Maybe this a dumb question but no question is dumb.. do we have to have dev mode on for all of this or even any of this? I am turning it on just to be sure.. but please advise?

and my last question is, are all the tweaks and patches installed (minus user input required ones like VK etc) backwards compatible with the checkmark intstall/removal system of WOSQI and vice versa with the remove button on preware?

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There are tweaks and patches.

Tweaks are the name for the things that only WebOS Quick Install does. Some of these things include using user input, something that Preware does not do.

Patches are the name for the things that use a .patch file.

Preware currently has 67 patches available. All have descriptions, maintainer homepage and contact links, and screenshots. All these patches live as ipkg files in the preware.org webos-patches repository.

When a patch is packaged in an ipkg file, it doesn't matter what advanced homebrew installer you use to install or remove it. We recommend Preware, but you can also use WebOS Quick Install or PreLoad (if you have the Package Manager Service that we provide also installed).

We package patches in such a way (we call it "autopatch technology") that you can always run the Emergency Patch Recovery tool and get the original webOS files back in the state you started with. You do not need to wait for Palm to release a new version of the webOS Doctor, or for someone to update a webOS Repair Tool. You can run the Emergency Patch Recovery tool either just before doing a Palm WebOS OTA update, or even immediately after if you forget to do it before (yes, even after - that is the magic technology we provide).

If you use Preware to install patches, you do not need to reinstall them just because WebOS Quick Install is being updated to be able to access and install the same patches. No matter how you install the patches packaged as ipkg files, as long as you use an advanced homebrew installer (like Preware), then you can always use the Emergency Patch Recovery tool to get out of a sticky situation if you forget to remove the patches before an OTA webOS update.

We also have plans in place to be able to handle concurrent versions of patches (e.g. one version for the CDMA Pre, and one version for the GSM Pre which will be running a different webOS version for some weeks after release). That is why all the patches are now versioned 1.2.1-X (where X increments if the patch is updated, but still applies to the same webOS version). We will also support patches for the Pixi when it is available (we already know from testing by Palm employees that Preware works on the Pixi).

In short, we've thought long and hard about how to manage patches, and we did a lot of testing of different techniques with the Virtual Keyboard patch in Preware, and we believe that the autopatch technology used to package patches into ipkg files is the best available. That's why we went through the effort of doing this whole transition before going public with patches available by default in Preware. Note that we also left the old online repository in place so that things didn't break while end-users and other tool developers (like Jason) take the time to migrate.

-- Rod

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Thanks Rod!

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Ok, I updated the package manager and preware, but autopatch still shows up with 64 patches after updating the feeds. There's only a "webos-internals" feed with 8 patches. Am I doing something wrong? I thought autopatch would disappear.

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Once Preware is installed, you never need dev mode again.

You will need to ask Jason, the author of WebOS Quick Install as to whether the implemention of tweaks is compatible with the implementation of patches. Maybe emoney_33 knows too - I personally have not looked at how WebOS Quick Install does tweaks lately.

I do know that if you use WebOS Quick Install to install patches from the online repository, then those are fully compatible with the same patches installed using Preware. That's why we recommend patches in ipkg files, cause then they operate the same no matter what advanced homebrew installer you use to install them.

-- Rod

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With the new patch technology, those of us that are old school and installed Quilt or Quilt-lite, can we now uninstall all of that and free up some space?

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Geez dont any of you EVER sleep?

so, does the Emergency Patch Recovery now work ok with OS 1.2.1??

I know that was an issue before?

My Tweaks are a hodge podge of QI 2.03 and Autopatch feed.

Should I remove the ones done via QI first, then each done via Autopatch?

Then, update Package mgr, then preware, then re add each patch??

Thanks Jason and Rod for your tireless efforts!

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Yes, indeed you can.

-- Rod

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I'll let emoney_33 (the key developer of the autopatch technology) answer those ones definitively, but my understanding is the following:

1) you should use QI to remove any tweaks, in case they have collided with patches

2) you should then follow the steps in the first post in this thread

3) then install any patches available in Preware

3) then if you need to, enable any tweaks in QI that are not available as patches in Preware

The Emergency Patch Recovery tool will remove any patch that has been packaged with autopatch technology, irregardless of webOS version. The autopatch technology saves all the information required for the emergency patch recovery to operate.

-- Rod

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rwhitby can I just proceed with the next step even though autopatch is still there? I figured that would just mean I'll be installing the patches through autopatch again though.

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I am pretty certain that most of the "tweaks" are using the underlying ipk from the autopatch feed, and thus are compatible. For example if you install the browser patch from preware, then launch QI the browser box should be checked under the tweaks menu. Same vice versa, install it with QI and it should show in installed packages under preware. Some of the tweaks do not have a corresponding ipk using autopatch technology, and I am not sure as to whether these are compatible with the patch technology or not.

It was and will continue to be our goal that any and all text file modifications to webos use autopatch technology for the benefit of the end user. This is not only an attempt at creating a solid patch system, but it is an attempt at creating a standard for webos modifications.

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The autopatch feed is now obsolete. You need to use the webos-patches feed now.

-- Rod

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It's 1:30am here, and it's been a long day. Hopefully other members of the team in a better timezone will take over now while I sleep.

-- Rod

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You have the patience of a saint, Rod. When people ask me questions that are fully answered in the procedures / instructions I just gave them....it drives me $%#!ing nuts!!!

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EPR has always been compatible with 1.2.1.

If you mixed and matched the order in of 2.03 and Autopatch modifications, I'm not sure if there is no one set way to fix it. The autopatch patches should remove cleanly, however I do not know how 2.03 QI removed patches. My best advice is to remove in the exact reverse order you installed.

Going forward the only compatibility I can guarantee is with patches using the autopatch technology. I will converse with Jason to get a better understanding of how the personalization tweaks work so that I can better advise in this area.

EPR uses a backups-restore method from backups created by autopatch technology, and if a file was modified manually or by some other means prior to the autopatch touching it, these changes will have made their way into the backup file. Thus after EPR is run, those changes would still be there.

We will continue to work on getting all webos modifications to use autopatch technology. Currently themes and personalization tweaks are the 2 main areas I will be trying to work with next.

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This is what I see when I go into feeds after updating. Isn't autopatch supposed to be gone?

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Just a note to say thanks. Everything updated and repatched without a hitch.


PF

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I don't think I've seen this particular issue yet.

Preware 0.9.2: Initially, I saw the package updates. But then I backed out and tried to update feeds. Package updates are no longer available (greyed out). Tried rebooting and reupdating, no luck.

As Rod stated, the load shouldn't be a problem and everything looks good from their end.

I'll wait for a while and retry late in the day but is this a user end problem or a server end issue?

Thanks. The worke done here has been incredible and I also enjoy the PreWare-QI cooperation. Both packages have been invaluable in boosting my Pre utility levels!

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I am seeing the same thing. Ditto on the thanks!

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OK, with some fear and trepidation of losing stuff I love, Im going to remove all patches, tweaks, etc that I enabled with QI, using QI, then removing all I did with Auto Patch, with ERR, the try to very nicely documented steps to get up to speed with the latest/greatest

Thanks Emoney, and Rod, and Jason, and EVERYBODY, You guys are just too much!!

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