Onyx M96 software issues

doktorek · 08-03-2014, 05:57 PM

OK, I played a little and time to list annoying issues. I wonder if there will be any response to that? I will probably file a formal complaint, unless a solution is found.

1. Dictionary support is an unknown
a) OnyxDict (default tool) is a mistery - 0 information on using it, device comes with no dictionary installed, no manual, no nothing
b) Installed ColorDict from play store - crashes everytime I want to go back to read the book (then I need to double click the word and choose dictionary to lookup the word again - what an annoyance)
c) Installed QuickDic (which is mentioned in the product description as supported) - when I highlight the word and click dictionary, QuickDic is opened without this word being chosen. So what kind of support is that?

2. FBReader
Device comes with builtin readers. After trying to read the book and lookup the words in dictionary, FBReader started to crash, now it doesn't even open the book, it crashes instantly and wants to send a report.

3. Updating
My build num is 2014-07-21_21-11_dev_d4505fe, whenever I go to OTA update it tells me there is a new version (2014-07-23...), I'm downloading it, everything updates, upgrades etc. and after restart OnyxLanucher crashes. When I go to OTA update I'm still shown the old build number. Does this work at all?

At this point I am disappointed. The device may be nice, but the software is in many regards garbage and does not work as advertised (e.g. where's that improved dictionary support?!). Fortunately, I currently do not need scribbling, which is probably even more buggy.

machinogodzilla · 08-04-2014, 05:50 AM

Scribbling actually works fine, at least with my firmware version (2014-07-01).

I'm also curious about the dictionary support, have asked a question already but haven't received any response.

I would also appreciate a better response to issues reported by users. I have suggested using a crude bug tracker which method seemed to work fairly well with M92 but again no response.

doktorek · 08-04-2014, 06:22 AM

Well, fair enough

I haven't even tried scribbling while trying to get the reading working, just saw some problems reported.

I agree that response is very poor. I understand Booxtor is busy etc. but I feel like I bought a product with alpha software or at most early beta. It would be OK if it was advertised that way, but there is no mention of that.
Unfortunately, it's kind of a trend on the market, with products being pushed to the market as soon as possible and then you have to wait months for patches.

Wiki would be great, even better would be open sourcing the firmware and letting the community do the job - I'm a software developer and I would just fix my problems myself, or at least would try to, instead of waiting for an unknown time to have them addressed in the first place. Great example is an mp3 player I bought some years ago - it played flac files encoded with defaults with lower pitch than CD player. They promised to fix this "in the next update". It took them over 2 (!) years to release a patch (beacuse in the meantime there was a follow up product etc. - probably same will happen or already is happening with M92). At this point, I was not even paying attention, because community released alternative firmware which was 100 times better at everything.

Booxtor - is there any chance community could help developing/fixing the software? Filing bugs is just a waste of time, if there are not enough people to even address them and I've read many times already that you've been working too many hours daily (I'm not even starting on efficiency of that - we all know what's the daily average).

japinder · 09-03-2014, 02:42 PM

There is an existing wiki for M96: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Boox_M96

If required, a section for bugs/wishlist can be added to it.

With regards to the software, I guess the Aug 8th release is about good enough/usable, with no major issues.

The release from Aug 21st (translator edition) does have a couple of bugs:
- Play store doesn't work
- Wifi remains always on

OTA is still a work in progress, with the release from Aug 21st being the only download offered.

08-03-2014, 05:57 PM	#1
doktorek Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2014 Device: Onyx M96	Onyx M96 software issues OK, I played a little and time to list annoying issues. I wonder if there will be any response to that? I will probably file a formal complaint, unless a solution is found. 1. Dictionary support is an unknown a) OnyxDict (default tool) is a mistery - 0 information on using it, device comes with no dictionary installed, no manual, no nothing b) Installed ColorDict from play store - crashes everytime I want to go back to read the book (then I need to double click the word and choose dictionary to lookup the word again - what an annoyance) c) Installed QuickDic (which is mentioned in the product description as supported) - when I highlight the word and click dictionary, QuickDic is opened without this word being chosen. So what kind of support is that? 2. FBReader Device comes with builtin readers. After trying to read the book and lookup the words in dictionary, FBReader started to crash, now it doesn't even open the book, it crashes instantly and wants to send a report. 3. Updating My build num is 2014-07-21_21-11_dev_d4505fe, whenever I go to OTA update it tells me there is a new version (2014-07-23...), I'm downloading it, everything updates, upgrades etc. and after restart OnyxLanucher crashes. When I go to OTA update I'm still shown the old build number. Does this work at all? At this point I am disappointed. The device may be nice, but the software is in many regards garbage and does not work as advertised (e.g. where's that improved dictionary support?!). Fortunately, I currently do not need scribbling, which is probably even more buggy. Last edited by doktorek; 08-03-2014 at 06:04 PM.

08-04-2014, 06:22 AM	#3
doktorek Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2014 Device: Onyx M96	Well, fair enough I haven't even tried scribbling while trying to get the reading working, just saw some problems reported. I agree that response is very poor. I understand Booxtor is busy etc. but I feel like I bought a product with alpha software or at most early beta. It would be OK if it was advertised that way, but there is no mention of that. Unfortunately, it's kind of a trend on the market, with products being pushed to the market as soon as possible and then you have to wait months for patches. Wiki would be great, even better would be open sourcing the firmware and letting the community do the job - I'm a software developer and I would just fix my problems myself, or at least would try to, instead of waiting for an unknown time to have them addressed in the first place. Great example is an mp3 player I bought some years ago - it played flac files encoded with defaults with lower pitch than CD player. They promised to fix this "in the next update". It took them over 2 (!) years to release a patch (beacuse in the meantime there was a follow up product etc. - probably same will happen or already is happening with M92). At this point, I was not even paying attention, because community released alternative firmware which was 100 times better at everything. Booxtor - is there any chance community could help developing/fixing the software? Filing bugs is just a waste of time, if there are not enough people to even address them and I've read many times already that you've been working too many hours daily (I'm not even starting on efficiency of that - we all know what's the daily average). Last edited by doktorek; 08-04-2014 at 06:24 AM.

09-03-2014, 02:42 PM	#4
japinder jp Posts: 139 Karma: 12834 Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Singapore Device: Onyx Boox Note Air, Remarkable 1, Kindle Oasis 2	There is an existing wiki for M96: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Boox_M96 If required, a section for bugs/wishlist can be added to it. With regards to the software, I guess the Aug 8th release is about good enough/usable, with no major issues. The release from Aug 21st (translator edition) does have a couple of bugs: - Play store doesn't work - Wifi remains always on OTA is still a work in progress, with the release from Aug 21st being the only download offered. Last edited by japinder; 09-03-2014 at 02:48 PM.

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08-04-2014, 05:50 AM	#2
machinogodzilla Addict Posts: 208 Karma: 176052 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: PBook 902† Kindle† Nook SimpleTouch† Onyx M92† i86† M96 N96ML NotePro	Scribbling actually works fine, at least with my firmware version (2014-07-01). I'm also curious about the dictionary support, have asked a question already but haven't received any response. I would also appreciate a better response to issues reported by users. I have suggested using a crude bug tracker which method seemed to work fairly well with M92 but again no response.