SlimRoms

Key takeaways

SlimRoms belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SlimRoms to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SlimRoms from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SlimRoms (also Slim7, Slim6, SlimLP, SlimKat or SlimBean) is an Android custom ROM. Its main feature is the many setting options of the user interface. The last release was in 2018. Since September 2, 2015 SlimRoms has been organised as a United Kingdom limited company, after having previously been a German registered association (an e. V.) in Germany.

Features The name of the current SlimRoms version is usually composed of Slim and the code name of the Android version used. An exception is the current version called Slim6 (Android version: Marshmallow). Some of these features are no longer included in SlimRoms since SlimLP. In most cases the reason is the change of the user interface of Android with the introduction of the material design for Android 5.0 and upwards.

Features no longer available since SlimLP

TRDS With "the real dark Slim" option (TRDS) dark backgrounds in the menu of the versions SlimKat and SlimBean were coloured deep black and not dark grey like e.g. Stock-Android. Furthermore, some Google Apps were partially inverted. The light backgrounds became black and the font turned white. This option could optionally be adjusted automatically depending on the lighting conditions.

SlimPie With SlimPIE there was a customizable menu based on CyanogenMod's CM Pie, which appeared semicircular when touched at the edge of the screen. This allowed shortcuts to apps or functions without navigating through menus.

Dialer The dialer of SlimRom allows you to browse telephone books and additionally displays corresponding telephone book entries for incoming calls. However, this function is only available in Canada and the USA.

Shake Events Shake events allowed the user to start certain apps or lock the device when shaking it. Here it could be set whether a distinction should be made between horizontal and vertical shaking.

Camera The camera has been enhanced with SmartCapture and TrueView functions. The former is intended to enable particularly short shutter release times, the latter is intended to display the entire area captured by the camera.

Characteristics not affected by this

Google Apps For licensing reasons - as with almost all custom ROMs - the Google Apps are not pre-installed, but they can be installed later via recovery (e.g. TWRP).

Launcher By default, the Google Now Launcher and the Slim Launcher are installed, but the user chooses one of the two when setting up for the first time. A special feature of the SlimRom are the detailed setting options of the graphical user interface: Among other things, the start bar and the quick settings menu can be changed, and entries can be added and removed. In addition, it is possible to change the color and sometimes - like the battery symbol - the shape of individual entries such as the power menu and the status bar. The behavior of animations when scrolling through menus can also be adjusted. The user can choose from about 10 different animations.

SlimRecents The menu of recently used applications has also been revised and renamed SlimRecents. A sidebar appears, showing the most recently used applications. A special feature of SlimRom is that it can also be displayed on the left side of the screen, e.g. to enable left-handed users to operate the device more easily.

Privacy Guard SlimRom has a so-called Privacy Guard, which allows to revoke the permissions of an app afterwards. This prevents potential security risks caused by too many authorizations on the part of the developers.

Root access The superuser is available, but it must be enabled in the developer options first. A rights management is already pre-installed, so that a subsequent installation of corresponding apps is not necessary. Superuser is replaced in SlimLP by CyanogenMod's PrivacyGuard, however.

Notifications SlimRom allows users to have notifications displayed as bars at the top or bottom of the display. This option is disabled by default and must be enabled manually for each app individually. Another customization option of the custom ROM is the ability to display apps or contacts in the notification bar.

New features introduced with SlimLP

Slim Dim With SlimDim, the navigation bar can be dimmed to a level desired by the end device user during inactivity, so that the buttons are less conspicuous. When touched near the buttons they light up again.

Availability Currently 60 different devices are supported, a list can be found on the former project page. However, only for about 25 devices the latest version of the ROM can be downloaded from the project page.

Reception In March 2015 website difficulties and infrastructure improvements were highlighted by XDA Developers. In October 2015 project difficulties were discussed in more detail. In June 2016 XDA announced SlimRoms' release of Slim6 Marshmallow. In 2017 John Hoff of AndroidCommunity.com reviewed Slim7 version 1.0, SlimRoms’ first stable Nougat build. He said it came without unneeded bloat, and was very fast as a result. Resurrection Remix is partly based on SlimRoms. In 2017 Andreas Hitzig of PCWelt recommended SlimRoms as "slimmer but less demanding systems" as alternatives to Cyanogenmod.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SlimRoms

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SlimRoms claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SlimRoms before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SlimRoms ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SlimRoms

In research: SlimRoms appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SlimRoms in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SlimRoms is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Custom Android firmware, CyanogenMod, Embedded Linux, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SlimRoms outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study SlimRoms in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SlimRoms means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SlimRoms out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SlimRoms in simple terms?

SlimRoms (also Slim7, Slim6, SlimLP, SlimKat or SlimBean) is an Android custom ROM. Its main feature is the many setting options of the user interface.

Why does SlimRoms matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SlimRoms?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SlimRoms.