what is AKU?

[buggybug0]

My question is really simple for many of you.

What exactly is AKU? I've seen that word gets thrown alot on this forum, and i figureed it's like a operating system or soemthing. so what's the difference between say AKU2.3 and the default Dopod 818 Pro WWE rom? is AKU2.3 more recent than the dopod rom?

Also, when i download those ROMs, there are alway sthree numbers, what are those numbers? ie. 2.13.xxxx 2.09.2222 2.07.1111, something like that? are those IPL, SPL, and Radio firmware versions respectively? I'm uberly confused.

thanks

[mccune]

What Is An AKU
Microsoft creates updated builds of the Windows Mobile operation system called Adaptation Kit Updates (AKU). These releases are rarely intended directly for consumers, and are usually a result of some extra features or fixes required by a particular Windows Mobile device. For example, if an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) decides to add a new kind of external keyboard to a Windows Mobile Pocket PC, then some extra driver code will be required - in that case, Microsoft creates an AKU to drive the hardware.

Developer impact

It is rarely the case that developers need to know which device is running which AKU. The goal is that every device running Windows Mobile 5 runs every application. When a developer takes into account different screen sizes and orientations, either by design or programmatically, then the application should run on all Windows Mobile hardware.

End user impact

The end user of a device doesn't need to know anything about AKU builds. Perhaps a particular model of device will be updated to have new features (for example, push email) but that depends on whether the OEM and the operators decide to implement those features.

Source:
Channel9 (http://channel9.msdn.com/wiki/default.aspx/MobileDeveloper.WhatIsAnAKU)

[levenum]

This question prompted me to add a thread to the encyclopedia section, but then I noticed that those nifty auto links no longer work.

Now far be it for me to argue with Channel9 but:

These releases are rarely intended directly for consumers
So far there have been no AKU releases intended directly for the consumers nor can there be given the current format which requires flashing the whole image.

I also disagree with their assessment of the end user impact.
Not all but most people care if the brand new device they bought can do push mail, is secure or has the newest messenger version.

[mccune]

I'm with you Levenum ;)

[vanilaguy]

What Is An AKU
Microsoft creates updated builds of the Windows Mobile operation system called Adaptation Kit Updates (AKU). These releases are rarely intended directly for consumers, and are usually a result of some extra features or fixes required by a particular Windows Mobile device. For example, if an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) decides to add a new kind of external keyboard to a Windows Mobile Pocket PC, then some extra driver code will be required - in that case, Microsoft creates an AKU to drive the hardware.

Developer impact

It is rarely the case that developers need to know which device is running which AKU. The goal is that every device running Windows Mobile 5 runs every application. When a developer takes into account different screen sizes and orientations, either by design or programmatically, then the application should run on all Windows Mobile hardware.

End user impact

The end user of a device doesn't need to know anything about AKU builds. Perhaps a particular model of device will be updated to have new features (for example, push email) but that depends on whether the OEM and the operators decide to implement those features.

Source:
Channel9 (http://channel9.msdn.com/wiki/default.aspx/MobileDeveloper.WhatIsAnAKU)

This sucks bigtime.