Should I install Kobo Desktop? Update? Tweak? I need a beginner's guide.

[Caribou007]

I just bought the Kobo Glo and it's plugged into my computer now, charging.

I haven't done anything, including installing Kobo Desktop. I am concerned doing that may introduce undesirable features to the Glo.

My computer sees the Glo as a mass storage device right now. Is adding ePubs as simple as putting them in the root directory? Will I then be able to read them without any prompts to connect to Kobo Desktop, Register, Update, etc?

It seems like many people choose to update to the latest firmware because of improvements.

Are there any tweaks I might want to consider? Are they stable?

Are there other websites that I can use as resources? I am particularly interested in hacking- not to add features I don't need, but to avoid undesirable features.

I'd like to start tomorrow, so if someone could provide a brief guide to the world I'm about to enter into, I'd very much appreciate it.

[z000ao8q]

I think you need to answer what you bought the Kobo for - what you want to do?

You can buy a car and people tell you to remove the back seats and put massive speakers in.
Also a weatherdisplay will not help you when you want to use the kobo for reading...

Tell your requirements ;-)

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Caribou007

I just bought the Kobo Glo and it's plugged into my computer now, charging.

I haven't done anything, including installing Kobo Desktop. I am concerned doing that may introduce undesirable features to the Glo.
My computer sees the Glo as a mass storage device right now. Is adding ePubs are simple as putting them in the root directory? Will I then be able to read them without any prompts to connect to Kobo Desktop, Register, Update, etc?
It seems like many people choose to update to the latest firmware because of improvements.

The first thing you need to do is setup the device. This can be done via WiFi or the desktop app and will include installing the latest firmware. Personally, I use the desktop app the connection is better for the firmware download. The registration is needed, but it can be faked. A search of the forum will find instructions.

I recommend letting the firmware upgrade as I think the current firmware is better than the factory firmware. Others will disagree but mainly on which is the best. I'm pretty sure no-one thinks the factory firmware is best. I think 2.1.5 and 2.4.0 are the most popular for those not upgrading.

Once the registration is done, you can sideload books simply by copying them to the device. If they have Adobe DRM, you need to use ADE for this. I would recommend putting them in a directory on the device rather than the root. But, do not put them in the .kobo directory. The firmware does not check this for sideloaded books.

Are there any tweaks I might want to consider? Are they stable?

Are there other websites that I can use as resources? I am particularly interested in hacking- not to add features I don't need, but to avoid undesirable features.

There are tweaks in the developer forum. I do not use any so will not give an opinion. Read the threads to see. And this is the best place I know of for hacking information.

I'd like to start tomorrow, so if someone could provide a brief guide to the world I'm about to enter into, I'd very much appreciate it.

Personally, set it up, start using it and decide what you like or don't. Then, do a factory reset and start again if you want to do things differently.

Oh, and this should have gone in the main part of the Kobo forum. It isn't a developer question.

[paola]

Originally Posted by davidfor

There are tweaks in the developer forum. I do not use any so will not give an opinion. Read the threads to see. And this is the best place I know of for hacking information.

I love the tweaks David is referring to, but be warned that they do not work with firmware 2.6.1, so if you want to try them on yo should stick to 2.5.2.

As a non techie end user, here is what I have:

1. Tweaks: this adds a menu on the home screen to access various functions, which you can customise as you like. Browser, sleep, power off and reboot are those I use more often. You can also use this to launch other hacks, like nightmode and launcher (see below);

2. launcher: another great hack. Beside a number of games (including a good Chess if you are interested) it includes a very useful text editor and a usbnet function (beyond me). the launcher works also with 2.6.1 firmware. It works as standalone, but you can also launch it from the Tweaks (though not with 2.6.1)

3. night mode: broken in 2.6.1, it will put the screen with white text on a black background. You can launch it from the tweaks.

4. light control: I am not sure if it works with the latest firmware as I do not use it (I have a Mini), but users seem enthusiastic;

5. google drive: allows you to sync your device with books on google drive. I don't use it as it does not work on my device, so I am not sure which firmware version you need for it

Other features to consider, which as far as I know are independent of firmware version, are:

- add/customise dictionaries;
- sticky on how to manage shelves with calibre

There are more techincal hacks, but they are all beyond me :-)

Welcome!

[ewphoenix123]

Originally Posted by paola

I love the tweaks David is referring to, but be warned that they do not work with firmware 2.6.1, so if you want to try them on yo should stick to 2.5.2.

If you like to have the book title with a 2-3 line empty margin shown on top of the screen use 2.5.2, if you prefer to have text from the top you should use 2.5.1.

This is only relevant for epub files.

[paola]

Originally Posted by ewphoenix123

If you like to have the book title with a 2-3 line empty margin shown on top of the screen use 2.5.2, if you prefer to have text from the top you should use 2.5.1.

This is only relevant for epub files.

sure - I was simply referring at the latest firmware "breaking" the hacks. Actually this also reminds me that perhaps Caribou007 may also want to have a look at the extended plugin: it sends book from Calibre to the device as Kepub files (Kobo's format), which are opened with the Kepub reader - for differences between Kepub and epub rendering see from here in the long .kepub.epub thread.

[Caribou007]

Originally Posted by z000ao8q

what you want to do?

1. Read DRM-free "ebooks".

I believe ePub is the preferred source format, and it's best to convert to KePub for use with the Glo? The reason being, that the Glo's KePub reader better than it's ePub reader? And nothing of the original file is lost or changed?

I will only have a few ebooks, so converting them to KePub shouldn't be an issue, assuming that the software doesn't pose unforeseen problems.

If I am to convert any ePubs I will read into KePubs, then the current issues with the Glo's ePub reader won't matter for now.


2. Keep my Glo's firmware tidy and responsive. Maximize performance and stability. Maybe add a few homebrew- so long as they are known not to be detrimental to the Glo in any way. Get the best user interface for reading (KePub, since it seems like I'll be converting everything to that because the KePub reader is better).

I don't want to increase the likelihood of bugs by performing any hacks. If the hack is known to be completely stable and not to decrease responsiveness, that's fine. I see the nighttime mode hack has some issues, so I wouldn't want that. A web browser, weather report, and email client would be nice. So would being able to remove unwanted items from the user interface, such as advertisements or links to the Kobo marketplace and usage tracking functions that I don't particularly want and which create resource overhead. I'd also like to know more about downloading ebooks from alternative sources such as google drive and FTPs, since that seems to be possible(?).

I'm thinking about connecting with Kobo Desktop, creating an account and registering for the purpose of warranty if needed, deleting the downloaded firmware files to prevent a firmware update, then installing 2.5.1 so I can use the homebrew. I assume the homebrew will be fixed, and I'm fine with waiting.

Is 2.6.1 actually more stable, responsive and/or functional? Has the KePub reader been improved, and would I want to convert ePubs to KePub and only use the KePub reader anyway?

Since I'm not really that interested in homebrew for now and my priority is just avoiding doing anything detrimental to the Glo's stability or performance, or making a mess of the filesystem, I might let Kobo Desktop update the firmware. If the KePub reader is better and the firmware performs better and is more stable, that's even better.

Also, I am apprehensive about sideloading firmware, only because of the post on these forums saying that a Kobo representative made a veiled threat that sideloading future versions of firmware might not work. I also don't know if updating firmware leaves old files behind, filling up and fragmenting the drive or even creating bugs.

3. Avoid losing any functionality or adding any intrusive features or limits.

I want to avoid undesirable points such as any kind of advertising, intrusive features or limits. I saw someone saying they believe the newer firmware made the ePub reader more finicky with DRM-free files. Has that been found to be true? What advertisements are added in 2.6.1? Are there are any intrusive points in 2.6.1 over 2.5.1, such as requests to log in, reminders, extra advertisements/recommendations, etc? Is there anything undesirable that I could avoid by not creating an account or registering, and is that possible? Is it always tracking what files I'm putting on the device and uploading that information to the Kobo server?


4. Have warranty support

I want to be supported by the warranty incase I need it. I live in Ontario, Canada. Do I have to create an account and register to get the one year warranty or is it automatic?

1. I would suggest grabbing an ePub and converting it to kePub to see which renderer you prefer. Calibre with the extended kobo plugin will do this for you automatically, but I think that it's just changing the extension to .kepub.

2. The only way to alter the firmware is through updates and hacks. Anything else that you do can be undone by removing the .kobo directory. This will force the .kobo directory to be rebuilt, including the infamous database. If you're using sideloaded ePubs, you don't even have to worry about replacing your library since that is stored outside of the .kobo directory.

Even if you decide to use hacks, a factory reset will reset the entire firmware to its factory state. (A copy of the original firmware is stored in a separate partition. This partition overwrites the system partition during a factory reset.)

3. This depends upon what you call advertising. Kobo does have a bookstore and recommendations that are accessible from the home screen. These are easy to ignore. On the Glo and Aura, the recommendations tile can be dismissed by long pressing on the tile and deleting it. That is as intrusive as the advertising gets, and some people regard this as a feature. As far as I recall, the recommendations tile pops up even if you falsify the registration information (i.e. alter the database, without creating a Kobo account) but it won't pop up if you never connect to a WiFi network.

I hope that answers some of your questions.

[Caribou007]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

I hope that answers some of your questions.

It did.

I already hacked the SQL database in order to access the interface. I then installed 2.6.1.

Still have a couple of questions:

The instructions for hacking the SQL database say at the end:

The whole database can be dumped with

echo .dump | sqlite3 .kobo/KoboReader.sqlite

I'm not very good at CLIs, and I screwed that part up because I didn't specify the directory correctly. So, what is that supposed to do? I thought it meant output the changes to the file, however, as soon as I executed the previous commands, the file was modified. So what is that last step for?

--

Do I get a manufacturer's warranty without registering?

--

Recommendations actually sound interesting - are they only based on Kobo Marketplace items, or anything you're reading?

--

Can I get the dictionary? Does it work with any KePub format file?

[PeterT]

Frankly my advice would be to initially use the Kobo as intended by the supplier; keep books in ePub format, register, etc.

Then as you gain comfort (and see issues) then and only then start the experimentation.

Originally Posted by Caribou007

echo .dump | sqlite3 .kobo/KoboReader.sqlite[/I]

I'm not very good at CLIs, and I screwed that part up because I didn't specify the directory correctly. So, what is that supposed to do? I thought it meant output the changes to the file, however, as soon as I executed the previous commands, the file was modified. So what is that last step for?

I took a look at the sqlite documentation, and it is supposed to dump the entire database as plain text to the screen. (You can redirect it to a file if you want.) It shouldn't modify the database.

Do I get a manufacturer's warranty without registering?

No idea. It may be a moot point anyhow if Ontario's consumer protection laws say that registration is unnecessary.

Recommendations actually sound interesting - are they only based on Kobo Marketplace items, or anything you're reading?

As far as I can tell, the marketplace. What I buy is very different from what I sideload, and the recommendations seem to reflect the purchased books. You can also tell it to exclude books from the list and you can rate books from the list. Presumably that fits into their algorithms somehow.

Can I get the dictionary? Does it work with any KePub format file?

I have no idea if the dictionary works for kePub files, but it definitely works for ePub files. (Given that kePub is what Kobo sells, I presume it support kePubs ... but ya never know. ) You download the dictionaries from Settings > Language.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Caribou007

It did.

I already hacked the SQL database in order to access the interface. I then installed 2.6.1.

Still have a couple of questions:

The instructions for hacking the SQL database say at the end:

The whole database can be dumped with

echo .dump | sqlite3 .kobo/KoboReader.sqlite

I'm not very good at CLIs, and I screwed that part up because I didn't specify the directory correctly. So, what is that supposed to do? I thought it meant output the changes to the file, however, as soon as I executed the previous commands, the file was modified. So what is that last step for?

As BWinmill said, this just writes the contents of the database to the screen. You should pipe that to a file to save it. But, that is pretty useless. If you want a backup, simply take a copy of the database file.

Recommendations actually sound interesting - are they only based on Kobo Marketplace items, or anything you're reading?

They are based on your interactions with the Kobo shop. Look at a few books and it will recommend similar. You can mark a book as "Not interested" or "Already have". But, from my experience, buying books from Kobo has the most impact. After I bought a few, the recommendation where a lot better.

I do not believe that Kobo look at the sideloaded books at all. My proof is only that I until I started using the Kobo shop a bit, the recommendations sent to me were completely off the mark.

Can I get the dictionary? Does it work with any KePub format file?

The dictionary works with both epubs and kepubs. I don't know about the other formats.

[jgoguen]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

but I think that it's just changing the extension to .kepub.

Technically that's sufficient to make the device use the KePub renderer, but there's a lot more that goes into making a KePub file. If you just change the extension, your experience will be that almost nothing functions properly. There's structural changes needed to the internal content files, and the Kobo JavaScript code makes the experience better. You can hyphenate if you want to but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it; the display of text can go from fine to... well, weird.

[TechniSol]

I'd simply say, "Go slowly... get a feel for the thing.". If you feel like playing around, and you can follow directions make a backup copy of the internal sdhc card and pretty much whatever tweaking you do, you'll have an exit plan. See the posts in the Developer's forum regarding upgrading to a larger internal sdhc.

[met67]

I'd suggest taking a full backup of your current firmware, and storing somewhere safe in your HD, just in case.
It is a simple task and only requires a large uSD:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=212474