new jetBook firmware 35k (beta)

tselling · 07-15-2010, 08:57 PM

There is a new beta version of the firmware for the original jetBook (not Lite). It seems to have fixed the margin/text resizing Epub problem that we saw with 35g. It also has smaller page numbers on epubs. I think they are close to making this an official release.

http://www.ectaco.com/ectaco-posts/l...084.page#27927

*** I did have to go to Settings->System Settings->Restore Defaults to see the fix in the ebooks I had previously opened. Make a note of your current page number(s) before doing this.

*** You might want to backup your .adobe-digital-editions folder since mine seems to now be empty and I am not sure how to get the device.xml recreated to get ADE to recognize my reader again.

greenapple · 07-16-2010, 12:47 AM

I guess they've found and killed most of the bugs with this release.
So far so good.

Kris777 · 07-16-2010, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenapple

I guess they've found and killed most of the bugs with this release.
So far so good.

Agree. 0.35k version works fine.

Kralik · 07-18-2010, 12:43 AM

Sounds nice! tselling, any luck with or planned modifications?

tonhou · 07-18-2010, 02:28 AM

Yes 35k looks promising.
However there is one area that I have an inferior experience - TOC.
I use almost exclusively pdf files as I find they are much faster to open and navigate through, but the TOC for most are full of blanks and have rogue entries. Also sub entries in the TOC cause the reader to freeze.

To me TOC must be good for the Jetbook as navigation is not available via hyperlinks. I hope the new firmware can recover the same capabilities of 34c and 35d which I believe used Foxit reader for pdf.

--Tony

Kralik · 07-18-2010, 12:16 PM

Are the PDF TOC any different than 0.35a? The switch to ADE grants PDF reflow, so it seems the trade off would be worth it.

tonhou · 07-18-2010, 03:06 PM

35a is (I believe) the first version that used Adobe reader for pdf. This version is pretty good but does not "remember" settings that you change.

It is good with pdf TOC - rogue entries and blank lines not present. However still no sub-entries, they cause the reader to freeze when you call up the TOC.

Reflow is a nice addition for those pdf's that have not been designed for the Jetbook. Mostly I try and shape all mine before putting on the reader - converting from epub to pdf. Once again for me pdf's are a superior experience because they are much faster.

--Tony

Kralik · 07-18-2010, 03:16 PM

The reports I was reading for 0.35k say that it does remember settings. Have you experienced otherwise?

tselling · 07-18-2010, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kralik

Sounds nice! tselling, any luck with or planned modifications?

I tried to modify but without success. In the new firmware Adobe Digital Reader lists userStyle.css in an odd place. Instead of res:///adobe/pxf/userStyle.css, it is res:///userStyle.css, so I couldn't make res:///mnt/flash/userStyle.css fit. I did try modifying to res:///mnt/flash/css and res:///mnt/flash/e.css but neither seemed to be read so I don't know what the problem is.

The good news is that the epubs can be modified in Calibre to change fonts, margins, etc. The bad news is that DRM needs to be stripped first which I would prefer not to do for Library books. I may give modifying the firmware another shot once we get an official release.

Kralik · 07-18-2010, 09:50 PM

Would it be possible to create a symbolic link that points from res:///userStyle.css to the desired spot? Maybe I should fire it up on my Linux netbook and start tinkering.

tonhou · 07-19-2010, 03:43 AM

Quote:

The reports I was reading for 0.35k say that it does remember settings. Have you experienced otherwise?

35k does remember settings, 35a doesn't but has tidier pdf TOC's.
35d has best pdf TOC (with sub-levels) but is using Foxit reader which has no reflow.

--Tony

Kralik · 07-21-2010, 02:07 AM

So I finally got around to 0.35k and in my opinion it is the best firmware yet! Glad to see ECTACO is working on ... something. What I've noticed:

Improvements to ePUB:
-ADE page numbers are very small and do not scale with the font. Neither do the images scale -- yay! Instead of a font "zoom %" it's a bona-fide size selection and doesn't mess up the images. I'll have Calibre give all of my books a small right margin and it will be perfect.
-Search feature is back (missing since ADE) but no dictionary yet.

Improvement to PDF:
-NEW search function (not there in any old version that I know of).

Overall:
-Saves settings in ePUB/PDF.
-"8" key on TOC is broken. I remember this happening on some Libre firmware I tried so I'm not sure why it "leaked" over here.
-PDF TOC issues with nested TOC?
-No option to remove title bar in ADE (I hope they bring this back)
-No dividing the screen into 4 or 9 parts in PDF (I didn't use this feature)

I do like 0.35a2 for the custom fonts but the ePUB works well enough that I think I'll stick with this for now. Having to constantly change zoom settings when reloading books was a pain.

Solicitous · 07-22-2010, 10:43 PM

Just a question of interest. It is my understanding that the JB uses FBReader for majority of the formats, and now recently there has been the addition of ADE for DRM'd ebooks. Does the JB allow you to choose whether you use FBReader or ADE to read non-DRM'd ebooks?

Secondly, with FBReader has there been an update to allow you to reduce the line spacing at all?

07-15-2010, 08:57 PM	#1
tselling Addict Posts: 366 Karma: 510 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: NookColor (MiRage/CM7.2 & Moon+ Reader Pro)	new jetBook firmware 35k (beta) There is a new beta version of the firmware for the original jetBook (not Lite). It seems to have fixed the margin/text resizing Epub problem that we saw with 35g. It also has smaller page numbers on epubs. I think they are close to making this an official release. http://www.ectaco.com/ectaco-posts/l...084.page#27927 * I did have to go to Settings->System Settings->Restore Defaults to see the fix in the ebooks I had previously opened. Make a note of your current page number(s) before doing this. * You might want to backup your .adobe-digital-editions folder since mine seems to now be empty and I am not sure how to get the device.xml recreated to get ADE to recognize my reader again. Last edited by tselling; 07-15-2010 at 09:58 PM.

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07-16-2010, 12:47 AM	#2
greenapple Evangelist Posts: 404 Karma: 664 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle DX, Kobo Aura HD	I guess they've found and killed most of the bugs with this release. So far so good.

07-18-2010, 12:43 AM	#4
Kralik Guru Posts: 609 Karma: 1013897 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Rooted NST	Sounds nice! tselling, any luck with or planned modifications?

07-18-2010, 02:28 AM	#5
tonhou Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Jetbook	Yes 35k looks promising. However there is one area that I have an inferior experience - TOC. I use almost exclusively pdf files as I find they are much faster to open and navigate through, but the TOC for most are full of blanks and have rogue entries. Also sub entries in the TOC cause the reader to freeze. To me TOC must be good for the Jetbook as navigation is not available via hyperlinks. I hope the new firmware can recover the same capabilities of 34c and 35d which I believe used Foxit reader for pdf. --Tony

07-18-2010, 12:16 PM	#6
Kralik Guru Posts: 609 Karma: 1013897 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Rooted NST	Are the PDF TOC any different than 0.35a? The switch to ADE grants PDF reflow, so it seems the trade off would be worth it.

07-18-2010, 03:06 PM	#7
tonhou Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: Jetbook	35a is (I believe) the first version that used Adobe reader for pdf. This version is pretty good but does not "remember" settings that you change. It is good with pdf TOC - rogue entries and blank lines not present. However still no sub-entries, they cause the reader to freeze when you call up the TOC. Reflow is a nice addition for those pdf's that have not been designed for the Jetbook. Mostly I try and shape all mine before putting on the reader - converting from epub to pdf. Once again for me pdf's are a superior experience because they are much faster. --Tony

07-18-2010, 03:16 PM	#8
Kralik Guru Posts: 609 Karma: 1013897 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Rooted NST	The reports I was reading for 0.35k say that it does remember settings. Have you experienced otherwise?

07-18-2010, 09:50 PM	#10
Kralik Guru Posts: 609 Karma: 1013897 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Rooted NST	Would it be possible to create a symbolic link that points from res:///userStyle.css to the desired spot? Maybe I should fire it up on my Linux netbook and start tinkering.

07-21-2010, 02:07 AM	#12
Kralik Guru Posts: 609 Karma: 1013897 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Rooted NST	So I finally got around to 0.35k and in my opinion it is the best firmware yet! Glad to see ECTACO is working on ... something. What I've noticed: Improvements to ePUB: -ADE page numbers are very small and do not scale with the font. Neither do the images scale -- yay! Instead of a font "zoom %" it's a bona-fide size selection and doesn't mess up the images. I'll have Calibre give all of my books a small right margin and it will be perfect. -Search feature is back (missing since ADE) but no dictionary yet. Improvement to PDF: -NEW search function (not there in any old version that I know of). Overall: -Saves settings in ePUB/PDF. -"8" key on TOC is broken. I remember this happening on some Libre firmware I tried so I'm not sure why it "leaked" over here. -PDF TOC issues with nested TOC? -No option to remove title bar in ADE (I hope they bring this back) -No dividing the screen into 4 or 9 parts in PDF (I didn't use this feature) I do like 0.35a2 for the custom fonts but the ePUB works well enough that I think I'll stick with this for now. Having to constantly change zoom settings when reloading books was a pain.

07-22-2010, 10:43 PM	#13
Solicitous Wizard Posts: 1,434 Karma: 1525776 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: TAS, Australia Device: Astak Pocket Pro (Black), 2 x Kindle WiFi (Graphite), iPod Touch 4G	Just a question of interest. It is my understanding that the JB uses FBReader for majority of the formats, and now recently there has been the addition of ADE for DRM'd ebooks. Does the JB allow you to choose whether you use FBReader or ADE to read non-DRM'd ebooks? Secondly, with FBReader has there been an update to allow you to reduce the line spacing at all?

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