OpenMemories-Framework

Heh, looks like the old OpenMemories hack [1] might actually have a successor now for modern cameras? The old Sony lineup actually didn't just have a Linux kernel to run its base operating system, they actually included a bastardized Android layer on top of that so people could develop apps - but it died out pretty soon, so Sony removed it after the Mark 2 models and with it went the entrypoint for rooting. [1] https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Framework/blob/master/...

You can actually mod them and write your own apps. There are even FTP or SMB apps for the sony alpha cameras: https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Framework/

Sony cameras secretly are Android devices. You can write your own Android apps for them[1]. Why this isn't advertised, promoted, & made available? Why digital cameras seem to want to get their lunch taken by phones? Not sure! I think it was way too soon, but Samsung had a good go with a series of Samsung Galaxy Cameras[2] that were proud Android brandishing devices. Android has gotten better, mobile chips have gotten way better. But even something more like the unofficial OMF that I linked, a Sony camera, that doesn't look like an Android system, it looks like a camera, but is really Android and can run Android? That makes hella-sense to me. [1] https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Framework [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_NX

Sony cameras run Linux and contain an Android subsystem (mostly 2.x AFAIK). A "cold boot" takes a bit longer (3-4 seconds), the main UI and camera functions are implemented natively as far as I can tell and Android is only used for apps. It's possible to write homebrew apps [1], but there's currently no way to access the proprietary image processor, so there's not too much you can actually do. I don't think they'll open up the platform, unfortunately. [1] https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Framework

You can even write your own apps, but since that's not officially supported by Sony the process is probably quite painful. See https://github.com/ma1co/OpenMemories-Framework