By Most Recent First Bug

sirbruce · 02-26-2009, 02:30 PM

Twice now I've had a bug with my Kindle 2 and the "By Most Recent First" sorting. After reading a few chapters of a book, then going back home, then next paging through the list of all 832 items sorted "By Most Recent First", the book I was just reading will suddenly appear at the end of the list. Furthermore, any subsequent openings of books make the "new" appear at the end of the list, rather than at the beginning. Previously, this issue resolved itself after a couple of resets, but currently I can't seem to fix the problem. Any "recent" books are actually going to the end of the list, not the beginning!

sirbruce · 02-26-2009, 02:48 PM

I've been able to determine that turning Wireless back the problem is partially resolved. Once you turn Wireless back on, any books you access will move back to the top of the "By Most Recent First" list. But with Wireless off, it seems after a day or so the books start going to the end of the list when you access them.

emellaich · 02-26-2009, 03:12 PM

I had related problems. I never took the time to find out where the book was, but the current book I was reading was not showing at the top of the list of about 500 books. I wasn't as careful as you in tracking down the problem, but it is working now.

So, I don't have much to add [grin], but I wanted to tell you that you were not alone in seeing this type of behavior.

Gideon · 02-26-2009, 03:17 PM

Hope you guys are reporting it to Amazon.

KindleKat · 02-26-2009, 04:18 PM

well at least it's a software bug and can hopefully be addressed

tlc · 05-02-2009, 09:10 AM

I imagine you turned on the wireless where there was EVDO coverage to fix this? I'm on vacation in a country without EVDO, and can't seem to fix this (or set the clock).

JSWolf · 05-02-2009, 09:18 AM

It does seem silly that the K2 would not have a built-in clock. No reason it should have to sync the clock with Amazon. However, this could be Amazon's way to make sure you turn on Whispernet so they can see what you have on your K2.

poohbear_nc · 05-02-2009, 11:15 AM

This bug has shown up on all Kindle boards - and seems entirely due to having Whispernet shut off for long periods of time - if the clock isn't correct the most recent books, or the book you were reading, gets put at the end of the list is you are sorting by "Most Recent First." Turning on Whispernet and updating the clock time resolves the problem - until you turn Whispernet off again.

This is a doubly ironic problem since one of the MAJOR new improved features of the K2 was the improved battery life - BUT - other features (like the clock and sorting of titles) absolutely relies on having Whispernet on - which removes the new advantage of longer battery life. Kind of a vicious circle ain't it?

Elsi · 05-02-2009, 12:24 PM

I've not had this problem on my K1 except the one time I had to use the reset button on the back. This, of course required a full power-down and not just having it in stand-by. When I powered up, apparently the clock was set to an earlier date than any of the books and so when I read a book, the date on the corresponding .mpb or .tan file was then older than the other books and this book now sorted to the end of the list.

I'm wondering if the K2 goes to full power-off rather than stand-by. Did I read something about that in the description of the K2? If so, maybe that's why the clock is losing track of the time. Also, it would be nice if one of the folks producing hacks of the K2 could come up with some way to reset the clock from a PC over the USB connection.

rcuadro · 05-02-2009, 03:08 PM

THat is one of the reasons I wished the Kindle had the "Continue reading" option the Sony does. Sure, you can press back button but if you do a couple things then you go back back back back back and then get back to the book you were reading.

tlc · 05-02-2009, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

This bug has shown up on all Kindle boards - and seems entirely due to having Whispernet shut off for long periods of time - if the clock isn't correct the most recent books, or the book you were reading, gets put at the end of the list is you are sorting by "Most Recent First." Turning on Whispernet and updating the clock time resolves the problem - until you turn Whispernet off again.

This is a doubly ironic problem since one of the MAJOR new improved features of the K2 was the improved battery life - BUT - other features (like the clock and sorting of titles) absolutely relies on having Whispernet on - which removes the new advantage of longer battery life. Kind of a vicious circle ain't it?

I've had the K2 out of EVDO range for 5 weeks and while I could not fix the timezone, "Most Recent First" worked fine until the K2 hung and I had to reboot away from EVDO. Apparently, after a reboot, the K2 thinks it's 1970 until EVDO corrects it. I'm still on 2.01, though.

I believe I can correct this with USB networking tricks, but I'm pushing Amazon support for a fix, so maybe they'll understand that this is a significant problem.

poohbear_nc · 05-03-2009, 02:02 PM

I believe I can correct this with USB networking tricks, but I'm pushing Amazon support for a fix, so maybe they'll understand that this is a significant problem.[/QUOTE]

The issue seems to be whether getting command prompt access through USB will allow you to use the Linux "date" command to reset the time on the K2. Or, since the 2.03 upgrade has abolished USB network ability, one can directly get to the command prompt on the K2 without using a PC, and then reset the time.

And I agree, Amazon CS should have a fix - at least for the "Most Recent" ordering bug for those who either are out of EVDO range, or choose to leave Whispernet off to get the longer battery life.

tlc · 05-08-2009, 03:22 AM

I was under the impression, possibly wrong, that just turning on the USB networking would let it sync the time itself.

I'm not planning to do the telnetd installation that would enable a command prompt. I haven't installed anything yet and I want to keep it clean. I may sell it after my trip.

Slow_hand · 05-08-2009, 05:25 AM

I been hit by that bug a few times, as recently as yesterday in fact.

Thomas Ryan · 05-08-2009, 05:54 PM

The Beginning of Time -

The System Time is the number of seconds since 00:00:00 January 1, 1970 UTC (or more succinctly, the number of seconds since 1969).

http://www.go2linux.org/hwclock-linu...hardware-clock

It think it's 1969 because that is when Unix was invented - http://catb.org/esr/writings/taoup/html/ch02s01.html

I also recall that the 1969/70 times have not been changed to honor Ken and Dennis, to keep any weird SW that depends on it from breaking, are also now deliberately and obviously left "wrong" and so that a sys admin will notice and fix via the "date(1)" command. It's too easy to miss "off by one hour".

When the system reboots it resets the system time to the "Beginning of Time".

To the person who asked "Why not build in a clock?". Uh, there is a clock (time counter). What time do you suggest the system set the time to be, and when would it do that? Good luck on that one.

You can also probably think of some heuristics that help, such as "don't let time go backwards", but you won't be able to solve every case for every situation. Fly West.

So here is what happens when the time is set correctly, but a reboot happens and there is no WhisperNet (WAN off, no coverage). The system time is set back to 1970. When you next read a book, it's last page read time-stamp is saved as 1970, which means you read it a long, long time ago. The book sorts to the end of "Most Recent", and hangs out there as the last entry of your Home screen pages. Which is exactly backwards and it certainly looks like a "bug".

Ironically, if you never turn on Whispernet (or if you never have coverage), then everything will work fine. The Kindle thinks it's in 1970, but time marches forward from there and nothing is out of order. Until you reboot, oops. BTW - software updates cause at least one reboot.

The "right" answer, of course, is to let users set the time and have this manual setting override any automated setting, unless they choose otherwise. Maybe in Kindle EX 4? (Oh, and don't forget to make Daylight Savings Time work right, especially in Arizona. Settings is going to two pages for sure now, oh no...)

02-26-2009, 02:30 PM	#1
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	By Most Recent First Bug Twice now I've had a bug with my Kindle 2 and the "By Most Recent First" sorting. After reading a few chapters of a book, then going back home, then next paging through the list of all 832 items sorted "By Most Recent First", the book I was just reading will suddenly appear at the end of the list. Furthermore, any subsequent openings of books make the "new" appear at the end of the list, rather than at the beginning. Previously, this issue resolved itself after a couple of resets, but currently I can't seem to fix the problem. Any "recent" books are actually going to the end of the list, not the beginning!

05-08-2009, 05:54 PM	#15
Thomas Ryan Connoisseur Posts: 62 Karma: 250 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle	The Beginning of Time - The System Time is the number of seconds since 00:00:00 January 1, 1970 UTC (or more succinctly, the number of seconds since 1969). http://www.go2linux.org/hwclock-linu...hardware-clock It think it's 1969 because that is when Unix was invented - http://catb.org/esr/writings/taoup/html/ch02s01.html I also recall that the 1969/70 times have not been changed to honor Ken and Dennis, to keep any weird SW that depends on it from breaking, are also now deliberately and obviously left "wrong" and so that a sys admin will notice and fix via the "date(1)" command. It's too easy to miss "off by one hour". When the system reboots it resets the system time to the "Beginning of Time". To the person who asked "Why not build in a clock?". Uh, there is a clock (time counter). What time do you suggest the system set the time to be, and when would it do that? Good luck on that one. You can also probably think of some heuristics that help, such as "don't let time go backwards", but you won't be able to solve every case for every situation. Fly West. So here is what happens when the time is set correctly, but a reboot happens and there is no WhisperNet (WAN off, no coverage). The system time is set back to 1970. When you next read a book, it's last page read time-stamp is saved as 1970, which means you read it a long, long time ago. The book sorts to the end of "Most Recent", and hangs out there as the last entry of your Home screen pages. Which is exactly backwards and it certainly looks like a "bug". Ironically, if you never turn on Whispernet (or if you never have coverage), then everything will work fine. The Kindle thinks it's in 1970, but time marches forward from there and nothing is out of order. Until you reboot, oops. BTW - software updates cause at least one reboot. The "right" answer, of course, is to let users set the time and have this manual setting override any automated setting, unless they choose otherwise. Maybe in Kindle EX 4? (Oh, and don't forget to make Daylight Savings Time work right, especially in Arizona. Settings is going to two pages for sure now, oh no...) Last edited by Thomas Ryan; 05-08-2009 at 06:48 PM.

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02-26-2009, 02:48 PM	#2
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	I've been able to determine that turning Wireless back the problem is partially resolved. Once you turn Wireless back on, any books you access will move back to the top of the "By Most Recent First" list. But with Wireless off, it seems after a day or so the books start going to the end of the list when you access them.

02-26-2009, 03:12 PM	#3
emellaich Wizard Posts: 1,101 Karma: 4388403 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Palm>Ebookman>IPaq>Axim>Cybook>Kndl2>IPAD>Kndl3SO>Voyager>Oasis	I had related problems. I never took the time to find out where the book was, but the current book I was reading was not showing at the top of the list of about 500 books. I wasn't as careful as you in tracking down the problem, but it is working now. So, I don't have much to add [grin], but I wanted to tell you that you were not alone in seeing this type of behavior.

02-26-2009, 03:17 PM	#4
Gideon Wearer of Pants Posts: 1,050 Karma: 7634 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Norman, OK Device: Amazon Kindle DX / iPhone	Hope you guys are reporting it to Amazon.

02-26-2009, 04:18 PM	#5
KindleKat Connoisseur Posts: 99 Karma: 29 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle	well at least it's a software bug and can hopefully be addressed

05-02-2009, 09:10 AM	#6
tlc Zealot Posts: 140 Karma: 50288 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: KK 3G, iPad	I imagine you turned on the wireless where there was EVDO coverage to fix this? I'm on vacation in a country without EVDO, and can't seem to fix this (or set the clock).

05-02-2009, 09:18 AM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,983 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	It does seem silly that the K2 would not have a built-in clock. No reason it should have to sync the clock with Amazon. However, this could be Amazon's way to make sure you turn on Whispernet so they can see what you have on your K2.

05-02-2009, 11:15 AM	#8
poohbear_nc Now what? Posts: 58,858 Karma: 135181808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	This bug has shown up on all Kindle boards - and seems entirely due to having Whispernet shut off for long periods of time - if the clock isn't correct the most recent books, or the book you were reading, gets put at the end of the list is you are sorting by "Most Recent First." Turning on Whispernet and updating the clock time resolves the problem - until you turn Whispernet off again. This is a doubly ironic problem since one of the MAJOR new improved features of the K2 was the improved battery life - BUT - other features (like the clock and sorting of titles) absolutely relies on having Whispernet on - which removes the new advantage of longer battery life. Kind of a vicious circle ain't it?

05-02-2009, 12:24 PM	#9
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	I've not had this problem on my K1 except the one time I had to use the reset button on the back. This, of course required a full power-down and not just having it in stand-by. When I powered up, apparently the clock was set to an earlier date than any of the books and so when I read a book, the date on the corresponding .mpb or .tan file was then older than the other books and this book now sorted to the end of the list. I'm wondering if the K2 goes to full power-off rather than stand-by. Did I read something about that in the description of the K2? If so, maybe that's why the clock is losing track of the time. Also, it would be nice if one of the folks producing hacks of the K2 could come up with some way to reset the clock from a PC over the USB connection.

05-02-2009, 03:08 PM	#10
rcuadro Wizard Posts: 1,686 Karma: 874275 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Device: Kindle DX	THat is one of the reasons I wished the Kindle had the "Continue reading" option the Sony does. Sure, you can press back button but if you do a couple things then you go back back back back back and then get back to the book you were reading.

05-03-2009, 02:02 PM	#12
poohbear_nc Now what? Posts: 58,858 Karma: 135181808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	I believe I can correct this with USB networking tricks, but I'm pushing Amazon support for a fix, so maybe they'll understand that this is a significant problem.[/QUOTE] The issue seems to be whether getting command prompt access through USB will allow you to use the Linux "date" command to reset the time on the K2. Or, since the 2.03 upgrade has abolished USB network ability, one can directly get to the command prompt on the K2 without using a PC, and then reset the time. And I agree, Amazon CS should have a fix - at least for the "Most Recent" ordering bug for those who either are out of EVDO range, or choose to leave Whispernet off to get the longer battery life.

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05-08-2009, 03:22 AM	#13
tlc Zealot Posts: 140 Karma: 50288 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: KK 3G, iPad	I was under the impression, possibly wrong, that just turning on the USB networking would let it sync the time itself. I'm not planning to do the telnetd installation that would enable a command prompt. I haven't installed anything yet and I want to keep it clean. I may sell it after my trip.

05-08-2009, 05:25 AM	#14
Slow_hand Groupie Posts: 190 Karma: 326 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baltimore Device: Amazon Kindle 2	I been hit by that bug a few times, as recently as yesterday in fact.