[Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jbabbler:
As a noob myself I understand the immediate overwhelming feeling you get when you see the wealth of information and possibilities on this site. I read everything I could find, soft-bricked my captivate a few dozen times, flashed dozens of ROMS and Kernel combos until I finally found something that worked for my unique needs. The information below is very basic and not intended as a guide. There may be some wording or errors but the general description of each item is accurate enough to get the point across.

Some basic things I learned to begin with:

Eclaire: Android Operating System 2.1.x

Froyo: Android Operating System 2.2.x

Gingerbread: Android Operating System 2.3.x

Root: Gives you full "Super User" rights to the device. As a super user you can browse, delete, change any folder or file on the device. It allows you to remove pre-installed programs that AT&T seems to think are too important to erase. It allows you to change system settings that were locked by the manufacturer. Without being rooted you are limited to using the operating system provided by the service provider as shipped.

Bootloaders: The initial starting point when a device is booted. The bootloader basically gets the device hardware powered up and starts the Kernel. From there the kernel loads the base operating system and starts the GUI for you. The bootloader is really the only item that will bite you when trying to change your device's operating system. If you try and flash it and something goes horribly wrong while it's loading it is possible to make the device unbootable for repairs. Bootloaders from a device running Eclaire or Froyo must be updated to Gingerbread in order to properly boot the Kernel. Interestingly, Gingerbread Bootloaders are backwards compatible and can be used on Eclaire or Froyo as well.

Kernel: In its basic sense, the kernel acts as the bridge between the device hardware and the chosen operating system. Custom kernels can open up many of the device's potential by allowing the CPU to be overclocked or the voltage levels to be adjusted for heat and performance. Many of the devices weaknesses can be tweaked around for better performance. On our devices there are a lot of custom kernels that allow you to overclock and can change the format of the system and data partitions to make them faster (lag fix). Kernels for the 2.1 -2.22 ROMS can make huge differences to the battery life and speed of the device. Developers must have the initial Source Code of the kernel to tweak many of the hardware functions and unfortunately, Samsung has not released any source code for our specific phones for any of the 2.3+ Roms.

CWM = Clockwork Mod. Clockwork mod is a Recovery menu that replaced the stock useless menu that comes on the device. It allows you to install new ROMS, updates, mods, etc... from the device itself. It would be like booting your PC in to DOS or an Linux box to a command line. You can either install CWM on a pre-rooted device or download a kernel that has already had CWM coded into the file. For instance, on the latest leaked 2.3.5 ROM for the I897 I took a rooted phone running a 2.2 ROM and installed the new operating system to it. It was unrooted. Boog cooked up a new kernel with CWM added. After installing the new kernel I booted up and my phone was rooted.

Root Explorer: File browsing software from the market that allows users of rooted devices to browse the entire file system of their device. Hidden and locked items are accessible and "changable". Use with caution.

Rom Manager: A downloaded program that can be used to install CWM on a rooted phone. It can also be used to locate and download roms that developers submit to their database. It also acts as a GUI to some of the minor functions of CWM in that once a ROM has been downloaded you can choose to install it and set some of the parameters for that installation up before it reboots to CWM and starts the install. I prefer to boot to CWM myself and install from there. Most would agree.

AOSP: Raw Android release from Google Developers. Device manufacturers take these AOSP releases and create their own device specific versions to be installed on their devices. Many custom ROMS are based on AOSP and are very popular. Cyanogen (CM7 currently) and MIUI are very popular versions of AOSP. Unfortunately, on our Captivates these AOSP based ROMS drain the battery much faster than on Samsung based ROMs. When an AOSP based ROM/Kernel is installed the phone must be flashed back to a stock Samsung ROM with Odin or Oneclick before a non-AOSP ROM can be installed. AOSP ROMS use a different partition setup and Samsung based ROMS will not run if installed directly on top of an AOSP Rom. Interestingly, MIUI can be installed via CWM directly on top of a Samsung ROM but not the other way around.

I9000 based ROMS: Many custom Gingerbread Roms are actually Roms built off of Roms that were originally for the Samsung I9000. They work well and can be tweaked and adjusted because the I9000 kernel source is available for developers. While they work great in most aspects they fail to utilize the full potential of the I897 because the I9000 has a different chipset. Audio quality, GPS lock and battery life can be problematic or degraded in these ROMS.

ODIN: Odin is a program for your Windows based PC that is used to install Roms, Kernels, bootloaders and features to your device. It can wipe your device and install an unrooted, clean, fresh stock operating system or canbe used to install custom Roms if the developer chooses to release it in an Odin package. Odin can be picky and unstable at times so limit bootloader flashing to the absolute minimum with this software. To use Odin you must get your phone in to Download mode.

Odin oneclick: A derivative of ODIN where the ROM or feature you are wanting to install is prepackaged into the ODIN program itself. There are no options or files to choose. You start the software, connect your phone in Download mode. Wait for Odin to recognize it then hit "Start".

TAR: Often referred to as a Tarball. Similar to ZIP or RAR. It is a linux based zip format for packaging programs and compressing them for download. When flashing anything with Odin you will download files with the TAR extension. Odin does not open files with Zip extensions.

Heimdall: Opensource program for Linux, MAC or PC that can be used like ODIN. Much more reliable.

APK: APK files are the individual programs for the device. When you download a file it will be *.APK. You can manually install an APK file on your device as long as you have enabled non-market APPs in the setting. Programs downloaded from the market are also in APK packages but are automatically installed when you download them.

Download mode: Base mode for the phone. Shows a yellow triangle with an android digging. This is used whenever you are connecting your device to the computer to load a new bootloader, kernel, update or ROM via Odin. If you completely ruin your operating system and think you have bricked your phone, you can reload it and start from scratch as long as you can get your phone in to download mode. To boot in to download mode on a Captivate you have to remove the battery and put it back in. Hold down both volume buttons while plugging in the usb. Some devices require you to hold vol-up or volume-down instead. Mine has always been both.

Recovery Mode: Simple text based mode where the kernel has booted but the operating system and GUI have not been loaded yet. The standard Recovery Mode menu is basic and allows you to reboot or install an update.zip file. On a rooted phone with CWM installed the recovery menu is much larger ith options to wipe the cache, adjust kernel settings (on custom kernels), install new roms or kernels, format SD card, Wipe phone, etc...