[Fascinate General] jawman27:
Root - When you buy your phone from Verizon, Verizon still controls it. You are simply a user who is allowed to perform various Verizon-approved activities on it. Gaining root access to your phone grants you the control that Verizon had previously held. Rooting quite literally makes you the "Superuser," opening numerous possibilities for improvement, customization, and ruin. Root access is essential to having a fast, fully customized phone.

Root Explorer - This is an app downloadable from the Android Marketplace (Google Play). As it requires Superuser permissions, it is only functional for rooted users. Its abilities far exceed those of standard file management apps. For example, Root Explorer can copy .apk files directly into the system/apps folder in Android. It's a great way to get that obscure Samsung widget reinstalled on your phone after your favorite developer's ROM washed it away and called it bloat.

Samsung Drivers - This is a small piece of downloadable software that will need to be installed on your home computer before it will be able to communicate with your phone (via Odin or adb).

SC3 - Superclean3 - This is a popular custom ROM created by Nitsuj17 (with other credits given). It has a lot of bloat removed, and it has several excellent additions. It also has a wide variety of readily available patches that allow users to further customize or reinstall things they miss about the stock ROM. It is known for being both fast and stable, and it is widely regarded as an excellent choice for newly rooted users interested in trying a custom ROM.

Skin - This is a program that a phone manufacturer creates with the goal of making its phones more user friendly. It is basically an interface that sits on top of the pure Android guts underneath, hence the term "skin." The skin that comes with Samsung phones is called TouchWiz. This is why our phones don't look quite the same as our friends' HTC or Motorola phones, even though they are all using Android. Some people love TouchWiz. Some people hate it. Some custom ROMs are designed to be used with TouchWiz. Others are designed to be rid of it.

SOD - Sleep of Death - This is when your phone goes into standby mode but then goes into a catatonic state somewhere between being asleep and completely powered down. Users report various degrees of SOD. Some ROMs and kernels have been associated with it, as have certain apps, certain radios, and certain SD cards. Experimenting with fringe OC/UV and didle settings are often responsible these days. Generally, a battery pull (or better, Volume Up + Power) will revive the phone. Once a phone experiences a SOD, it seems likely that it will happen again, so a fix will need to be instituted. A modification of OC/UV settings or a return to stock and clean installation of your ROM, kernel, and apps are recommended.

Superuser - A rooted phone will have a new icon in the list of apps called Superuser. This is what distinguishes a rooted phone from a non-rooted phone. There are numerous apps available on the web and Android Marketplace (Google Play) that require "Superuser permission" to do what they do. Common examples of these apps include NS Tools, Titanium Backup, Root Explorer, Voodoo Sound, NS Tools, and Voltage Control. When a rooted user first runs one of these special apps, the app will ask for Superuser permission. Since you are now the Superuser, you get to press the button that says allow or one that says deny.

S Voice - Korean Siri, courtesy of Samsung.

Swype Beta - One of the early perks of rooting, the latest version of Swype is not available to unrooted users because the Fascinate comes with a special pre-installed (and perhaps outdated) version of Swype. Upgrading gives a slicker version of Swype with a more advanced word selection logic. You must follow a few steps to do it correctly:

1. Change the input method to the Android keyboard (settings->language & keyboard).

2. Uninstall Swype using Titanium Backup.

3. Go to the Swype website, give them your email address, and then follow their lead.

*ICS and JB ROMs don't contain any traces of Swype, so steps 1 and 2 can be skipped for them

.tar - This is the file extension for the files that get flashed via Odin. The file to install CWM, for example, is a .tar file. Another example is the file that returns your phone back to stock.

TB - TiBu - Titanium Backup - This is an app available on the Android Marketplace (Google Play). It is for rooted users only, and it requires Superuser permissions to operate normally. Its two main functions are:

1. Creating backups of your phone (or parts of it) in case you screw it up

2. Freezing or uninstalling apps and other stuff you don't want (i.e. debloating)

Telus - This is a Canadian telecom company. They offer a Samsung Fascinate that is very similar the one from VZW. The Telus Fascinate only works on a GSM network, whereas the VZW Fascinate works on CDMA (GSM and CDMA are different wireless signal technologies). Kernels for the Telus Fascinate won't necessarily be interchangeable with those for the VZW Fascinate.

Thanks button - Once you have created an established account at xda and made a post or two, you will begin to see a button with a little thumbs up sign next to the word "Thanks." This can be found on the lower right corner of someone's post. Pushing this button lets the person who posted know that their work is appreciated. It is considered polite to thank anyone who has helped you, whether or not it was in direct response to your own question. It is always polite to thank the devs whose software you are using. Xda tallies these thanks and gives experienced users a quantifiable measure of their contributions to the community. You will see a thanks meter under other users' names. Helpful people and prolific devs can have hundreds or thousands of thanks.

THS - Team Hacksung - This is a group of developers whose mission is to bring all the best of the custom Android world to Samsung phones. For our purposes, they are currently working with the CyanogenMod code to bring JB to the Fascinate. As CM9 developed, THS worked to make sure it was available for our phones in the form of an easily flashed ROM. In reading about ICS ROMs, you will regularly come across references to THS Build 2. This is a very old version of THS, but it is critical to the installation of our ICS ROMs. THS Builds 1 and 2 contain code that preps our phone to run ICS ROMs. Therefore, if you are coming to ICS for the first time, it is recommended that you flash THS Build 1 or 2 (usually 2) and let your phone boot up one time. Droidstyle's guide will walk you through this process.

Troll - This describes a person who attempts to transform a civil forum discussion into a battle of harsh words. They generally lure people into a massive argument by posting inflammatory remarks that are just slightly off topic. They then sit back and laugh to themselves as the argument develops into the nerd equivalent of a bar fight. To feed a troll and make him stronger, just respond to him. To weaken him, report his posts to moderators.

TSM Resurrection - This is a custom ROM developed by TSM (teamsbrissenmod). Think of it as the "SC3 - The Director's Cut." While similar to SC3 on the surface, it has numerous additions that allow for customization.

TW - TouchWiz - see "Skin"

TWRP - TeamWin Recovery Project - This is an alternative to the traditional recovery program. Rather than using the volume rocker, softkeys, and power button to interact with it, a touchscreen interface is used. While it offers some interesting potential, it is still under development in terms of compatibility with the Fascinate and our popular ROM/kernel setups.

UV - Undervolting - This is a means of attempting to reduce battery consumption when using custom kernels. Rooted users can accomplish this through one of several apps, with Voltage Control and NS Tools being common examples. The point of whether UV reduces battery consumption is highly contentious, but there does seem to be a theoretical basis for its validity, as well as a preponderance of anecdotal evidence.

Voltage Control - This is an app available on the Android Marketplace (Google Play). It requires root access (i.e. Superuser permissions). When used with compatible kernels, it allows you to overclock and undervolt your phone. This would predominantly be used with Gingerbread-based ROMs.

Voodoo - Project Voodoo is a collaborative software development effort started by dev supercurio back when Galaxy S phones first hit the market. Its goal was to optimize the Galaxy S, bringing it up to its full potential. Voodoo innovations have been used by countless rooted users. Voodoo features can only be used on compatible custom kernels. The project consists of three main branches:

1. Voodoo Color - optimizes screen images/video *Not really available in most modern Fascinate setups, but people still talk about how they miss it.

2. Voodoo Lagfix - see below

3. Voodoo Sound - optimizes sound quality for audiophiles *The Voodoo Sound app is available from the Marketplace (Google Play) to control settings.

Voodoo Lagfix - For BML ROMs, there are basically two main types of kernels: Loodoo Lagfix and non Voodoo Lagfix. The stock kernel that comes with your phone is non Voodoo Lagfix. It uses a certain type of file organization that is considered extremely stable. It is also somewhat slow, evidenced by the lag many users have experienced on this phone from day one. Non Voodoo Lagfix kernels, slow and reliable, are the family sedans of kernels. The Voodoo Lagfix kernels are the sports cars. They organize file systems differently, allowing for reduced lag. To extend the metaphor, they are also more likely to be involved in crashes. Lacking the rock solid reliability of their non Voodoo counterparts, Lagfix kernels have a somewhat sordid reputation in older forum posts. Overwhelming evidence, though, seems to indicate that many of the later ones are quite stable. Many rooted users will tolerate the occasional force close or reboot to gain the speed benefits that Lagfix kernels provide. MTD based ROMs (CM7, MIUI, anything ICS or JB) use a completely different file organizational scheme, so they have no need for Lagfix.

Examples of kernels without Voodoo Lagfix: Stock, GeeWiz

Examples of Voodoo Lagfix kernels: KGB, Lean Kernel

*Note: Changing to a Voodoo Lagfix kernel or switching between Voodoo Lagfix kernels requires no special precautions. Changing from a Voodoo Lagfix kernel to a non Voodoo Lagfix kernel requires special precautions.

Wipe x3 - This term refers to the act of wiping the slate clean on your phone. It removes all apps you have installed and any data associated with those apps. It will not erase Android, your ROM, your kernel, or anything on your sd card (your photos and videos are on your sd card by default). The Wipe x3 is often done before making major changes to your phone's system. The process is accomplished through a recovery program such as CWM. Here are the 3 commands (hence the "x3"):

1. wipe data/factory reset

2. wipe cache partition

3. wipe dalvik cache

*Note, performing a wipe data/factory reset will reportedly wipe the cache partition and the dalvik cache, so steps 2 & 3 may be redundant.

zip - For our purposes, this refers to the file type for files that can be flashed with CWM or other recovery programs. For example, if you would like to install the Superclean3 ROM, you would need to download the zip file called sc3_milestone2_full and place it on your sd card.