Acronyms

**RC3435** · 04-27-2012, 12:47 PM

I'm not from the computer generation and when I buy my Rezound it will be my first smartphone. Is there a place on here that explains all these different acronyms. I just went through the post about the ics leak and came up with this list of acronyms that I don't have a clue about. OTA, ICS, RUU, Rooting, S-off, Sense 4, Rom, Kernal and I'm sure there are a lot more than this.. I grew up on a farm so I know what rooting and kernal are but I don't think the meaning that I know of is the same meaning you all use. As for the rest of them I'm as lost as a ball in tall weeds. If there isn't a place where this stuff is described could someone please explain what these all mean. This info would make a nice sticky note for people like me that didn't grow up with this stuff. Thanks for the help.

**MrSmith317** · 04-27-2012, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by RC3435

I'm not from the computer generation and when I buy my Rezound it will be my first smartphone. Is there a place on here that explains all these different acronyms. I just went through the post about the ics leak and came up with this list of acronyms that I don't have a clue about. OTA, ICS, RUU, Rooting, S-off, Sense 4, Rom, Kernal and I'm sure there are a lot more than this.. I grew up on a farm so I know what rooting and kernal are but I don't think the meaning that I know of is the same meaning you all use. As for the rest of them I'm as lost as a ball in tall weeds. If there isn't a place where this stuff is described could someone please explain what these all mean. This info would make a nice sticky note for people like me that didn't grow up with this stuff. Thanks for the help.

I know there is one somewhere but I'll knock out the ones you asked about(and they're actually initialisms ;-0 )

OTA = Over The Air. This is how we get updates via the data connection on our phones vs updating via an application on the computer.

ICS = Ice Cream Sandwich. Android 4.0

RUU = Rom Update Utility. This is an official packaging of the operating system that can be manually flashed on the phone. Think of it as an O/S install disc.

Rooting = Granting superuser access on your phone. Think of it as logging in as an "administrator"

S-On/S-Off = Security On/Security Off. This is how the phone is locked. Security On forces checking of signatures(for updates/installs) and locks certain system partitions. Security Off allows pretty much anything.

Sense 4 = Sense version 4. Sense is the default launcher and set of widgets and integration items developed by HTC.

ROM = Term derived from "Read Only Memory" which has expanded to audio discs(CD-ROM), video discs(DVD-ROM/Blu-Ray ROM), video game emulation, and system software for devices.

Kernel = The core of the operating system.