Another snapshot!

New stuff:

* New bookreader - CoolReader3. This one was available in stock firmware for V3, and is now ported to OpenInkpot by Buggins, the author. You can choose what reader to use by long-pressing the digit button in bookshelf.
* Simple image viewer.
* SD card is now mounted to /media/sd. Internal storage (separate partition) is mounted to /mnt/storage and available by default in bookshelf.
* It's possible to add fonts to the SD card: just put them to the fonts/ directory, and they will be picked up.

Problems:
* USB on v3 is still flaky

Documentation (please help to improve it):
* User's Guide: http://openinkpot.org/wiki/0.2/UsersGuide/ru
* Installation Guide: http://openinkpot.org/wiki/0.2/InstallationGuide/ru

Downloads: http://openinkpot.org/pub/snapshots/20090123/

I'll try it out tonight. Any changes to LocoPDF in this snapshot?

New bookreader - CoolReader3. This one was available in stock firmware for V3, and is now ported to OpenInkpot by Buggins, the author. You can choose what reader to use by long-pressing the digit button in bookshelf. This had me stumped for a while. If an ebook type is supported by CR3 (i.e. I think just for FB2, ePub, and RTF), then a long press of the digit for that ebook will allow you to select FBReader or CR3. A short press always brings up FBReader.

The attached images are 100 ppi scans (i.e. lower resolution than the actual screen), the 1st is FBReader and the 2nd CR3. Both are using Liberation Sans, but I like the bold option for FBReader. I really like the size of the CR3 menu items, the FBReader menus are too small for me.

These are from the live version, which seems a bit more fragile that the last live version but is still usable.

I really like the size of the CR3 menu items, the FBReader menus are too small for me.

I agree the CoolReader menus are nicer. They have a polished look. But what units does CoolReader use for the font sizes? For FBReader I'm using 10pt, but CoolReader has "29" and "33" and so on.

But what units does CoolReader use for the font sizes? For FBReader I'm using 10pt, but CoolReader has "29" and "33" and so on. I'm not sure that FBReader's font size is accurate, but it is closer than CR's. The device has 167 ppi, and I think CR may be assuming there are 72 ppi (i.e. 1 pt = 1 ppi). I've seen advice that the ppi be set to a multiple of 12 (i.e. 168 ppi rather than 167 ppi), but I don't know how much that matters.

"29" on the CoolReader seems to be close to "10pt" on the FBReader. I guess it doesn't matter what the units are, as long as you can find one you're comfortable with.

I've also found out that CoolReader can read .htm and .txt files as well as the .fb2, .epub and .rtf files that wallcraft mentioned. In fact, CoolReader does a better job with .txt files than FBReader: CoolReader is able to identify chapter headings and displays them centered in a larger font with a page break before the heading.

I've also found that CoolReader seems to retain different settings for different file types. For example, I can set all my .txt files to display with font size "29" and all my .rtf files to display with font size "33". With FBReader, if I choose "10pt" font size, all my ebooks with be displayed in "10pt", regardless of file type. I don't know if this is a good thing or not: I prefer "10pt" on all my ebooks, so I don't need separate settings by file type.

FBReader has a setting to change top, bottom, left and right margins. This feature seems to be lacking in CoolReader.

Overall, I think I'll stick with FBReader for most file types, but go with CoolReader for .txt files to get the chapter headings. It's good to have a choice.

Is there any description (FB2) for the "Turbo Mode" when reading a book? And why won't it stay on between books?

I believe the "Turbo" mode pre-caches the next page so page turns are faster. It only works paging forward, though. Paging back does not pre-cache.

I don't know why it's not persistent from book to book.

I believe, and LunohoD will correct me if I'm wrong, that turbo mode is a horrible horrible hack that should be ignored (and probably removed in upcoming versions). I believe that LunohoD just hasn't gotten around to getting rid of it.

I believe, and LunohoD will correct me if I'm wrong, that turbo mode is a horrible horrible hack that should be ignored (and probably removed in upcoming versions). I believe that LunohoD just hasn't gotten around to getting rid of it.

Please, please, don't remove it!!. I always use it, and I see it as a great addition. Just leave it as it is, default off for every book, and let people decide if they want to use it. Only remove it if the machine can be damaged by it, but if it doesn't do any harm, why don't just leave it there?.

Yes, turbo mode is a terrible hack and it is too hard to make it work properly.

I won't remove it and I hope that jekhor won't purge the underlying kernel code.

Tried installing it on my V3, went without a hitch. Starting up was nice and easy too and the interface is pretty good.
However, just switched off using the scripts from the main menu and I've not got a device that's not restarting again - just shows the red light when trying to startup. Pulling out the battery has no effect - will have reflash the thing.
How shaky is OI in general? I didn't expect a crash like this.

Apart from that, awesome job you've done, many thanks :)

Regards
Fake

Tried installing it on my V3, went without a hitch. Starting up was nice and easy too and the interface is pretty good.
However, just switched off using the scripts from the main menu and I've not got a device that's not restarting again - just shows the red light when trying to startup. Pulling out the battery has no effect - will have reflash the thing.
How shaky is OI in general? I didn't expect a crash like this.

Apart from that, awesome job you've done, many thanks :)

Regards
Fake

As just another OpenInkPot user, I can say that what you are seeing is not what you should be seeing with OpenInkPot. I only shut mine down once since loading OpenInkPot, so I just tried it again now. It works as expected. What you should be seeing is the normal Linux boot up status messages scrolling up the screen.

So now I have turned it off twice since loading OpenInkPot. :)
Other than that I just leave it on all the time since it consumes so little power when doing nothing that my battery is still indicating 100% since I charged it after loading OpenInkPot. It was 74% when I first loaded OpenInkPot, so I recharged it to see how long a full charge would last while using OpenInkPot as my reader.

Agree completely with Dave. I don't turn it off neither. It consumes more power turning it off and on thatn leaving it on forever :-) .

I don't feel the need to switch it off either - but I do feel the need for it to not crash and need a reflash upon switching off and restarting ;)
Was probably just my bad luck, will try again, see if it works better second time round.

Regards
Fake

Just reflashed my V3, tried shutting down again, same result - device won't start up, just gives me the red light of doom.

Regards
Fake

This is a brand new, never before encountered issue. So, a couple of questions: did you reflash or did you redownload and reflash? It's possible your download screwed up. Next, have you tried an earlier version? The bleeding edge snapshots are experimental.
If you're still having trouble, come by our IRC channel (#openinkpot on irc.oftc.net). We'll get you sorted out. Don't worry, it's nearly impossible to brick these things, and it's easy to flash back to the original firmware as well.

Actually, I'll just quietly apologize for raising a fuss: grabbed the wrong firmware, the v3 instead of the v3ext. The latter works as expected.

Regards
Fake

Actually, I'll just quietly apologize for raising a fuss: grabbed the wrong firmware, the v3 instead of the v3ext. The latter works as expected.


It is nice to know that you found the problem!! :)

Hope you enjoy OpenInkPot now.
It just gets better and better with each new snapshot.

I'm trying openinkpot on my Hanlin v3 device and am very impressed so far. The first thing that occurs to me is can I see the battery charge level within FBreader, or anywhere else?

Cheers,
Rick

The first thing that occurs to me is can I see the battery charge level within FBreader, or anywhere else? It is visible when using Cool Reader, see the scan in post #3. It would be nice if it was also included in Madshelf.

all german characters (Umlaute) seems to be broken or misinterprated: ö ä ü ß are shown as rectangles
also line breaks and tabs in mobi are only shown as rectangles - very hard to read

cheers
Rainer

It is visible when using Cool Reader, see the scan in post #3. It would be nice if it was also included in Madshelf.

Ah yes - so I see. I'm using FBreader to read mobipocket files though. I see a percentage value on the bottom right - but not sure what that is. Could be battery I guess....

Rick

Could be battery I guess....
Rick

It is.

all german characters (Umlaute) seems to be broken or misinterprated: ö ä ü ß are shown as rectangles
also line breaks and tabs in mobi are only shown as rectangles - very hard to read

cheers
Rainer

Could please send me the file where the problem occurs? lunohod@gmx.de

all german characters (Umlaute) seems to be broken or misinterprated: ö ä ü ß are shown as rectangles
also line breaks and tabs in mobi are only shown as rectangles - very hard to read

cheers
Rainer

I already opened a ticket some time ago with this same problem. It's ticket #192. It happens with spanish characters too, such as ñ, á, é, í, ó, ú.

I already opened a ticket some time ago with this same problem. It's ticket #192. It happens with spanish characters too, such as ñ, á, é, í, ó, ú.


I've just tested your file. Sometimes the FBReader cannot detect the language and the encoding. Right now you can change these settings in the /home/.FBReader/books.xml file and the characters should be displayed properly. I will add language and encoding options to the menu in the next release.


You can read more about this topic here:
http://www.fbreader.org/docs/languages.php#detection

I've just tested your file. Sometimes the FBReader cannot detect the language and the encoding. Right now you can change these settings in the /home/.FBReader/books.xml file and the characters should be displayed properly. I will add language and encoding options to the menu in the next release.


You can read more about this topic here:
http://www.fbreader.org/docs/languages.php#detection

Thank you very much, lunohod!.

I don't have those files anymore as they were pdfs formatted for the Hanlin, but at the time, OI didn't have pdf support. Now I don't need to convert them to Mobi for reading them :-) . It's nice to see that language can be changed in a config file. I'll wait for the next release.

Hi Guys, I've just flashed my Hanlin V3(ext) with 20090123 snapshot and played a bit with several formats.

In general it seems better to me than original Jinke fw (which has issues with Czech characters and feature wise it is also poorer).

In general I really like OI but but I have 2 issues with it:
1/ It just hang up totaly when I was changing font size when viewing pdf file (formatted to A4 size). No diode activity when pressing buttons, no button did anything. I had to reset to recover from this. Anybody else has similar experience?

2/ I miss 1 feature of original Jinke fw - key lock when short pressing power button. Is there any option how to lock keys with OI? I don't want to turn off the device and when I am carrying it around sometimes a button is pressed in my backpack (even though it is in leather case). Key lock feature would be very nice.

Again, I have to repeat Great work, guys! I really like OI.

Hi Guys, I've just flashed my Hanlin V3(ext) with 20090123 snapshot and played a bit with several formats.

In general it seems better to me than original Jinke fw (which has issues with Czech characters and feature wise it is also poorer).

In general I really like OI but but I have 2 issues with it:
1/ It just hang up totaly when I was changing font size when viewing pdf file (formatted to A4 size). No diode activity when pressing buttons, no button did anything. I had to reset to recover from this. Anybody else has similar experience?

2/ I miss 1 feature of original Jinke fw - key lock when short pressing power button. Is there any option how to lock keys with OI? I don't want to turn off the device and when I am carrying it around sometimes a button is pressed in my backpack (even though it is in leather case). Key lock feature would be very nice.

Again, I have to repeat Great work, guys! I really like OI.

1\ I don't know about this one.

2\ No, there isn't a lock button in the current snapshot. I think it's going to be implemented soon though.

I just downloaded and installed OI in my V3 and I'm already in love. Great job, guys!

Two things, 'though:

1) Please, add lock button support as soon as you can. Thank you :)

2) Is it possible to donate using Paypal? I've not a ChipIn account and I don't feel like creating one just for this. I wouldn't mind donating directly to any of the developers using his/her Paypal account, either.

2) Is it possible to donate using Paypal?

ChipIn will redirect you right to the Paypal.

Thank you very much, dottedmag.

And thank you to the OI team, I already donated.

Thank you.

What kind of battery life are you getting? I did a couple reflashes and the meter went from 100% to 90%. Anyone having short battery life? Im also using the SD card.

What kind of battery life are you getting? I did a couple reflashes and the meter went from 100% to 90%. Anyone having short battery life? Im also using the SD card.

I charged to 100% on 30th Jan, just checked the battery now and it's down to 61%. I did notice the gauge dropped from 100% to 85% very very quickly in the first 2 days, but it's been a steady drop since then.

On the BeBook firmware I'd get about 4 weeks before it dropped to 1 bar. Looks like OI is going to give 3-4 weeks assuming the gauge is accurate.

What kind of battery life are you getting? I did a couple reflashes and the meter went from 100% to 90%. Anyone having short battery life? Im also using the SD card.

Reflashing and reading from the SD card consume a lot more energy than just reading from internal storage. Also, shutting down and starting up the device uses more energy than just reading from internal storage. I am reading mostly FB2 from internal storage, and I think that I am using about 2% for every few hundred pages, but that is just a wild guess. I never turn the device off.

Yeah I think I need to learn how to do that, transferring the book from SD to internal. I cant go back after openinkpot. The way it formats the book to the page is amazing. Also, when I try to shut down the book it just hangs at "kill "and does nothing after that.

Yeah I think I need to learn how to do that, transferring the book from SD to internal. I cant go back after openinkpot. The way it formats the book to the page is amazing. Also, when I try to shut down the book it just hangs at "kill "and does nothing after that.

Currently OpenInkPot only provides a method to copy one book at a time from SD to the internal file system. I keep a bunch of books on the SD card, and copy just the current crop into the internal file system. It is not hard to do, but it is a little slow doing it one file at a time. As for your last comment, I can not respond because I have never seen something like that happen.

Yeah I think I need to learn how to do that, transferring the book from SD to internal. I cant go back after openinkpot. The way it formats the book to the page is amazing. Also, when I try to shut down the book it just hangs at "kill "and does nothing after that.

Are you sure it hangs?. I mean, when you turn off the device using OI, the screen doesn't turn white. It stays at it is with the last kernel request of KILL processes and request to shutdown, and the hardware inside is turn off. The screen doesn't consume any batteries if it has something showing on it, so OI doesn't bother to draw it white.
If you can normally turn on the device with the on/off button after turn off, OI is behaving like it should. If you can't turn it on after shutdown, that's another matter.

Your right, I get it. How much power is the ebook using while idle? Whats the point of powering down?

Your right, I get it. How much power is the ebook using while idle? Whats the point of powering down?

Don't know how much power it's using, but sure it consumes way less power than it uses to turn on. Booting the kernel is very power consuming. I leave the device always on, and the power % doesn't change when turning pages after 10 hours of non use. I can loose 2-4% charge if I power it off an then on.

Don't know which idling implementation OI devs use, but it's very efficient.

So I don't see a point to turn it off as the screen doesn't burn or somthing similar ;)

Don't know which idling implementation OI devs use, but it's very efficient.

jekhor invented it especially for OpenInkpot. It is not not yet pushed to the upstream kernel, but implementation is quite simple.

Hi,

I am trying OI on my Hanlin for the first time, and it is really great compared to the original Bebook firmware, mainly (for me):
- I can now use all the fonts I want (somehow only some of my user fonts were useable with the original firmware)
- hyphenation, although not perfect, is MUCH better with FBReader than with CR. This was the one thing that annoyed me most with the original firmware.
- ability to set margins, indents, etc from the FBReader menu (would be good to be able to set spacing between paragraphs as well)

My main question is: would it be technically possible to make either the CR or FBReader use a custom hyphenation dictionary, similarly to what is done in MSWord or OpenOffice Writer?

Small problems I have noticed so far:
- could not get comms via USB (WinXP): upon installing the linux.inf driver, I can see the network device but it has a yellow exclamation mark, and nothing shows up under Network Connections. Did anybody get this to work under WinXP?
- FBReader does not "see" the manual page breaks in .rtf files. CR does a good job of detecting chapter headings in rtf files and putting a page break before them even if there is no manual page break.
- when doing a word search in FBReader, I am getting a selection of Russian characters instead of English ones. Not sure why that is, maybe FBReader not properly detecting the language of the book as mentioned in other posts, but I would not know that since I cannot access the .xml file to change the language because of problem with USB above.

Basically, both FBReader and CR implementations have useful features. At the moment I prefer FBReader mostly because of the outrageous hyphenations in CR. In an ideal world, of course, ONE reader would have all the good features of each FBReader and CR, and get rid of the annoyances...

All in all, good job guys and keep up the good work. I will keep testing for a little while, and if I decide to stay with you, I will make a donation.

Small problems I have noticed so far:
- could not get comms via USB (WinXP): upon installing the linux.inf driver, I can see the network device but it has a yellow exclamation mark, and nothing shows up under Network Connections. Did anybody get this to work under WinXP?

This is a known issue. USB connectivity with Windows XP existed with OI version 0.1. But, since the guys started releasing snapshots in preparation for version 0.2, that connectivity has been lost. I think it is because the snapshots are using a newer Linux kernel. Perhaps dottedmag can clarify this point.

Hopefully, they'll have a fix for this issue in an upcoming snapshot.

You can copy books individually from the SD card to internal storage in Madshelf, if you wish.

When can we expect a new snapshot build?

Just to express my gratitude and my respect to the OI team for the incredible job so far!
I will not revert to the original firmware soon!

Many thanks to you all !

Спасѝбо !

My BEBook is blank and is dead! I do not know where to post this thread. Sorry, if I posted this in wrong place. Now, my problem:
I bought BEBook 1, 6” , a few months back. It had 2.01 firmware uptodated to 2.10 as in February before shipping the device. I was experimenting with the device flashing various firmwares. I did use OpenInkpot 0.1 live on external SD card which worked well. I even tried OI 0.2 live, a beta one, on the SD Card which also worked fantastic with any amount of font size enlargement and had no problem whatever opening prc and mobi formats and even pdf formats. However, I wanted to try it by flashing it on the internal storage which (OI 0.2) I did and even after this, it worked well. But suddenly, the screen went blank and inspite of my various attempts like – removing battery, resetting, recharging, etc. -- it is not coming to life. I tried to reflash with original firmware as well as OI 0.1, but all to no effect. For flashing I used 1GB Card provided by Endless Ideas. The red lamp is continuously always on and not flickering. I do not know what to do next with it. Any help will greatly welcome. Thanks in advance.

Try to format your sd card using "hdd low level format tool". http://hddguru.com/content/en/software/2006.04.12-HDD-Low-Level-Format-Tool/

Sir,
On the other forum, a gentleman advised me to remove the battery and with external power supply on to flash with the Feb.09 firmware. I did this, but it did not work out. However, removing the battery, going for external power (USB) supply and then getting back to battery power did the trick. I do not know the logic of all this. Your team may take a note of this behaviour for further improving the firmware.
Can I now confidently flash the OI 0.2 on the internal storage. If you advise me to do so, shall do it.
regards, K.Ramachandran:

> Your team may take a note of this behaviour for further improving the firmware.

You may try to figure out it's a kind of hardware problem.