ROM suggestions, need some guidance please - Vibrant Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Guys,
Sometime this week gonna revert back to eclair via odin for a few reasons, boy I wish I knew this place existed before using samsung kies mini to update to 2.2.
I want to get back to 2.1 get it the way I want it, nandroid that puppy then move on to a new rom. I assume this will be my emergency fall back should things go wrong when the experimenting starts.
I originally went to 2.2, rooted, via titanium backup removed lots of bloatware, never really thinking to back things up in case or anything. Then found out today via MUCH reading (after my clockworkmod recovery install failed due to signature issue) and finally made my first post to find out that the 3e recovery would not allow me get the recovery console changed, etc etc. I hope that sounded right.
It will be a good learning experience so heck, why not.
My real question is this, since I am new to the rom scene, I would like some suggestions on first time rom users.
I am not a heavy user at all, I don't play games, I don't watch tv on the phone, I don't facebook or social network or anything along those lines. I don't use the GPS, etc etc. I don't use email on the phone, rather I go to my web mail instead.
All I do thus far is make calls, txt and go on the net to my usual places. For every app I had interest in on the market, I can just go to a website, basically checking weather and things like that.
Any suggestions on a good solid proven rom that does what I need but is bug free as possible. I don't think I am ready for cutting edge stuff yet.
I keep my phones simple, black background, no fancy animations of any kind. I like minimal and that also helps with battery life etc etc.
Please point me in the right direction. I checked the development section and there are so many to choose from, I am not sure really what I am reading about half the time. All this stuff with improved modems, kernels and such.
Just want to start the learning process and get my feet wet with a nice solid rom for me to explore and maybe start to take advantage of what the phone has to offer.
Thanks for listening to my verbal diarrhea btw
ps - most interesting is that I am a die hard linux user other than at work, all home pc's and laptops have it. I am pretty well versed in dealing with linux so I hope this will be easy to pick up over time.
edit I keeping reading that bionix 1.3.1 is pretty darn good and stable, what ya think? I see on their website there is touchwiz and gingerbread editions, not sure what the difference is?

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bionix is a good start for a noob!

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First of all, welcome. My laptop is running Debian and ODIN friggin hates it! I always have to go to my PC running XP to get ODIN to werk when I goof something up. Just a tip. As for a stable ROM Bionix is a great choice for a first flash. I personally have always been a big fan of MALICE. There are tons of options as you can see and everyone has their own opinion. Good luck!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA Premium App

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Thanks guys, after doing more reading last night, I think bionix will be my first go. Gonna odin back to 2.1 today at work, do the usual steps, nandriod it, then jump into bionix.
Despite being nervous, I hope it goes fine
kawika: yep, will doing everything at work on my xp machine

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I've had good luck with Project V as well.

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Check out ZenDroid too. Very slim and snappy. And ECOTOX's DragonMOD kernels are fantastic for battery life and performance too.
Sent from my SGH-T959

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i went with simply galaxy first and pretty much been with it since, iv tried loads of roms for a few days here and there but none of them seem to have the same feel that simply galaxy did as soon as i tried it
and touchwiz is like stock is and gingerbread is like ..... with the 3d app drawer, i prefer touchwiz but thats just me
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I would recommend Project V, its pretty fast and stable. And for the kernel, Super Dragonmodz if you want stability and performance, but OK battery life, and Bali's 1.8.6UV if you want battery life, but OK performance.

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With regards to galaxy and project V, how is the stability, like I mention, I am a very light user and don't do much other than call, txt and use the web, maybe take a pic here and there or hd video but not often? I have been reading through different rom threads and all seem to have small issues, nothing serious but would like to install something that I don't have to uninstall right away.
I am back to 2.1, already rooted, bloatware removed and backup created and done via clockworkrecovery console.
So, I am just about ready to start playing but don't want to go to crazy trying different roms every few days.
Thanks for your comments BTW

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The stability I've had on Project V is near perfect. No FCs, etc. I'd have to say of the ROMs I've used recently (including CM7 which is fun to play with and is pretty stable but just not my cup of tea right now) Project V has been the one that I like the best.
CM7 is fun being AOSP but having played with it, there are things that Samsung did that I actually prefer so Project V fits my needs well.

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I installed bionix touchwiz just to get my feet wet since I really couldn't make up my mind. It's nice, fast, only problem is can't update superuser but not really a big deal.
I am sure shortly I'll move to one of the others you guys recommended.
Process was pretty straight forward so now all my nervousness is gone in terms new rom installs and such.

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i was like that at first
was thinkin about it like a week then finally did it lol

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Welcome to our world, prepare to become a flash addict. It really is simple and remember ODIN is your friend. Although its alot like your drunken friend that doesn't like to listen all the time and you gotta slap him around to get it to werk right sometimes and he's a mean drunk too not a funny sloppy drunk.
As to Project V - I've only been running it for a day now and everything runs fine for me no bugs as of yet. Only issue for me is I HATE THE PINK TMOBILE CRAP! boot and shutdown. It was the reason I first rooted and started playing with my phone, I had to get that off it. Now I've been so spoiled with bootanimation.zip's that I can't remember how to get rid of it, LOL. Oh well, as is life I just miss my XDA bootanimation. Glad you got it figured out!

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Yep, it's just like modding my subaru, once it starts the mod bug never ends, hahahaha.
So played with bionix a bit and realized it really does look like froyo but with some nice added touches and runs nicely.
So, of course, as you said, I can see lots of flashing in the future eventhough, half the roms, I don't really understand all the tech stuff they put in the OP.
One more question, of course, using any future rom, is it always best to odin back to 2.1 before going with a new rom?
I see in other rom threads that ppl just flash over the current rom to a new one, sometimes with success, sometimes not. Some ppl clear all the caches as well? what's your guys take on this or is it best to use the directions that are normally clearly posted in the makers OP?
So again, can't thank you guys enough, I am sure I will chime in here and there with more questions, hopefully not ones due to mistakes LOL!

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doesnt hurt to flash over the top, i havent had any problems
i started by going back to 2.1 but then odin had a spaz and froze on me for like 10 min so i unplugged and was hard bricked, had to take it to get fixed so now i dont odin unless i have to
if its going to freeze you want it to be at the beginning, can get it back from there it was doing the last thing for me when i hard bricked
i just..
factory reset/wipe data
clear cache
flash
advanced menu
wipe dalvik
fix permissions
go back
reboot, leave for 10 min
reboot again
some roms just say wipe then flash and reboot but i still go through all that just to make sure it goes ok, only takes like 20 sec more

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kyle51 said:
doesnt hurt to flash over the top, i havent had any problems
i started by going back to 2.1 but then odin had a spaz and froze on me for like 10 min so i unplugged and was hard bricked, had to take it to get fixed so now i dont odin unless i have to
i just..
factory reset/wipe data
clear cache
flash
advanced menu
wipe dalvik
fix permissions
go back
reboot, leave for 10 min
reboot again
some roms just say wipe then flash and reboot but i still go through all that just to make sure it goes ok, only takes like 20 sec more
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't agree more with everything in this post. ODIN is rarely called upon for me unless I borked something up and need saving or if I flash 2.3 or higher. The only thing I do different is I always flash a ROM with my battery at 100% and in the advanced menu I also do the clear battery option. Also after initial reboot I let it sit 15min then turn off completely without doing any setup and then let it sit again for another 10min. Every time I flash a new ROM I don't use the phone for at least 30min just letting it sit and reconfigure. Good luck!
*TIP* If you find issues with data or reception try flashing different modems. These are easypeasy just flash in CwRecovery no need for any clearing of stats or any real precautions just flash the duck outta them! Kernels are the same way.
*Suggestion* Step up your car game bro! If you like the all-wheel scene you should really get into Audi quattro! (Shameless plug, I werk for Audi)
*My friends suck* At least ur attempting to read the OP's man. I've rooted a few of my friends phones and none of them will read the OP's. They all call me asking about crap for their phones like my opinion and I'm like "READ THE OP! I have no clue about ROMs/bugs for your phone, nor do I want to" they all say "frack that, I'm just gonna flash it" OMG! so kudos to you sir!

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Thanks for the added info guys
kawika: there is no way I could ever afford an audi despite me loving some of the current models that are out, I would be more than happy to get as a gift anything with an RS in front of the number LOL.
Subaru's have a distinct sound and feel that can't be found in most other cars. The boxer flat fours are very cool engines, and the boxer "BURBLE" as we call it has such a distinct sound, it's hard not to know when one is passing you buy. Yeah sure, there are some heavily riced ones out there, but most of tastefully mod them.
I'm more old school about things, I try to read and learn before asking the questions.
I read so much the first day or so being on the board that I got a headache between all the roms and info on rooting, flashing, etc etc. The amount of info is just unreal, which is awesome!!!!
Before I found xda, I can't remember how I found it, I was using google to find info and I didn't really trust all the info out there. So XDA is my android home and you can't beat the ppl here
So now that we got all the warm and fuzzy stuff out of the way, LOL, I think this weekend I'll jump into Project V and give that a whirl