Mini Wikipedia, new translation options, and many other tweaks to nickel - Page 7

Ken Maltby · 05-14-2014, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick_1964

So.. if you never use the trunk of your car, only drive when it's dry or in daylight, you find it okay that the dealer rips it all off and remove your lights at your next service repair, unasked ??
And take the rear seat because he find that it no longer needs to be there ?
That is a strange way to look to it, I find very odd...

No I would say that Kobo's actions are more than questionable, but I don't need to settle for what Kobo provides. I don't have to fix Kobo's software either. I have other software that does more of the things that I want an ereader to do, and none of the things Kobo benefits from, but are of no interest to me. If you are saying that you can make Kobo provide the features you want and somehow keep them from messing them up, go ahead, but I will not be holding my breath till you are successful. As I said, one way to address the situation is trying to fix Kobo's software with patches and such, but I prefer to use other software on my excellent hardware device. I guess expressing your outrage at Kobo's actions could be a third option, I just doubt its effectiveness.

Luck;
Ken

davidfor · 05-14-2014, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick_1964

So.. if you never use the trunk of your car, only drive when it's dry or in daylight, you find it okay that the dealer rips it all off and remove your lights at your next service repair, unasked ??
And take the rear seat because he find that it no longer needs to be there ?
That is a strange way to look to it, I find very odd...

Apart from the unreleased options that this thread tries to document, what has Kobo removed from you? You have an Aura HD. I can name a lot of function that has been added to the firmware since it was released (e.g. Pocket), but I can't immediately think of anything that has been removed.

PeterT · 05-14-2014, 10:24 PM

About the ONLY time Kobo have removed a feature that was on the devices was the short-lived Series sort option.

You might say they removed stats, but, those were only removed for side-loaded kEpubs, a feature that was never documented as existing in the first place.

Nick_1964 · 05-15-2014, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

No I would say that Kobo's actions are more than questionable, but I don't need to settle for what Kobo provides. I don't have to fix Kobo's software either. I have other software that does more of the things that I want an ereader to do, and none of the things Kobo benefits from, but are of no interest to me. If you are saying that you can make Kobo provide the features you want and somehow keep them from messing them up, go ahead, but I will not be holding my breath till you are successful. As I said, one way to address the situation is trying to fix Kobo's software with patches and such, but I prefer to use other software on my excellent hardware device. I guess expressing your outrage at Kobo's actions could be a third option, I just doubt its effectiveness.

Luck;
Ken

And @davidfor and @PeterT Hoho, press on the brake please, i had no intention to attack someone.
And not to steal the topic, so maybe it's the best to go any further with a PM.
@Ken, I didn't know there was an option to completely hack the Kobo HD and completely remove the total reader in it, I am interested, but holding your breath by hack the libnickel and holding your breath by completely remove your internal reader by another one.
I guess it is like the Sony ones, and that the device is running on android or something and replace it by fbreader or something.
Before I gonna buy the Aura HD I first read all of the posts here about it and about the hacks,because one of the limitations I saw from the beginning was that with all the white space that kobo put in,from the 7 inch there was only the space used of a 6 inch.
What I didn't read was that Kobo,unasked,send updates you can not hold ( the patch to prevent this is there but only works on one version ( for as far as I know ) and make patches unavailable, like the option to make screenshots, and with every new update they change some things where another more experienced guy has to make a patch for,just to get my whitespace back to letters, the wifi insomnia, etc.
I now,again with the patch for just only my firmware,can prevent this updates,but one of the options I buyed ( sorry for grammatical mistakes,I had only one years lessons ) the Aura HD was the option to take screenshots.
Why ?
I work as a volunteer for a home for elderly people, and before the reader they, with bad sight, had to use somekind of microscope to read a paper book.
"our" home is rich.. we have 3 of them,meaning that when someone is finished, 99 others are waiting,and that was an idiot way.
Together with a couple of other people,some of them have their parents in it,we desided to raise money and buy 25 readers ( some people are just "gone to far" to use them ) and we buyed on ebay 50 sleep covers, for 5 euro's each (they are still there,with protective sleeve and a pen) but then the next problem,all of the old books they like,are not on epub.
On my own, I started with abbyy finereader, which I buyed out of my own pocket, to scan each book individual and make them into an ebook. Just so that an old man or woman can read her favorite book with some privacy and dignity.
Ever tried it ?? Scanning page for page,then do a word recognition program over it,then manually read every page to see if there are mistakes in it.
I have a special form of dyslectic (they just put it in that category) that I can see pages as pictures,therefore reading 4 till 6 times faster but still see mistakes in it, it takes me a week to do a good book, t.i. with chapterbreaks where they are in the book, alinea breaks where they are in the book,pictures where they are in the book.
But even me ( sigh) make mistakes and they know that they just have to move the powerslide, when they are finished I have 3 readers here in my own home (also payd myself,not to express "how good I am" but why I make such a problem of it ) and I replace the one. ( My wife also works there as nurse )
With the screenshots I can see where there are "mistakes" and replace them in the ebooks that I made of the original paper books and the next person that reads it,has no error in it, I just can't do this without the screenshots, we can't expect that people are gonna hold a paper list of found errors,that are depending on the font and magnification ( big,big magnification) on other pages, I need that picture to put in the whole sentence in Abbyy or Sigil to replace it.Kobo removed it in the latest firmware and I don't believe it is coming back.
The home now,has seen "the light" and use the statistics to see how much books are read, how much people there are using it,and they have now a small budget to buy new e-books or, to buy second hand paper ones,that I can rebuild into digital ones.
Last week they found one of the people dead in bed "reading" a book I had made.
That means it was worth all of it for me, I need no bigger reward then this.
Maybe Kobo only remove features that are not official, but the whole project fails when they do it and I can't revert it.
We bought the readers just for those hidden functions.
Why... just look in your imagination and see the smile on the face of that person while reading "my" died in peace, i don't need a bigger reward then that.Yes.. emotions play a role in my reaction, sorry for this "ebook" to explain why.
Ehh.. Pocket.. don't know anything about that, I digg in to it. Sorry for my emotions,it is a big project setup to do a bit more then change the diaper 6 times a day and put the TV on a channel where 25 people have to watch the same show,wherever they wanted or not.

Dryhte · 05-15-2014, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

This thread seems to be about "unauthorized" ways to use Nickel, to make it function more like users may want. That is one approach, another is to use other software, than what Kobo provides, and that can be just as valid and would be much less likely to be subject to the whims of Kobo's marketing efforts. The other reading software just lets you read ebooks, no social media, no gathering statistics, no "prizes". Some of the "other than Kobo" software includes games and utilities, as well as a great Start Menu that can let you avoid the Nickel UI altogether.

I don't miss the database or pretty icon display of book covers. I am not one who needs to know how many books I have read, I read for my own enjoyment, not to reach some goal, or provide others (Google or Kobo) with marketing data. Kobo can keep their "Prizes/Awards", I haven't bought but one ebook from them, anyway. A "Sync" feature might become an issue, if my memory were to fail to the point I couldn't find my place in a book I am reading on more than one device. For books read from a single device, the readers keep track of what page I am on just fine. I have my Library of thousands of ebooks organized in a file structure that the basic "File Managers" used by the "other than Kobo" reading software have no trouble with. (Not subject to Database corruption.)

Good luck getting Nickel and the Kobo supplied readers to function as you want them to, I find using the alternative readers much less stressful and more fun anyway.

Luck;
Ken

Ken,

I looked around but couldn't find a 'recommended' non-nickel setup. Would you mind sharing what exactly you do use that works exactly like you want it? I'm a bit leery of walking down that road without a clear plan (I don't have the time to experiment with all that's available out there, I want to read books on my kobo, but I still would like to try something else than the kobo software (if it came recommended

)

tshering · 05-15-2014, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick_1964

I now,again with the patch for just only my firmware,can prevent this updates,but one of the options I buyed ( sorry for grammatical mistakes,I had only one years lessons ) the Aura HD was the option to take screenshots.

If you decide which of the previous FWs that can make screenshots you would like to use, somebody here will certainly provide the patch to prevent wifi update.

Nick_1964 · 05-15-2014, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tshering

If you decide which of the previous FWs that can make screenshots you would like to use, somebody here will certainly provide the patch to prevent wifi update.

There are not much.. how to call it... sorry.. you know a bit more about me, there is not much text explaining what a new firmware does or don't do.
There is a word for it... but the long reply made a fuse blown in my mind.
All the readers are now on 3.1.1.
I use the following kpg.conf on it:

Spoiler:

And yes..got a reply on another forum.. what we do is illegal,making digital copy's of analogue books, we don't spread them,and "our" people are still to young for the Gutenberg Project

In the pass we asked for permission,but we never get.
And we are ready to start a project with new volunteers we called: voorleesmoeders, "mothers that come in the class to read for the children" they gonna read the books loudly to be used on daisy readers for the 16 blind people we have now.

Ken Maltby · 05-15-2014, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dryhte

Ken,

I looked around but couldn't find a 'recommended' non-nickel setup. Would you mind sharing what exactly you do use that works exactly like you want it? I'm a bit leery of walking down that road without a clear plan (I don't have the time to experiment with all that's available out there, I want to read books on my kobo, but I still would like to try something else than the kobo software (if it came recommended

)

An install guide. It includes links to tshering's "Kobo Start Menu" which will let you select to start Nickel or start Koreader or another menu with Coolreader and games and utilities. If you install the alternative readers using the guide they will launch by selecting an icon, just as you select a book to read in Nickel. If you then install the Start Menu, you can then select the alternate readers without starting Nickel at all. There is also a description of how you can hide your ebooks from the database processing, in the guide.

Luck;
Ken

GeoffR · 07-25-2014, 12:56 AM

After upgrading to firmware 3.5.0 my .conf file now has poolMode=false the [ReadingSettings] section. Any ideas what that does?

Nick_1964 · 08-07-2014, 06:44 AM

I still struggle with the ClockDisplayDuration option.. don't know what the syntax must be, just a true or false doesn't work offcourse, but whatever I try, the option is there but... ms ?? or seconds, it does not seems to do much and I would,love the option just letting the clock somewhere down.. just a little clock... and maybe some small info about the battery.. i can call it,just press on the middle of the screen... but the low battery warning doesn't give you much time and my partner kills me after a nightshift when I make noises to put an adapter on it.. now I check it when I go to sleep, is there enough power, if not, I charge it overday..

GeoffR · 01-20-2015, 01:27 AM

Firmware 3.11.0 and 3.12.0 have a new feature setting:

Code:

[FeatureSettings]
ShouldDither=true

This turns on dithering for certain images, resulting in a smooth transition from one shade of grey to the next, instead of different shades forming distinct bands.

The images I have seen it work for on my Glo are the sleep screen, and the cover page of synced kepubs. It might work for other images too, I haven't tried yet.

It is difficult to get a screenshot to show the difference it makes though, because with ShouldDither=false the screenshot just shows the original colour cover image. But with the ShouldDither=true it shows a dithered greyscale image. There doesn't seem to be a way to get a screenshot showing the undithered greyscale image.

Also beware when reopening a kepub the old cover image may be cached, so you might need to turn the page and then turn back to the cover to see the effect after changing the ShouldDither setting.

NiLuJe · 01-20-2015, 06:52 PM

It doesn't seem to affect already processed sleep covers on my end, but it does indeed apply a cheap but effective ordered dither on in-reader covers (potentially not only the covers?)

.

ctlw83 · 05-14-2015, 10:36 AM

I remember seeing a conf setting somewhere online that allows a user to give books a star rating/review on the reader itself. Any idea if this flag actually exists and, if so, what it is?

davidfor · 05-14-2015, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctlw83

I remember seeing a conf setting somewhere online that allows a user to give books a star rating/review on the reader itself. Any idea if this flag actually exists and, if so, what it is?

Until recently, all books on the device could be rated. But, nothing was done with the rating, it was only on the device and nowhere else. A couple of firmware versions ago, Kobo added the ability to review the books in the shop. This also allows you to review or rate books you have bought and downloaded. But, there are no ratings for sideloaded books and I don't know of a way to enable it.

ctlw83 · 05-15-2015, 12:07 PM

AH, I see. So basically if you don't buy the book from Kobo, you can't rate it on device. Got it.

That is a shame.

01-20-2015, 01:27 AM	#101
GeoffR Wizard Posts: 3,821 Karma: 19162882 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Te Riu-a-Māui Device: Kobo Glo	ShouldDither feature setting (fw 3.11.0) Firmware 3.11.0 and 3.12.0 have a new feature setting: Code: [FeatureSettings] ShouldDither=true This turns on dithering for certain images, resulting in a smooth transition from one shade of grey to the next, instead of different shades forming distinct bands. The images I have seen it work for on my Glo are the sleep screen, and the cover page of synced kepubs. It might work for other images too, I haven't tried yet. It is difficult to get a screenshot to show the difference it makes though, because with ShouldDither=false the screenshot just shows the original colour cover image. But with the ShouldDither=true it shows a dithered greyscale image. There doesn't seem to be a way to get a screenshot showing the undithered greyscale image. Also beware when reopening a kepub the old cover image may be cached, so you might need to turn the page and then turn back to the cover to see the effect after changing the ShouldDither setting.

01-20-2015, 06:52 PM	#102
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	It doesn't seem to affect already processed sleep covers on my end, but it does indeed apply a cheap but effective ordered dither on in-reader covers (potentially not only the covers?) . Last edited by NiLuJe; 01-20-2015 at 06:57 PM.

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05-14-2014, 10:24 PM	#93
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,167 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	About the ONLY time Kobo have removed a feature that was on the devices was the short-lived Series sort option. You might say they removed stats, but, those were only removed for side-loaded kEpubs, a feature that was never documented as existing in the first place.

07-25-2014, 12:56 AM	#99
GeoffR Wizard Posts: 3,821 Karma: 19162882 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Te Riu-a-Māui Device: Kobo Glo	After upgrading to firmware 3.5.0 my .conf file now has poolMode=false the [ReadingSettings] section. Any ideas what that does?

08-07-2014, 06:44 AM	#100
Nick_1964 Bookworm Posts: 975 Karma: 768585 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Netherlands Device: Sony prs-650, Kobo Glo HD (2x), Kobo Glo	I still struggle with the ClockDisplayDuration option.. don't know what the syntax must be, just a true or false doesn't work offcourse, but whatever I try, the option is there but... ms ?? or seconds, it does not seems to do much and I would,love the option just letting the clock somewhere down.. just a little clock... and maybe some small info about the battery.. i can call it,just press on the middle of the screen... but the low battery warning doesn't give you much time and my partner kills me after a nightshift when I make noises to put an adapter on it.. now I check it when I go to sleep, is there enough power, if not, I charge it overday..

05-14-2015, 10:36 AM	#103
ctlw83 Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: CT, USA Device: kindle 2 with 3.2.1 firmware, Kobo Touch v3	I remember seeing a conf setting somewhere online that allows a user to give books a star rating/review on the reader itself. Any idea if this flag actually exists and, if so, what it is?

05-15-2015, 12:07 PM	#105
ctlw83 Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: CT, USA Device: kindle 2 with 3.2.1 firmware, Kobo Touch v3	AH, I see. So basically if you don't buy the book from Kobo, you can't rate it on device. Got it. That is a shame.

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