Hacks Do any of the hacks that are currently out work on Kindle 3?

[lunixer]

I really want to be able to make the cover of the current book the screensaver. It would be a lot like "closing" the book. And yeah, if I happen to be reading something with bed or sensual in the title I could always switch back to the other screensaver

[PaulGuy]

I don't understand Amazon on this issue. The easiest way to keep people out of their firmware would be to give the people what they want. Why not allow us to upload our own screen savers? Why not allow a choice of fonts? My hope is that these will be available as apps soon. But I just don't get the mindset.

[tedwinters]

Originally Posted by Tiersten

Yeah. The majority of the hacks people want do seem to be fairly simple for Amazon to implement and it would mean a better Kindle for everybody. Adding in system of alternative user provided fonts and a way of changing the screensavers would probably cover most people. They just need to provide the basic changing mechanism for the fonts. The community itself could create the fonts.

Exactly.. The nook already allows for custom backgrounds and screensavers.. No hacks needed, just copy into the directory, go into settings, and choose your background/screensaver! I love how quick the new kindle turns pages, but miss a lot of the features I had on my nook (especially since it was softrooted)

[lunixer]

Originally Posted by tedwinters

Exactly.. The nook already allows for custom backgrounds and screensavers.. No hacks needed, just copy into the directory, go into settings, and choose your background/screensaver! I love how quick the new kindle turns pages, but miss a lot of the features I had on my nook (especially since it was softrooted)

Please, everybody who has this problem, email them: kindle-feedback [at] amazon [dot] c0m
Just replace the [] with their respective characters and c0m is obviously com. I just sent in this email:

Hello. I am a new kindle user, having just bought the K3. I am very
happy with the experience so far but have a few feature requests.

1) I'd like the ability to have the "screensaver" be the cover of the
book I am currently reading or, in the case that I am reading a
personal document, the first image in the book. I can see how some
people would dislike this and feel that it is a violation of their
privacy, but you could always make it an option to be toggled.

2) I'd like the option to add images to a folder and have them added
to the screensaver "cycle" if the above cannot be implemented.
Pictures of dead authors get boring after a while.

3) I'd like the ability to add fonts to the kindle. I could see a
directory being added to which a user can just drag/drop truetype
fonts or another standard.

4) I'd like the ability to force a poorly-formatted book (or even a
well-formatted book) to have a standard formatting. For example, I
recently bought (and returned) a book that was justified for half the
book, but the second half was all tabbed. This made everything very
ugly, and it was disconcerting when I reached that portion of the
book. I also hate books that don't have a space between paragraphs- I
prefer justified text with a space between each paragraph. This
should be an option. I can understand reflow problems with allowing
the reader to define what books should look like, but could that be
done during indexing, perhaps, before the reader opens the book.

5) I'm sure you get this a lot, but I despise the topaz format and
immediately return any book I buy that is in that format.

6) It would be nice (but certainly not necessary) to be able to add
the web browser or links to the home screen.

[911jason]

If you don't mind, also post in my POLL that is running in the Amazon forums... I'm eventually going to compile the results and write a letter to Amazon / Bezos. The more input I have, the better.

http://amzn.to/aRUZvD

[lunixer]

Replied! Everybody, the more active the community, the better. I wish the mods would sticky this thread (With a new title)! Maybe we could call it "kindle activism" or something.

Originally Posted by 911jason

If you don't mind, also post in my POLL that is running in the Amazon forums... I'm eventually going to compile the results and write a letter to Amazon / Bezos. The more input I have, the better.

http://amzn.to/aRUZvD

[DThor]

As much as I don't particularly agree with it, I think there's a very specific reason for not allowing these sorts of optimizations: control over the experience. It's the same issue with Apple iphone vs Android phones - I'm an Android fan because I have a lot more control over what I can do with the phone I purchased. I would never buy an iphone because Apple meticulously controls what displays on their screens. I think to a degree Amazon is copying a page from Apples corporate textbooks and ensuring when you buy a Kindle there's a specific and predictable range of experiences you will have. This allows a consistent feel, while still offering some flexibility.

Personally I don't find Amazon as dogmatic as Apple in this regard, so I don't let it get in the way of the experience, but I suspect that's why you don't see it. Nothing wrong with trying to push them over this, however. I know Amazon definitely listens to their customers more than Apple.

DT

[911jason]

You can change the wallpaper on an iPhone. You can use your own images or download apps with wallpaper.

[lunixer]

Let's not turn this into an apple/whatever debate.

[911jason]

That wasn't my intent, I was just responding to the notion that Apple doesn't allow personalization of their products.