My phone is an old Xperia X10 running a custom 2.3.3 ROM built mostly on the stock ROM but with some bloat removed and some performance tweaks. I'm getting the itch to flash a new ROM and kernel, but that will probably require unlocking the bootloader which is a little riskier and more complicated than sticking with stock-based ROMs.

I also have a Nook Color, which if you can get one for under $150 (and you can often get a like-new, full-warranty refurb for less than that) is a great platform for experimenting with Android. If anyone's interested, here's my overview of what you can do with it: Flavors of Daylight: Your Nook Color Options: Root & ROMs My blog is nearly half Nook Color guides at this point

For the last couple weeks I've been running the unofficial CyanogenMod 9 Alpha (Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3). It still has a lot of issues, but I'm loving the ICS interface and a lot of the Google apps (Gmail, Gtalk, to some extent Gmusic) have really stepped up. I have a CyanogenMod 7 (Gingerbread 2.3.7) backup I can flash if the alpha bugginess gets to me, but so far I'm inclined to stick with it.

Quote Originally Posted by Artelis View Post
I did a little research after I posted. There is no update for htc desire past 2.2 - I've run the built in update check many times. Anyway, ya I've been thinking about rooting. Is there software to protect against bricking? That is my only legitimate concern. I'm a computer guy by nature, so I'm not worried about dealing with some nitty gritty.
Just rooting is pretty safe and simple with the vast majority of devices. The fear of bricking mostly dates back to the earliest iOS and Android systems. Your best bet is to spend a little time over here: HTC Desire - xda-developers

For anyone wanting to know what they can do with their Android device, I'd search it on XDA, read some stickies in your device's Development and General forums, and just be alert for material that's up to date. If the threads are huge, I'll usually read the first half dozen posts on the first page, then the last couple pages.

With most devices, there will be one main method of rooting, also known as gaining superuser access, but there will be many custom ROMs. It looks like MIUI is popular for the Desire, and CyanogenMod 7 Stable builds are a safe bet on pretty much any device officially supported by the CM team.