goatbreaking vs master key

Got my SE (with data plan, nothing else) this wk and have been lurking here ever since. Now I’m ready for my first post to try and see if I have this straight before I dl my 1st app.

So does the Master Key method make classic “goatbreaking” (delete all files in the appdb dir and deleting the manifest file of the app) obsolete? (Just as goatbreaking itself made an older method (.bin file) obsolete). I ask because of the following things I’ve run across here:

The recent post by ls224 from this thread (http://www.samsung-eternity.com/index.php/topic,5644.msg44407.html#msg44407) mentions goatbreaking Opera. This post from Sir Americo (http://www.samsung-eternity.com/index.php/topic,4711.0.html) I think summarizes the method with Bolt as an example and says in essence we must do this for all apps to work properly (else we'll get   fouled up by the ATT Branding).

This very recent thread (http://www.samsung-eternity.com/index.php/topic,6377.0.html) does a nice summary of how to get apps working using the Master Key, but doesn’t mention goatbreaking. It mentions google maps and gps using this method. But… this is different from another recent thread by Agoattamer (http://www.samsung-eternity.com/index.php/topic,5471.0.html) on google maps which doesn’t use Master Key at all, but his appbd goatbreak.

And this one from caprediem (http://www.samsung-eternity.com/index.php/topic,1328.0.html) doesn’t mention using either goatbreak or master key, just download it Opera and it works??? I thought we had to do something to just about every app to get it “signed” properly.

So I *think* all this means that either:

1) Different apps require the different methods:

A) some apps need goatbreaking (upload jad/jar to wap site, dl to phone, TKFE copy jad/jar from PC to phone, TKFE to del files in appdb and manifest) [is this correct desc. of goatbreaking?]
B) some apps only need Master Key method (TKFE copy jad/jar from PC to phone, then on phone update Java DB | update app database)
C) some don’t need any of this; just download from WAP site and they run signed without incident

Or

2) For any given app I need to do either goatbreak or master key (or nothing at all if the app doesn’t need it). If it does need work, choose whichever I like, but Master Key is the newest (just be careful cause you can brick the phone easier with this method).

OR lastly

3) I’m wrong on both counts and am confused by hours of thread hopping.

Am I skafooged? Thanks/

Here are the different ways you can install programs:

1. Standard OTA install. The apps do not get the permissions of pre-installed apps.

2. Standard OTA with Goatbreaking. What you are really doing here is registering the app with the system using the OTA install, and then deleting files to make it appear as a pre-installed app, just like if you were to do a TKFE install.

3. TKFE and master key. You could say that doing this makes Goatbreaking obsolete, but honestly, this method is very similar to goatbreaking. When you transfer an app with USB, you are creating a folder without the manifest or appdb. The only difference is that instead of using an OTA install to register the app with the system, you are using an option in the internals menu, which requires the master key. Full privileges

4. TKFE and system DB deletion/alteration. Just like methods 2 and 3 here, the problem is how to register the app with the system. This method installs over USB, and then you alter other files on the phone to have it register the app. DO NOT USE THIS METHOD

As you can see, the latter 3 methods simply use different ways of registering the apps with the system (in such a way that they appear ATT branded), two of which are perfectly acceptable. The only downsides of Goatbreaking over TKFE/MK are that you have to have a data plan, and some uploaders have problems with certain JAR files. So, with the Master Key having been found now, Goatbreaking is obsolete, which doesn't at all take away from the fact that it was a great discovery, and would have been perfectly fine for app installation until the time we discovered the master key (which was found by agoattamer, btw).

Does that answer your question?

PS: Remember that JAD alteration is an entirely separate topic that is only somewhat related to Goatbreaking (and does require TKFE).

This was extremely helpful in helping me understand what the heck I am doing to my phone.  I won't say that I get it completely, but I at least have a general sense of what is going on now.  Thanks so much for all the great info and the free help you all provide!  I am thrilled to have found this site!
K

Threads like this are the reason I love this forum...