[G3 Themes and Apps] pandacookie:
I posted this as a comment elsewhere, but thought it would do more justice as it's own thread. So here it is. This is ONLY for those who feel comfortable with rolling up their sleeves and tinkering with system files. Do not attempt this if you feel uncomfortable in any way. If you feel you are up for this project, read on...here's how to make the Smart Notice widget transparent!

Follow my instructions CAREFULLY. If possible, do this in front of a computer or other display so you can easily follow along. What's great about doing it this way is that you don't need Photoshop or to even do it on a computer.

First, go to recovery and BACK UP. Always do this. You will be glad you did if you screw this up. You could also go to Root Explorer before editing, go to the path/folder I specify a bit later and copy the specified files I also specify later to an external sd card, then replace them if things go awry or if you hate your changes. This can take time, though, and you will need to change permissions for each file as you go. Restoring via recovery is a safe way to restore everything back with little hassle and in less time than it would to replace each file and change permissions. Less room for error, too.

Get the Image Editor and Root Explorer apps at the Play Store. When you get them, go to Image Editor click on "open photo". When you do, scroll down the side panel till you see Root Explorer. Click. Go to /system/etc/mrg_default_forms/ConciergeBoard/default_view/container/res/drawable-xxxdpii/img/.

You will find your images to edit there. You will be editing the following, one by one:

concierge_default_bg_daily_brief.png

concierge_default_bg_time.png concierge_default_bg_weather.png concierge_blue_bg_time.png concierge_blue_bg_weather.png.

Once you choose the pic to start working with, you will be in the main editor. Click on the picture of the sun on top. A drop down menu will appear. Choose "effects". If you want to change the opacity to transparent, choose "opacity" (scroll the menu to the side to see it). Then choose "opacity" again. You can fiddle with transparency that way. Always click the checkmark on top to save changes. If you want to fiddle with color, choose "effects", then "colors" and then "hue". Use the sliders to adjust the colors. Again, click the checkmark above to save changes. I recommend changing color first if you wish to have both transparency and color changes. You'll be able to see color changes better this way and get a good idea of what you're working with.

Once you are done with EVERYTHING and are back on the main editing page (you'll be there every time you save changes), click on the checkmark above and click on "save" in the drop down. When it prompts you to save to Gallery or to choose where to save, CHOOSE GALLERY. ALWAYS. Choosing to choose where to save will result in a prompt to install another app called Computer. Don't. It's not necessary and runs very poorly.

Okay. Now it's time to roll up our sleeves. Go to Root Explorer once you are done editing all the pics. Go to the ImageEditor folder in your onboard storage (sdcard0). That's where your images are. Check them all off and click on the copy icon on bottom. The copy icon looks like two rectangles overlapping each other. Once that's done, go to the same path I mentioned earlier when we were editing photos: /system/etc/mrg_default_forms/ConciergeBoard/default_view/container/res/drawable-xxxdpii/img/. You may see a "root" tab toward the top of the app. If you see it, great: that is actually the easiest way to get to the above path. Once you are in the img folder, click on where it says "copy here" in the lower left corner. You will get a prompt to switch to r/w, first. Go ahead and okay that. Then it will ask if you wish to replace your files. Do it. It's fine: you backed up first, remember?

Okay. Once that's done, go to each file that is marked rw-rw-rw. Click on each check mark, then click on the three dotted menu button on your far right. Choose "permissions". You will choose rw-r-r (that's read/write for owner, read for group and read for others) for each file you edited/replaced. Save your changes and then make sure each file there is rw-r-r. Then exit. You can reboot now. You should see changes after reboot.

If at first you see the widget looking as if it hadn't changed at all, don't panic. That's normal. Just give it a few seconds to refresh. If after text appears the widget looks funky or unchanged, you messed up a bit. That's okay, too. Just go back and make sure you followed every step I detailed. Or you can go to recovery, restore and start over.

If the widget happens to force close (or crash...it shouldn't), restore. Something funky happened and you'll need to start from scratch. It's a little complicated for newer folks, but it won't screw up your phone so badly it will be unusable if you mess up. It will just mess up the widget. And that can be fixed by restoring a backup.

You may discover the text on the smart card portion of the widget is a bit light after all this. You can either choose a wallpaper to accomodate, make your concierge_default_bg_daily_brief.png file less transparent or choose a solid, light color, OR you could edit the concierge.css file in

/system/etc/mrg_default_forms/ConciergeBoard/default_view/container/, but I don't recommend that unless you really know what you are doing and feel comfortable monkeying with CSS. If you or anyone else really wishes to, I can explain how to do that next time. But again, do that only if you know what to do. You CAN restore if you mess that file up, but seriously, CSS can be intimidating and confusing to a novice. A screw up could make you need to restore and start over. Very frustrating. To be safe, copy and store your edited files in a different location, like an external sd card or computer. That way, those files will always be there in case you need them.

Happy editing. Let me know if something needs further explaining.