We have been following Peter Alfonso’s work ever since the beginning, so whenever we see him pump out new ROMs, we like to give them some spotlight. This release is Bugless Beast for the Galaxy Nexus. Downloads for the ROM have been available for a bit now, but with him constantly updating it and there even being nightlies, we figured we should point everyone to the newest and best download that’s available. 

Pete’s ROMs are known for their stability and excellent selection of customizations. It may not have as much razzle-dazzle as the AOKP, but this ROM can keep up with the best of them. There are some added live wallpapers, 180 degree rotation, and the notification bar toggles straight from AOKP. You can view the full changelog here.

You must be rooted to attempt the following installation!

Instructions on installing:

1. Download the Bugless Beast zip file.
2. Place zip on your phone’s storage.
3. Reboot into ClockworkMod Recovery.
4. Create a nandroid backup immediately before proceeding.
5. Wipe data/cache.
6. Locate BB zip file and then install.
7. Reboot and enjoy the wonders.

If you have any questions or concerns, place them down below in the comments section and we will do our best to help you out. Owners of different devices can also get in on the Bugless Beast action by checking out Pete’s large library of ROMs on his site. Have fun and good luck.

Cheers @Pete!

Custom ROM Friday: Peter Alfonso’s Bugless Beast for the Galaxy Nexus is a post from: Droid Life

Our buddy Pete Alfonso has released an Ice Cream Sandwich build for Motorola XOOM owners on Verizon’s network. The WiFi version of the XOOM receives update love straight from Google and Moto, but with this Ice Cream Sandwich update having to go through Verizon, it tends to make the process a bit longer. For all of our friends who are impatient, you can grab the download link just below and enjoy ICS today! 

For installation, you will need to be rooted with a custom recovery installed that will allow users to flash custom zips. Just make sure to perform a backup and then wipe your device completely so no issues arise. Shoot your questions down below if you have any troubles and we can try to help.

Download Link

Cheers Ben! 

Peter Alfonso Releases Ice Cream Sandwich Build For Verizon’s Motorola XOOM is a post from: Droid Life

Now that is a name we haven’t heard in some time, “Bugless Beast.” The original DROID ROM that was one of the staples back in the day has returned thanks to our buddy Peter Alfonso. Instead of continuing on with his GPA series, he’s going back to Bugless as the name is just to sweet to let retire. He has also added support for a handful of other devices like the Nexus S, Nexus One and DROID Incredible (beta) that are probably worth checking out. OG DROID owners though, you can feel good knowing that you are running Android 2.3.7 before most of the rest of the world.

Downloads available in ROM Manager.

More info. Changelog.

Cheers Mike and Kris!

Pete Brings Back Bugless Beast, Updates Original DROID to Android 2.3.7 is a post from: Droid Life

We are no strangers to the work of Peter Alfonso, here at Droid Life. Pete has been pumping out ROMs since the beginning, and he just keeps on delivering for the masses. His newest release is GPA17, which is Android 2.3.5 for the Motorola DROID. Pete has added in a few noticeable features of course.  You have to love the fact that this device is still getting love, but we should point out that this may be his last update for a while since he is headed back to school.  

*Rooted OG users only!

Added features:

• 180 degree rotation
• Overclockable kernel
• CPU toolkit (can be removed by deleting “Toolkit.apk”)
• FLAC audio support
• Ad-hoc network support
• Facebook sync
• Reboot option
• Modified widget picker
• Headset/headphone icon in statusbar
• Latest Google apps
• Busybox
• Bug fixes/code improvement from CyanogenMod

Download GPA17

Download the file onto your SD card, then flash using ClockworkMod Recovery. Don’t forget to make a backup, since we recommend a full wipe of your device before flashing. If you have any questions or run into any problems, let us know.

For anymore info, visit Pete’s website.

Cheers Nick and Chris!

Download: GPA17 (Android 2.3.5) For The Motorola “OG” DROID By Peter Alfonso is a post from: Droid Life

Our buddy Pete Alfonso continues to work his magic to make the original DROID one of the most current Android devices on the planet.  Today, he’s releasing Android 2.3.5 through DL so that OG owners can have it before almost any other smartphone.  There aren’t a lot of spicy changes, but there are new GApps, an updated Search app that is not in the market yet, Gtalk with video and the new market.

Download:  generic_sholes-ota-eng-pete.zip

As usual, download the file from above and drop it on your SD card.  After that, boot into recovery through ROM Manager, make a backup and then “install zip from sd card.”

And just in case he updates it, you’ll want to check this folder.  Here is his github.

Be sure to keep up with Pete at his site and on Twitter!

Android 2.3.5 Released for the Original DROID by Peter Alfonso is a post from: Droid Life

Peter Alfonso is a man well known for keeping our old favorite Motorola DROID, aka “OG” (we started that) alive and kicking. He is still making this phone his main priority and is releasing a new build of Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread for the 550 MHz processor rocking relic. So all we can do is thank him a million times over for dedicating all his time to this project and making this phone more up to date than carriers would have ever expected. 

For Original DROID Devices Only!

Download: GPA16

Download: Secret CPU Toolkit Zip (Adds CPU Settings straight to the Android settings menu)

Instructions: Place the zips on the root of your SD Card – Flash in ClockworkMod Recovery.

The ROM includes all the new Google goodies. The new Market, and also Google Talk with video capabilities. Hope everyone enjoys the new ROM, and as always, please let us know below in the comments if you run into any issues.

For more info, changelog, check out Pete’s Blog and follow him on Twitter!

Peter Alfonso Releases GPA16 (GB 2.3.4) For The DROID – And We Have The Hidden File is a post from: Droid Life

Our boy Peter Alfonso released an updated Stock Gingerbread ROM for the Original Droid over the weekend. This one is entitled GPA15 and from Pete’s words is supposed to be the best. We can never get enough love for our beloved DROID.

Link to download and instructions after the jump!  

If coming from an earlier build or a different ROM in general, I would recommended a full wipe.

Step 1: Download this file and place on the root of your SD Card. (Changelog)
Step 2: Boot in Clockwork Recovery and wipe both Data and Cache.
Step 3: Using Clockwork, navigate to the .zip file and flash the ROM.

And as we all know, Step 4 is to enjoy! Let us know what you think in the comment section below. He also wants you to note that if you have no sound when making a call, you need to reboot once.

For additional info and Changelog head to Pete’s website!

Cheers Pete!

Download: Stock Rooted Gingerbread For The “OG” Droid – GPA15 is a post from: Droid Life

We made mention of Pete’s new Android 2.3.3 ROM (GPA13) for the original DROID yesterday alongside the news that Google Music syncing went live in Gingerbread, but wanted to make sure you all really knew that it was available.  This is the latest build in his quest to bring the OG the newest versions of Android currently available.  And since we’re pretty sure that this phone will never receive an official build, know that this is as close as you’ll probably ever get.

Download:  GPA13DEODEXED.zip

For those new to ROMs, be sure to check out our entire guide for rooting your DROID.

More info can be found at Pete’s site.  Follow him on Twitter.

Download: Stock Android 2.3.3 for Original DROID (Rooted) is a post from: Droid Life

Original DROID users, it’s time to get your Gingerbread on and you can thank our friend Peter Alfonso for it.  With most of us accepting the fact that the OG will never see an official Android 2.3 build from Moto, Pete has taken it upon himself to make sure you get damn close.  His newest ROM is a stock AOSP 2.3.2 build which is about as new as you’ll see, but the plans are for this to be updated as Google updates, meaning you’ll definitely see 2.3.3 the minute it’s available.  And when I say “stock” I’m not messing around.  Sure, he tweaked some things here and there to give you a great experience, but on the outside, it will look just like an official update that you have received OTA.  Stock launcher, ringtones, wallpaper, boot animation and neural network live paper are all included, so this won’t feel like a “custom” ROM, but that’s the point.

The goal is for this to become a way to keep the hundreds of thousands of OG users running the latest Android build.  You’ll notice in the filename below a “GPA10″ which is the start of his naming convention.  As you see that number continue to rise, that will likely mean that you need to update to the latest build.

And if you don’t want that 100% stock feel, don’t worry as he’ll be adding features to Bugless Beast.

Thanks Pete!

Download:  GPA10DEODEXED.zip

Flash to your phone just as you would any other ROM.  Please make a backup!

Additional details and support can be found at Pete’s site.

Download: Stock Android 2.3.2 for Original DROID by Peter Alfonso is a post from: Droid Life

Hey everyone~

Welcome to an idea I’ve had in my brain for a little while. I thought to myself how cool it would be to chat “Q&A” style with Androids most popular and hard to reach Developers. To try and get under the surface a bit and see just what these guys are all about. My buddy and fellow reader TechDeft have decided to track these people down and ask them the questions we think everyone wants the answers to!

Last week I had a rare privilege to sit down (at a computer) with Mr. Peter Alfonso, the man behind one of the most popular custom ROMs to date, ‘Bugless Beast’. As a fan and frequent user myself I was very excited and even nervous to be chatting with him. As it turns out though, he is a super easy going and NICE guy! We love that! Makes for an easy chat and we hope you like it as much as we did!

-Tim-o-tato

———————————————————————-

Tim-o-tato: So Mr. Pete, if you could for people who may not know (live under a rock), could you please introduce yourself and tell us what you do?

Pete: Well, people call me Pete. By day I am a student and employee at Advance Auto Parts and by night I work on Bugless Beast. Currently in my second year of college.

TechDeft: College student?  Whats your major?

Pete: Currently I’m finishing my last semester at a local community college. My major is computer science. I recently switched it.

Tim-o-tato: What were you taking before?

Pete: I used to want to pursue a career as an orthodontist but then I bought a Droid and my life changed   So most of my classes I completed are no longer needed for Computer Science major so I am a bit behind in school now.

TechDeft: So you wanted to give people braces and now you want to do comp sci!  And you saw Droid commercials, and now you are going to program. That’s quite a shift!  Were friends and family surprised?

Pete: Well to be honest I have no idea what sparked the orthodontist thing. I had braces when I was younger and most parents tell their kids, “Your going to be a doctor when you grow up” so I just went with it. Once I decided to switch my family was not surprised. My mom works for IBM, I think she knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

Tim-o-tato: How did you hear about the Android OS? Or the Droid in general.

Read the rest of the interview with Pete after the jump!

Pete: I have always heard of “Android” but never really knew what it was before my Droid. One of my friends had bought an HTC Hero and I noticed how well it combined all of the Google services I was using. So I decided to do some research on these phones. At the time the Droid commercials got me hooked.

Tim-o-tato: Yea, those commercials are what got me too! So have you always been sort of a tech guru? Into programming and things of that nature?

Pete: Actually before buying my Droid I had opened a command prompt window only a few times! That’s how I know this is what I was meant to do. I pick it up and learn this extremely fast!

Tim-o-tato: So how did you learn about it?

Pete: I have always been around technology, but nothing like what I do now.  After buying the Droid (the day it came out) I was curious as to why some of the stock applications could not be removed. This REALLY bothered me so I decided to Google, “How to remove amazon mp3 android” or something similar. The search eventually led me to a You-tube video of a kid typing in some commands into a terminal to remove the app. I eventually found out root access was needed. After I rooted my Droid, I found these threads that would provide simple tutorials on how to add apps or remove apps but at the time I thought these people were like gods. After I became more comfortable and able to add or remove a few things I decided to make a “ROM” for my friends.

Tim-o-tato: So then how is it that you got to where you are these days? ‘Interwebs celebrity’ status! Did you know your work would become such a success??

Pete: I decided to post my “ROM” (although at the time I had no clue what a “ROM” was) on forums and some people were daring enough to try my work! I got a lot of positive feedback so I kept working. Then I got my own section and was labeled a “developer”. Just seeing that motivated me more than you could believe. I would wake up with ideas in my head and try them until they worked.

TechDeft: And how did that translate to what we see today?  Many hours of hard work? Inspiration?

Pete: Tons of hard work! I stay up very late most nights reading and trying to learn as much as possible. Inspiration yes, the feedback I got from people using my ROM and the “Developer” label under my name pushed me to continue.

TechDeft: What do you feel is currently lacking in your work? What do you wish you could improve that you do not have the knowledge to do?

Pete: Well, as I mentioned earlier I am in my second year of college. Unfortunately I have not had any classes to guide me with any of this. So far its all been self taught. You can mark my words, V0.6 will be built from source. I have never had the time to set aside to teach myself how to do it. But after I release V0.5 that will be my goal. I am sure I can do it, I just need to put aside some time and learn how. Things might be quiet for a while but that’s because I will be learning how

TechDeft: That is a question I see come up often, how come there is so much time between Bugless Beast versions, would you say that is generally because you are trying incorporate a new feature that you have to teach yourself?

Pete: Well when I first started I used to update about every 2 days, although I did learn a ton I did not manage my time well at all. Lately the releases have been more spread out because I learn so much in between that I try to incorporate in my release. Every release is somewhat of an expression of what I have learned, as I go on the ROM will get better and better as I learn.

TechDeft: Which is extremely impressive…do your friends and family know how deep into software development you are?

(TechDeft bails for work)

Pete: As far as family knowing. Most don’t really understand. My Mom does though. In fact when I have a question I go to her. lol

Tim-o-tato: So Pete, what’s it like being one of the most bugged Developers on the planet? People always asking for ETAs??

Pete: Well it’s actually very difficult. When it comes to building Bugless Beast (or anything that I have made actually) I am VERY OCD about it. I feel that if my name is going to be put on it that it has to be perfect. Because of this I am the only person I trust to work on my ROM and have very limited time to do so. I love the fact that people want the latest versions though. As far as being bugged, I get an insane amount of emails a day, I wish I could reply to all of them but it is impossible. For those who have emailed me and never got a response, please do not feel that I ignored you.  In my section on various forums I try to be as kind as possible to the users and answer their questions. I can relate to them and write it in a way they understand because I was there not long ago.

Tim-o-tato: I’m sure everyone appreciates that! What about other Developers ROMs? Are there any Developers out there whom you admire their work a great deal or anything of that nature?

Pete: Yes, the work that “Xeudoxus” does is simply amazing. I could only wish that one day I will be as knowledgeable as him. Another Dev I admire is “t3hSteve”, when the Droid first came out he did some great work as well. I haven’t seen any activity from him lately but maybe that just means he moved on to bigger and better things.  Really, all the Devs are great in there own ways.

Tim-o-tato: So what is it about your ROM’s in general that you think draw SOOO MANY users? You post a ROM and servers crash!  What makes your so special?

Pete: I honestly have no clue. The things I see mentioned about my ROM’s the most are stability, performance, and increased battery life. I suppose that’s the mixture that makes the servers crash! I also feel that I relate to people a lot more than some other Devs since I just started 6 months ago. I still consider myself a noob and feel like a nuisance when I reach out to ask a Dev a question. It might sound crazy that I consider myself a “noob”, but I feel that there is much much more to learn. I have only skimmed the surface. I have so many ideas that I can not implement until I have the knowledge to do so.

Tim-o-tato: Then that makes me an ULTRA noob! Haha Is there anything in the works that you might want to hint readers at, at all?

Pete: Well, lets just say some extra “goodies” will be included in V0.5  And on the subject of noobs, V0.5 will be the most user friendly ROM to have flashed to a noobs Droid. It will come with EVERYTHING they need. I will be doing some things that have not been done in previous ROMs.

Tim-o-tato: Oh really? Care to elaborate?

Pete: I don’t want to elaborate too much because it will be kanged before it gets out

Tim-o-tato: The name Bugless Beast. Where did it derive from?

Pete: Bugless Beast started out as Bugless Beauty. I wanted to provide a completely stable ROM. At the time, most of the ROMs had a small bug here and there and were mostly for advanced users to flash. I wanted something that would give users more features yet still be completely stable. Bugless Beauty was not overclocked. Someone suggested making an overclocked version for the more daring users and deeming it “Bugless Beast”. I supported both builds for a while as I learned what the Droid could handle. When I realized the Beast was still completely stable, I focused my attention on it and dropped the beauty.

Tim-o-tato: So I’m gonna ask you a couple silly Q’s. Feel free to go wild on them!

Tim-o-tato: If Steve Jobs offered you a job at Apple. Would you take it?

Pete: Wow! Let me think about this one lol just kidding I would turn it down.  I think I’d rather continue selling auto parts at Advance then work at Apple!

Tim-o-tato: Good answer!

Tim-o-tato: Task killers….do you use one?

Pete: No no no! Task killers are the biggest waste of time and money for Android users. They are simply not needed, the OS handles task perfectly without them.

Tim-o-tato: Tell us something that people would never know about you!

Pete: Oh gosh, I don’t know If I want to admit it lol

Tim-o-tato: Do it

Pete: Guess what phone I had before the Droid?

Tim-o-tato: Oh no!!! Say it ain’t so!!! iPhone?

Pete: You said it, not me

Tim-o-tato: Well my opinion of you has changed! haha

Pete: Haha! When I got my Droid I gave the iPhone to my mom. She hated it with a passion so I bought her a G1. Android family for life!

Tim-o-tato: So other then Bugless, and auto parts….what takes up your time? Any Bugless lady friends?

Pete: Well this is terrible but I did have a lady. Lost her to Bugless Beast I guess you could say. Too much time on the Droid lol This time I have learned how to set the Droid down and finish working on it later. Thats why BB V0.5 has been taking so long lol

Tim-o-tato: Oh no!  That’s too bad!

Pete: Its OK, everything happens for a reason!  That was a while ago, back when we were running android 2.0  Now I got my eye on someone else UPDATE: He got her!!! Congrats Pete!

Tim-o-tato: Pssh, 2.0 was ages ago!

Tim-o-tato: So I know you’re busy. Is there ANYTHING you want to say to the community or in general before I let you go?

Pete: Hmmmm….let me think.  I really just want to say thank you to all those who use Bugless Beast and to those who have donated to me. Without their support I would have never found my true calling. I would have been stuck working on kids braces all day as a career. Now I can pursue my dreams!!!

Tim-o-tato: And what are your dreams?

Pete: My dreams are to work for Google. I just smiled typing that!

Tim-o-tato: Awe! That’s awesome man. I wish you the best of luck. And I am sure I speak for everyone when saying that!

Pete: Thanks man, you better believe Im not gonna stop until I make it!

Tim-o-tato: Pete, I wanna thank you for your time and generosity in allowing us the privilege to talk to you!

Hope to see you drop by Droid-Life sometime!

Pete: No problem! Anytime!

———————————————————

Hope you all have enjoyed the first of many Q&A’s. If anyone has any questions for future Developers, please leave it in the comment section below and we will do our best to get it done! Thanks everyone!

Tim-o-tato & TechDeft

*You can stay up to date with Pete at his excellent website!

*Tim is in a band! Check it out!

*TechDeft is an IT wizard! Check his blog HERE.

The Tato Series: An Interview with Peter Alfonso is a post from: Droid Life