivers/etc/. Change Text Documents (*.txt) to All Files (*.*).  Then click hosts and open.

 

Add 140.211.169.161 ipkg.preware.org like you see in the screenshot. Click File > Save and then close Notepad.  Now open WOSQI and all should be swell.
Note: If you go this route, you’ll have to do it for every computer you use WOSQI on.  You could also edit the hosts file on your webOS device(s) too found in /etc/hosts BUT same deal, every device and it does not survive a doctor.

Option #2 – Replace PackageFeed.class in WOSQI .jar

I thought I would go into a step by step detail about how to modify PackageFeed.class inside WOSQI’s .jar file here but instead I modified it for you and all you have to do is drop the file in place.  , open the PackageFeed.zip, and extract the PacakgeFeed.class file to your Desktop.  And then do this:

1. Get and install it. Run the .exe or the .msi and “next next next finish” yourself until it’s done. You can also use whatever compression tool you like.2. Find where you store WebOSQuickInstall-4.5.0.jar on your computer. Right click on it and choose 7-Zip > Open archive or Open with > 7-Zip File Manager
3. Navigate to .cacanucksoftwareipkg (see image). Find the PackageFeed.class file you downloaded and drag it into the 7-Zip window and click Yes when it asks you if you want to copy files to the archive.
4. Close 7-Zip and open WOSQI.  Ta-da!

UPDATE: I removed Option #2 for the WOSQI fix because for whatever reason I could not get the fix to duplicate on another computer.  Also, a couple nice folks pointed out their frustration with the fix since they couldn’t get it to work either. Must have been a fluke.  The good news is, the correct changes have been made to the  but will have to be accepted first. Hopefully, Mr. Jason Robitaille builds the updated WOSQI and adds it . 

Preware

Preware’s version was bumped yesterday to 1.9.13.  It fixes the .org problem and also the birthday icon which never got updated after last year’s Preware birthday.  Anyway, to get Preware going again you have a few options.

Option #1 – If you jumped down here because fixing WOSQI seemed annoying…well, you can skip to here but IF you fix WOSQI first all you have to do to get the updated Preware that fixes all the old .org feeds to the new .net ones is click the globe, search for Preware, and install it.

Option #2 – Uninstall Preware on your webOS device first.  On your PC grab the .ipk , plug your phone or TouchPad into your PC, open your broken WOSQI, drag the .ipk into the WOSQI window and click Install. Done. Now scroll up and fix WOSQI.

Option #3 – On your webOS device copy this URL http://ipkg.preware.net/feeds/webos-internals/armv7/org.webosinternals.preware_1.9.13_arm.ipk, open Preware, immediately swipe down for the menu and tap Install Package, paste the copied URL into the File box and click Install. Preware will close. Reopen it and you’re good to go.

Note: When I first fixed Preware I had old beta feeds added and some of them didn’t auto-update to the .net address.  To remedy the situation I uninstalled the new Preware, removed the beta feeds, readded the beta feeds, and reinstalled Preware.  Problem solved.

Well there you have it. Good luck!

#webosforever



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    • Solution For That Pollution
    • By pivotCE
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      This is a tough mod which requires micro-soldering and modifying a PCB which you will have a hard time sourcing a replacement for without buying another TouchPad. Proceed at your own peril.
      Tools for the Job
      To do this mod you’ll need a few things for tools and parts. Here’s a list of what I used:
      – Needle nose pliers/tweezers
      – USB C boards with 5.1k resistors
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      – Soldering iron, solder, flux and a hot air station
      – Flush cuts
      – Dremel with cutting or sanding wheel
      – 28 AWG wire or smaller. 30 AWG is pretty good but any wire around 0.25mm to 0.5mm should work.
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      – Metal spudger Disassemble the TouchPad
      This is where you’re going to want to get that metal spudger out and be very careful not to snap clips. I can’t explain it better than iFixit already did so go check out their and then come back here.
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      Trim the USB C Board
      We need to expose the USB C port a bit on this board so let’s cut it down. Grab the painter’s tape and flip the USB C board upside down. You’ll see a small trace between the front and rear anchor points on the right side, which we don’t want to cut. Mark the tape just on the other side of that trace like I did. Dremel along the tape line until you get to the port. You can then use needle nose pliers, a flat file, and/or flush cuts to remove the rest of the board from the bottom of the port.
      Prepare the USB Connector Board for the USB C Port
      We need to slide the port into the old space so grab the painter’s tape again and mark off the area I marked to make room for the USB C port. You can place the port up to it like I did and use that as a guide. Grab your dremel again or a similar tool and cut out what you marked off. When you’re done, the USB C port should slide easily into the groove. It will fit tighter when we add the kapton tape in a later step.
      Make Room in the TouchPad for the Added Thickness of the USB C Board
      The USB C board will sit underneath the USB connector board so we have to make room by trimming away the plastic underneath. For this you’ll need to use flush cuts or any other tool you have to chip away. You could use the dremel for this if you’d like. Be careful to not go beyond the first inner layer. Beyond that is the outer shell of the TouchPad. There’s no real method here, just cut out the screw posts and chip away. Use the pictures below as a guide.
      Cut the USB C Hole from the Old Micro USB Hole
      To open the micro USB hole enough to fit the USB C port, take a rounded file to the left and right of both sides and just file a little bit at at time. Use a small flat file to widen the top and bottom of the port. This process is just trial and error. File a little and then grab the USB C board to test. The port will need to fit inside the hole a bit so you can push it through from the outside to test the hole size if that’s easier. Note: the USB C board will likely not rest on the bottom of the TouchPad and will float a little. This is good because it makes room for your wires and a little kapton tape underneath.
      Tape the USB C Board
      Since we hacked away at the USB connector board it’s possible we’ve provided the perfect environment for creating shorts! Oh no! So get out the kapton tape because we’re going to add a layer on both sides. You’ll see how I did it on one side below. Do it on both sides. You’ll also notice how I did not cover those two small square contacts just at the bottom of the tape. That’s because we need them.
      Where To Get Power and Data
      You’ll see the diagrams below which I’ve marked with VBUS (power), data in, data out, and ground. Obviously the old port is gone and most if its pads, but I wanted to show that both sides of the board have the connections. You could possibly do this mod differently, and if you so choose, hopefully these help.
      A quick note: this mod can be done with a 4-pin USB C port. That would give you power and data just like with the USB C board I’m using in this guide, however, a 4-pin USB C board will not charge with a USB C charger (ie USB 3.1). The board I’m using in this guide provides the ability to use any charger because it comes pre-built with 5.1k resistors wired to CC1 and CC2 to ground. This is the trick that tells the USB C chargers to send power to the device.
      Solder the USB C Board into the USB Connector Board
      This isn’t a “how to solder tutorial” so hit up youtube and find a good tutorial that works for you. In general though, use flux, pre-tin the VBUS, Ground, D-, and D+ pads on the USB C board as well as the points on the bottom of the USB connector board.
      Now for the tricky part, I didn’t list it in the Tools section above, but it would really help to have magnification or a digital microscope for this. I have these things and I used both. You might have steadier hands and better eyes than me. The picture below was my first attempt of the three TouchPads I modded, and it’s not my best soldering work, but fundamentally, this is what yours should look like.
      Put the Pieces Together
      You can use a bit of kapton tape to secure the wires in place a bit more if you’d like but it’s not required. It won’t short since it’s only plastic underneath. This is all press fit into place, but if you’re uncomfortable with that, you can add a little hot glue under the board as you put it back into the TouchPad. You don’t have to put the metal shield back into place if you don’t want to. It’s all a pretty tightly fit and if you find the TouchPad screen isn’t as flush as you want, just leave the metal shield off. A little kapton tape right on top would be fine instead.
      Congrats, You Now Have USB C
      I did this mod on three TouchPads and each one works fine with any USB charger I could find, including USB C port having USB 3.1 chargers. I can also confirm the data connection works just like it should to connect via USB mode on PC. Sadly, this doesn’t do anything to stop webOS from telling you the charger you’re using isn’t the original TouchPad barrel charger, but you can make a custom cable to stop that which I’ll cover in a future article on pivotCE.

      #webOS4ever

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