Honest question: How many Cyanogenmod users don't want their device to be rooted?
Though my friends are anything but representative, I don't know a single one, and I can't imagine anyone who would go through the process of rooting/unlocking/flashing, and then specifically want an unrooted device in the end.
There is a huge difference between "applications you install running as root" and "rooting a device". "rooting a device" means taking over the OS. The typical action is that once you root your android device, you then install CyanogenMod or something similar to replace the pre-installed operating system. Once Cyanogen or someting similar exists, there's no need to have userland apps running as root for the vast majority of people.
> there's no need to have userland apps running as root for the vast majority of people
But they don't - that's what the Superuser apk is for - it only runs certain apps as root, and only when needed (and authorized). Until ICS, even taking a screenshot required root, so it's not that unbelievable that users would want that functionality, and I don't see how this is substantially more secure than Superuser + OTA Rootkeeper.
I'm in that camp: I want a phone that works and is secure out of the box, but don't want all the adware and ad-supporting bloatware that Google and Apple load unto Android and iOS. This was long overdue in CyanogenMod.
(So far, CyanogenMod is the only realistic alternative for those of us who want a safe, secure, 'unbloated' phone.)
That's what I want and I don't really understand why I would want to give access to ADB or whatever.. I've used linux just enough to have a feel for what sudo is, but don't have a feel for how Android works.
I put CM7 on a Nook Color before but just got my first smartphone 2 days ago. I never updated the CM on my Nook because it seemed like a pain but plan to try to do more on the phone since I will be using it more.
Only common method I know of checking for root is the existence of the su binary.. free apps already exist on the market to temporarily rename or move the binary elsewhere and defeat these checks.
It takes 3 seconds to check this toggle box. It is a more sane default and frankly, despite loading new nightlies of CM9 every night, I never, literally never, use root.
Actually, now that I think about it, I might reinstall Adblock and use it, but Chrome for Android is so fast, I might not bother.
Though my friends are anything but representative, I don't know a single one, and I can't imagine anyone who would go through the process of rooting/unlocking/flashing, and then specifically want an unrooted device in the end.