What to do about 3.1 and the hacks?

[jdomingos76]

If 3.1 is being enforced automatically like reported, and the hacks are not compatible with it, the correct thing to do is to uninstall the hacks for the time being, right?

[FF2]

For a few days I had turned wifi off to avoid any auto-update. Yesterday I finally decided to remove the hacks to see what normal screensavers are like again. I also turned wifi on, got some books and turned it off. I don't like the Amazon screensavers and really got use to seeing my travel pictures.

So wifi remains off while I THINK about what I want. It would be nice to hear about some attempts by the EXPERTS to come up with a new hack scheme for 3.1.

[janvanmaar]

I guess this really depends on personal preferences...
I can only see 3 reasonable options:

1. uninstall hacks (if any) and update to 3.1 (or wait for an automatic update to 3.1)
2. install 3.1 with hacks installed - people report that the hacks should continue working after the update but you won't be able to uninstall them anymore or install new ones and downgrade to 3.0.x is basically impossible as well - potentially risky
3. disable automatic updates and keep using 3.0.x with all the current functionality except of that included in 3.1 for the time being

For me, the clear choice was disabling the automatic updates for now - 3.1 offers barely any added value to me while I use several hacks, some of them on a daily basis (I cannot imagine anymore always having to plug the cable just to transfer files to/from the Kindle, not being able to listen to audiobook while reading the book, loosing localization, custom keyboard shortcuts by launchpad etc). If the hacks are not very important for you then certainly 1 is the way to go...

[jdomingos76]

Originally Posted by janvanmaar

3. disable automatic updates and keep using 3.0.x with all the current functionality except of that included in 3.1 for the time being

How do you disable the automatic updates?

[omk]

oops, dup post, disregard

[omk]

Jailbreak and install usb networking hack prior to 3.1 upgrade to retain a backdoor, even if you don't intend to use it right now. My understanding is the basic issue is that 3.1 verifies digital signatures against a public key with a specific filename, while 3.0.x took anything in the directory, which is what the jailbreak installed. With the network in place, it is possible to swap the keys to install another hack as usual, then swap it back re-enable amazon's updates (or better yet, leave hack key in place to prevent future down-your-throat forced updates from Big AZ that may further cannibalize usb network).

If you don't understand PKI or have decent Linux CLI background, better wait until another hack is published and tested that takes advantage of the hole to create alternate install mechanism for any new hacks. It is quite dangerous to telnet in and poke around the root fs if you don't know what you are doing.

That said, I can confirm the following sequence worked for me (ymmv):

- jailbreak 0.4.N applied to vanilla 3.0.2
- 3.0.3 update applied from AZ "preview" download
- usb networking 0.30N, screensaver 0.18N, and SSTimeOut 0.2 installed per NiLuJe's excellent thread/packages
- 3.1 update applied from AZ preview download (not the smaller incremental pushed to me, probably ok but untested)

After this, all three hacks still work and, most importantly, I can still telnet in as root. If this is sounding kind of foreign, don't do anything through usb network, just install it prior to 3.1 and you'll be ok.

The ironic thing is that in my case, I am not even interested in subverting DRM schemes, tethering their lame AT&T 3G or installing screensavers. I deal with embedded Linux at work all the time and could care less about hacking a Kindle on my day off - if it wasn't for Amazon's utter disregard for basic usability. All I wanted is for the DAMN SCREEN TO STAY ON FOR > 10MIN! Unbelievable what hoops we have to jump through for basic usability of the product, really.

[Snakey]

My dad has had the screen saver hack installed since January. Today he noticed that his page locations had disappeared, called Amazon to learn that he had the new firmware installed. I have no idea how he got it other than via wifi, but he was not aware of ever updating. Anyway his custom screen savers still work, everything was the same til he noticed the locations were gone.

[dsmid]

Originally Posted by jdomingos76

How do you disable the automatic updates?

Just install this hack.

[jdomingos76]

Well after some thinking I decided to unistall the hacks (jailbreak and screen saver), manually install 3.1, and wait for stable new hacks.
The new newspaper layout is just too good, and, with all respect, I don't trust emergency hacks that are being presented.

My first impression is that 3.1 seems stable and a little faster, but there may be some small issues with pagination. For example, after I lookup a word in the dictionary, I return to a position two lines down where I was before.

[Histerius]

Yesterday I downloaded and installed 3.1 and honestly I don't see why so many people are against it. It works just fine, no problems whatsoever. Me happy

[karunaji]

Maybe someone could dissect updates and make a special update that includes all the features except the fix that closes jailbreaking?