2017: Did I Have a Dream

To talk to the graphic, the catastrophic events of the year 2017 have had Marcus contemplating that maybe, just maybe it was all just a horrible dream.

Like the famous plot rewind in Dallas, where Bobby died, and then did not really die,   I am looking for a rewind of 2017, namely of 2 cataclysmic events

01 The Trump Election

02 The Brexit verdict

Both  I feel that will be viewed as 2 of the most pivotal and disastrous democratic decisions of our modern time.


Not All About Me
Part of becoming a mature thinking Human Being normally includes realising that just looking out for what is good for you   (to the detriment of others) is a short sighted and shitty strategy to live your life by.

So Marcus would say, sure, I make my comments on Trump and Brexit not principally on how it will affect Marcus and Agata,  but mostly on the overall negative consequences I believe it will have on others.

If I was just thinking of myself then here is a Happy Clappy video that could state our personal position (we R holding up)




Sia: Santa




2018




And the worst of it is, those who I have known personally who have contributed to both decisions are 100% still convinced it was the right thing (for them) to do.


One can spin talk to /2018 must surely be better/, but why exactly?  Do tell me.  As far as I can see the muppets are just getting started.


If only we could really leave this planet and come back later, a lot later ...





Kygo:Stole the Show

A Saturday Meditation

Gala: Freed From Desire

Subtitle: Your homework before 2018 begins

This is a polite message to all thinking people. What will make you and those you care for happier in 2018?





Links
Lyrics of Desire

A Message From One Customer

JoJo:  Too Little Too Late

Dear Apple,

Please see Above.   My Response to Your Response

https://www.apple.com/iphone-battery-and-performance/




See Also
Slow Down You Move Too Fast
Louis tells it like it is

Unbricking the Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet

Bricking a device, particularly on an open platform like Android can happen when even the most seasoned professional makes a slip of the keyboard.

So if you took my advice and bought an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet and you did something horribly wrong to it, causing it not to boot...

Well, here is a way to set it back to factory fresh

01 Download ADB version 1.0.36 or later
I would recommend the clockwork mod code but unbelievably this is at 1.0.35.   So instead

- head to SDK Platform tools
- Download the windows zip file (and I use winrar to extract it)

- I put all the files into 
C:\tofile\20171226 Tablet Root\platform-tools

02 download the Fire OS 5.6 code

750,807,925 update-kindle-40.5.9.5_user_595457320.bin


I placed it in the same directory as platform-tools

03 Power off the Tablet

You may need to hold the button for upto 40 seconds

04 Power on in Recovery mode

With the tablet off, now press the power on and volume up button (right part) together, you may then release the power then the volume buttons after the Amazon logo appears and the System recovery Menu is displayed.

Use the Volume buttons to move up and down the menu to select the wipe data/ factory reset and the power button to action

Now power off again and get it back to system recovery once more.

05 Transfer the OS file from PC to Tablet

Use the volume buttons to move to apply update from ADB and then press the power button to action

You get this prompt.  Now time to send the recovery image from the PC

Go into the platform-tools directory which also contains the .bin file

adb sideload update-kindle-40.5.9.5_user_595457320.bin

Total xfer: 2.00x

Eventually  (it took me 20 plus minutes)  the tablet reboots

And you are now back.  Personally, I did not select to restore any applications but prefer to start again from scratch.  For this Amazon tablet there is not much to restore, and the Amazon restore option will not restore the Google Play store or the Google Apps anyway, which for me represent the bulk of the configuration.


So there you have it.  
Having this method allows you to be very brave and try out all sorts of potentially OS killing commands

Why Document This?
Android contains 2 other relevant areas apart from the System partition.  These are the bootloader and the recovery partition.

For the Fire Tablet these cannot be changed.  Now if they could be you could install an alternate recovery e.g. TWRP and then you could from that recovery partition backup your whole system (say to a USB key).  Then in the event of a keyboard / brain disaster you could recovery from that backup.

But you can't do this for the Amazon tablet so this above method at least enables you to recover from any catastrophic error albeit at the expense of your time

My First Tablet

Why a Tablet
Marcus has resisted hard the need to ever buy or experience a tablet despite being in the presence of Agata whose iPad has been a constant companion to her for over 5 years.

As a typist I never really saw the point.  But in 2017 even an old Computer Junkie like Marcus sees the need

- To watch movies and other media content on trains and planes
- Something that is lighter than a laptop and with a bigger screen than a phone
- Something inexpensive and tough so I can stress free take it to places that I would not take a 2K GBP laptop to!
- Something that contains no sensitive or personal information  (cf laptop) so that if stolen I would not get too worried.


Things to Know


- The Fire HD tablets are super inexpensive
- The Fire HD 10 was on sale for 100 GBP on Black Friday but not anymore
- So the current bargains are Fire HD 7 and Fire HD 8
- This is an Android Tablet running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop fork i.e   Amazon took Google base code and modified it
- There is no Amazon device running above Lollipop except apparently the Fire TV latest gen which runs Android 7.1 Nougat.  This gives Fire HD tablet users hope that one day they might get an upgrade.  Just don't hold your breath
- Since Amazon took the Android code base and modified it, they offer their Amazon Store not the Google Play store
- The Amazon store has some familiar apps like Dropbox.  However we are going to install the Google Play store. After which I recommend only installing Play store apps if there is a choice of the same named Amazon app.  Example my Dropbox is not the Amazon app, it is the Google Play Store app.
- You can become a Developer status on the tablet, after which you can connect via a USB cable and issue some low level adb (Android Debug Bridge) commands.
- You cannot become root on this tablet, meaning adb commands are as low level as you can get
- You cannot unlock the bootloader or replace the recovery partition with TWRP
- Not being able to become root is a major limitation and ultimately restricts the usefulness of the tablet.  But as a low cost entry tablet you have to accept some compromises


Precautions

Email or Not?
I'm reading email via the Chrome browser but danger! If you allow it then make sure there is security at a level that keeps your emails safe. Why? Because in 2017 if a thief gets your primary email and knows what they are doing you may never recover.


So if the tablet is coming outside of the house (surely yes) then you can force password logon (awkward) or at least PIN security

PIN Security

Modifications
By installing the Google Play store you have access to just about any Play store application. (Some are incompatible with this release of Android i.e. 5 and so will not install). This makes this tablet useful. Without this modification you are restricted to the smattering of apps listed in the Amazon store. And games excluded that is a tiny list


Install Google Play Store

These apps must be installed in the following order:

1. Google Account Manager

2. Google Services Framework

3. Google Play Services

4. Google Play Store

NB: If you’re having problems with the install button being grayed out and rebooting doesn’t fix the problem, try this fix: When you encounter the grayed out install button, try pressing the power button to put the device to sleep, then power it back on and unlock the screen, and now the install button should work

CPU-Z

From the Play store CPU-Z reports the tablet thus

Android Developer Mode

As per regular Android press on the Serial number and after a few clicks the hidden Developer Options tab will magically appear

Enable ADB at the very least and I also switch on some extra WiFi options that tell me more about what I am connecting to.

And now you have access to many more lower level options. In particular enable adb Android Debug  (adb)
As per regular Android you can connect from your PC to the android device via a USB cable. I'd recommend the clockwordmod Installer so that on your PC the adb.exe and other utilities are installed.

(If necessary see also https://github.com/koush/support-wiki/wiki/Android-ADB-Drivers )

After enabling adb in Developer options, connect the USB cable and start adb.exe in a command line window

Lots of fun commands to try including

adb
adb shell   (then regular UNIX commands like ls )
adb bugreport
adb shell ps -P


USER     PID   PPID  VSIZE  RSS    PCY  WCHAN    PC        NAME
root      1     0     9588   1148  fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /init
root      2     0     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kthreadd
root      3     2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S ksoftirqd/0
root      5     2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/0:0H
root      7     2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S rcu_preempt
root      8     2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S rcu_sched
root      9     2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S rcu_bh
root      10    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S migration/0
root      11    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S watchdog/0
root      12    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 R watchdog/1
root      13    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 R migration/1
root      14    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 R ksoftirqd/1
root      15    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/1:0
root      16    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/1:0H
root      17    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 R watchdog/2
root      18    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 R migration/2
root      19    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 R ksoftirqd/2
root      20    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/2:0
root      21    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/2:0H
root      22    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 R watchdog/3
root      23    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 R migration/3
root      24    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 R ksoftirqd/3
root      25    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/3:0
root      26    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/3:0H
root      27    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S khelper
root      28    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 D GCPU
root      29    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S update_tz_count
root      30    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S update_secureti
root      31    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S khungtaskd
root      32    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S writeback
root      33    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S crypto
root      34    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S bioset
root      35    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kblockd
root      36    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S cmdq_auto_relea
root      37    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S cmdq_task
root      38    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S cmdq_print_coun
root      39    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S conn-md-thread
root      40    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/2:1
root      41    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S cfg80211
root      42    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S cfinteractive
root      55    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kswapd0
root      56    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S fsnotify_mark
root      68    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 D hps_main
root      69    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S accdet
root      70    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S keyEvent_send
root      71    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S accdet_disable
root      73    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S accdet_eint
root      74    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S disp_switch_mod
root      75    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S ged_notify_sw_v
root      76    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kthermp
root      77    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 D hang_detect
root      78    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S MD32_REBOOT_WQ
root      79    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/105-mt6397-
root      80    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/333-mt6397_
root      81    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/341-mt6397_
root      82    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/344-mt6397_
root      83    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/342-mt6397_
root      84    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/328-mt6397_
root      85    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/329-mt6397_
root      86    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/335-mt6397_
root      87    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S spi32766
root      90    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S uether
root      91    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S uether_rx1
root      92    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S workqueue
root      93    2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/224-hall_se
root      116   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/109-ops_bq2
root      117   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S dm_bufio_cache
root      118   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/101-1124000
root      120   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S msdc-tune
root      121   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S binder
root      125   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S mmcqd/0
root      126   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S mmcqd/0boot0
root      127   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S mmcqd/0boot1
root      128   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S mmcqd/0rpmb
root      131   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S ipv6_addrconf
root      132   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S deferwq
root      133   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S mt_gpufreq_inpu
root      134   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S usb_work
root      135   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S ddp_irq_log_kth
root      136   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S mmcqd/1
root      137   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/1:1
root      139   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 D display_esd_che
root      140   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S display_check_a
root      141   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S present_fence_w
root      142   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S decouple_fence_
root      143   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 D display_idle_de
root      144   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S sensor_polling
root      145   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S hwmsen_polling
root      146   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S accel_polling
root      147   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S pvr_timer
root      148   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S pvr_defer_free
root      149   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S pvr_devices_wd_

root      150   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S pvr_sync_defer_
root      152   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 D entropy_thread
root      153   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S emi_mpu
root      154   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 D dynamic_boost
root      155   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S PTP_CTRL_LITTLE
root      156   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S PTP_CTRL_BIG
root      157   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S PTP_CTRL_GPU
root      158   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S f_mtp
root      159   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S file-storage
root      160   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S mtk-tpd
root      161   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S gtp_esd_check
root      162   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S fts_charger_che
root      163   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S touch_resume
root      164   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S irq/338-ops_mt6
root      165   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 D bat_thread_kthr
root      166   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S wdtk-0
root      167   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S wdtk-1
root      168   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S wdtk-2
root      169   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S wdtk-3
root      171   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/3:1H
root      172   1     9352   768   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /sbin/ueventd
root      175   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/2:1H
root      176   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/0:1H
root      178   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S jbd2/mmcblk0p13
root      179   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S ext4-rsv-conver
root      180   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/1:1H
root      184   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S jbd2/mmcblk0p15
root      185   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S ext4-rsv-conver
root      189   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S jbd2/mmcblk0p14
root      190   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S ext4-rsv-conver
root      191   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S loop0
root      198   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S loop1
root      199   1     10120  356   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/kisd
system    202   1     9904   356   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/rpmb_svc
logd      206   1     37260  7488  bg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/logd
root      207   1     9808   4     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /sbin/healthd
root      208   1     13096  536   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/lmkd
system    209   1     10348  508   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/servicemanager
root      210   1     17520  736   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/vold
system    211   1     172476 3084  fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/surfaceflinger
system    212   1     10740  460   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/autokd
system    216   1     9836   372   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/6620_launcher
root      220   1     21068  1072  fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/netd
root      221   1     9884   448   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/debuggerd
root      222   1     11624  552   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/debuggerd64
install   223   1     11900  596   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/installd
root      226   1     20656  1772  fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/xbin/vitals_collection_agent

drm       228   1     51928  3308  fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/drmserver
media     229   1     208260 15892 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/mediaserver
keystore  230   1     15764  824   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/keystore
system    236   1     17964  716   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/guiext-server
root      238   1     979556 21464 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S zygote
root      240   1     10000  656   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/sh
media_rw  241   1     12848  1180  fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/sdcard
root      295   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kauditd
root      369   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S loop2
root      376   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S pvr_workqueue
root      377   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S pvr_workqueue
root      378   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S pvr_workqueue
root      383   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S jbd2/loop2-8
root      386   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S ext4-rsv-conver
root      445   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S mtk_stp_psm
root      446   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S mtk_stp_btm
root      447   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S mtk_wmtd
root      549   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S ksdioirqd/mmc2
root      550   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S stp_sdio_tx_rx
system    551   238   1247736 85848 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S system_server
root      591   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/2:2
amz_u0a44 691   238   1283168 83668 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.systemui
amz_u0a78 778   238   998004 34292 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.imp
amz_u0a34 823   238   1038584 37948 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.client.metrics
root      866   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S tx_thread
root      867   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S hif_thread
root      868   2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S rx_thread
amz_u0a124 869   238   1031536 33748 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S amazon.speech.sim
amz_u0a100 915   238   994912 28756 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.precog
wifi      917   1     16036  1564  fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/wpa_supplicant
u0_a17    940   238   1241676 62468 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.garmin.android.apps.connectmobile
u0_a21    1063  238   1148156 45580 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.google.android.inputmethod.latin
system    1093  238   1001384 26076 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.here.odnp.service:remote
amz_u0a2  1110  238   1010296 28404 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.platform
amz_u0a124 1153  238   995936 23804 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.media.session.monitor
amz_u0a105 1171  238   1032316 35712 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.tcomm
system    1189  238   991568 25120 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.dolby
amz_u0a71 1211  238   1083096 60884 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.firelauncher
amz_u0a34 1259  823   9776   468   bg  ffffffff 00000000 S logcat
u0_a18    1315  238   1288580 84048 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.google.android.gms
u0_a18    1421  238   995908 24932 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.google.process.gapps
u0_a18    1600  238   1146988 64192 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.google.android.gms.persistent
amz_u0a26 1886  238   1031652 30348 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.ivona.tts.oem
amz_u0a52 1921  238   1148880 67960 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.avod
amz_u0a75 2271  238   998332 26872 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.alta.h2clientservice
bluetooth 2426  238   1022972 29456 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.bluetooth
amz_u0a10 2436  238   1008452 29472 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.device.backup

root      2700  2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/1:2
amz_u0a52 1921  238   1148880 67960 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.avod
amz_u0a75 2271  238   998332 26872 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.alta.h2clientservice
bluetooth 2426  238   1022972 29456 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.bluetooth
amz_u0a10 2436  238   1008452 29472 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.device.backup
root      2700  2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/1:2
u0_a37    3014  238   1022920 29832 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.facebook.katana:notification
amz_u0a48 3094  238   1033276 32504 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.whisperlink.core.android
dhcp      3175  1     10048  560   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/dhcpcd
amz_u0a32 3452  238   994900 25824 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S android.process.media
root      3672  2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S ufsd_mmcblk1p1
media_rw  3674  1     13408  1700  fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /system/bin/sdcard
u0_a19    3920  238   1216960 57580 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.vending
amz_u0a49 4415  238   1008428 26404 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S amazon.alexa.tablet
amz_u0a90 4836  238   1000204 29180 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.kindleautomatictimezone
amz_u0a8  5038  238   994000 27420 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.wifilocker
u0_a37    5682  238   1164128 91632 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.facebook.katana
amz_u0a107 6261  238   1069260 44212 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.venezia
root      6304  2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/u8:0
amz_u0a83 6360  238   1102848 40060 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.kindle.kso
shell     6592  1     12856  440   fg  ffffffff 00000000 S /sbin/adbd
amz_u0a66 6598  238   998488 31728 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S android.process.acore
amz_u0a121 6659  238   1085492 30516 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.sync.provider.ipc
amz_u0a96 6684  238   1055728 38632 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.photos
u0_a20    6801  238   1071688 41204 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.google.android.talk
amz_u0a115 6887  238   1007476 29804 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.providers.calendar
amz_u0a112 6924  238   1010772 28452 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.calendar
root      6997  2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/0:1
root      7170  2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/1:3
root      7297  2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/0:2
root      7400  2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/0:0
root      7437  2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/u8:1
amz_u0a13 7489  238   1007176 48220 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.device.messaging
shell     7555  6592  12208  1364  fg  00000000 843bcf9c R ps
u0_a27    11434 238   1161180 61112 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.chrome
amz_u0a67000 11464 238   1203204 76784 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.chrome:sandboxed_process0
u0_a27    11507 238   1079244 28432 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.chrome:privileged_process0
u0_a44    12157 238   1246288 152228 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.xda.labs
amz_u0a3  12462 238   989368 23212 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.webview.metrics.service:AWVMetricsProcess
u0_a26    14711 238   1135064 72604 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.dropbox.android
system    19960 238   1074840 51884 fg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.android.settings
root      28246 2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/u8:7
amz_u0a40 29486 238   995216 26204 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.amazon.device.settings
root      29527 2     0      0     fg  ffffffff 00000000 S kworker/3:2
u0_a15    30785 238   1045252 29116 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.smartdevicelink.router

u0_a23    31123 238   1139096 41480 bg  ffffffff 00000000 S com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox:search



Turn off Advertisements
On the lock screen are adverts that must be viewed prior to unlocking the tablet.   Boy does that get annoying ...


You can try this:

adb shell

pm clear com.amazon.kindle.kso

pm hide com.amazon.kindle.kso

exit

adb reboot

Unfortunately after the most recent FireOS software update the buggers have made the above fix only transitory. Some background service notices your program removal and goes and re-installs it. So now if you want the ads removed permanently you can sign into your Amazon account and pay money. I should coco!


Alexa

Available, so this tablet is even more interesting!


Other

So Far Then
Now that the tablet is properly enhanced with the Google Play store I have my choice of regular Google Play store applications and not just the restricted and sometimes dated Amazon app store equivalents.

The tablet is fast enough for surfing

It contains no personal information and is PIN locked

The battery life exceeds 4 hours and that is good enough for me  (per day)

The cost at the Black Friday sale was 100 GBP.  Wahoo!  That was a ridiculously small price to pay for such technology

Amazon Video allows me to download TV series and other consumable media that I can watch offline anywhere.


How To Get One  (again)
10" model
8"   model
7"   model

At the time of writing the prices of all went back up again.  So I am sure it is very lucky that you followed my advice here and bought one earlier



Links
Fire HD 10 Walkthrough