[TouchPad General] crobat:
Crobat's Guide to Preware, Alpha/Beta Feeds and Kernels!

Why hello there! I felt that its time for me to give back to this wonderful community, but I can't code for sh*t, so I'm sorry, I can't make a rom or app for you guys. Instead, I present to you this tutorial! This is a simple, easy to follow tutorial on using Preware and other goodies for your TouchPad running WebOS.

This is a work in progress! So expect more soon.

Stuff to add:

-Alpha/Beta feeds for preware

-Kernels and Overclocking

-Pictures

-FAQ

-Links and Credits

So, first and foremost...

What the heck is Preware?!

To put it simply, Preware allows you to install several useful homebrew packages for your TouchPad, which includes apps, patches, kernels and so on. For those who've done jailbreaking for an iOS device before, think Preware as Cydia, but for WebOS.

How do I get Preware?

All right, it might get a little tricky for some, but follow closely and it will be a breeze.

First, you're going to want to get your TouchPad into Developer Mode. To do this, get to Just Type and key in

either of

the following: "upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastart" OR "webos20090606" (without the quotes) and you will see the option to launch Developer Mode. If you're asked for a password,

LEAVE IT BLANK!

I can't stress this enough. Should you enter a password, the tab will go crazy and you will have to reset it using WebOS Doctor. So don't. Once you're in, turn Developer Mode On.

Next you will want to download WebOS Quick Install. Its a .jar program that can install various items for your TouchPad.

Download it here (Credits to Jason Robitalle from WebOS nation)

Now, I'm assuming that you have Java and the Novacom drivers installed on your computer. You are going to need them to run Quick Install. To get Novacom, just get your device into HP recovery mode and link it up to your computer. It should immediately begin installing.

Next, let your TouchPad boot normally, and then connect it to your PC, but do not let it connect as a USB Drive! Just press close when the prompt pops up on the TouchPad. Now run Quick Install on the computer.

Once you're in Quick Install, click on the globe icon on the left. A window will pop up with various items available for download. On the search bar, type in 'Preware' and click 'Install'.

This is the last step! Now, on your TouchPad, open up the App Menu and look for Preware in the downloads tab. If its there, congratulations! You've successfully installed Preware for your TouchPad. Now you can download and install whatever goodies you want to make it beautiful.

Installing stuff using Preware

Installing things from Preware is a simple affair. After launching the app, you can either use the search feature if you know the name of the app or whatever you're looking for. If not, go to 'Available Packages' and you will be able to browse for whatever you want from a list.

What are Alpha & Beta Feeds?

All the homebrew packages that appear on Preware are there because of feeds. Feeds are, in a way, carrying the information of the packages. Preware is basically the 'centre' where all the packages from the various feeds are displayed. Therefore, without feeds, Preware will show nothing at all. Try and think of eBay. The website represents Preware, whereas the sellers represent the feeds.

So, as the name implies, Alpha and Beta feeds are feeds that contain packages that are still in early development and are for testing. Hence, they are collectively called testing feeds. Alpha packages are highly unstable and could potentially damage your device. Beta packages are more stable, almost ready for use, but with some problems here and there. However, this does not mean that Beta packages are 100% safe to install, so do so at your own risk.

How do I enable/disable Alpha & Beta Feeds?

Due to restrictions I'm not allowed to post instructions here. All the instructions you need can be found here.

Please read their rules carefully before doing anything.

One more thing. Some of the steps require you to access the

Linux command line

. To do so, simply launch WebOS Quick Install, go to Tools, then Linux Commandline.

To choose which feeds you want to access in Preware, go to Preware>Manage Feeds. From there, you can turn the feeds on/off.

One Last Thing...

I've tried my best to read all the forum rules and searched for other threads to ensure that I'm not posting something that's been done to death. But if I really missed a thread with the exact same topic, then, well, darn! Please get the mods to close this thread. :p