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Old 07-07-2009, 09:39 AM   #1
poohbear_nc
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Download App Needed - Esp. for DX

1. OK - the 2 biggest complaints/deficiencies for the DX (and the K2) are lack of folders and loss of SD card storage. These problems escalated with the DX because of the added PDF support - which encouraged folks to load up their DX with personal docs and periodicals- with no way to sort/find things.

2. Some services have developed apps to put on the Kindles (Mobile Read & Feedbooks come to mind) that allow folks to directly download books onto the K without the need for a USB cable.

3. Online storage services like Sugarsync (which does have a mobile interface for phones) and DropBox would provide a means to:
a. Unlimited storage of as many docs & books as needed - 2G free, then pay for storage.
b. Ability to organize docs & books into folders!

BUT - if you try to access SugarSync via their mobile app (https://m.sugarsync.com/login), you can see your docs but cannot download them - regardless of their format, you get the Amazon error message that the Kindle does not support the download of this format. (See thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50095 for details). Only docs in HTML format are viewable.

SO - can someone write an app (like the Mobile Read or Feedbooks apps) that would allow one to access & download files from their online Sugarsync account onto their DX? IMHO this would address both outstanding problems for the K2 and DX. I suggest an app, rather than a hack, since most folks would be more comfortable loading an app than risk bricking their Kindle.

I'm not a programmer, so if anyone can enlighten me on why this can't happen, I would appreciate it. Better yet, anyone want to give it a shot?
I can't see how this would violate any Amazon policies - just replace the USB cable loading with Whispernet, unless the issue of charging for file size would enter in.

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Old 07-07-2009, 03:36 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poohbear_nc View Post
SO - can someone write an app (like the Mobile Read or Feedbooks apps) that would allow one to access & download files from their online Sugarsync account onto their DX?
There are no "apps" like for other devices you may own such as an iPhone. There is no SDK, all the work that's been done so far on the Kindle platform has been done so unofficially.

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I can't see how this would violate any Amazon policies - just replace the USB cable loading with Whispernet, unless the issue of charging for file size would enter in.
You actually hit it right on the head. Amazon pays Sprint for Whispernet usage, which is the reason why they charge for per-megabyte book conversion & delivery. By using another "application" to use Whispernet you're basically putting the same cost on Amazon without paying them anything. I could see why people would be reluctant to publicly release an unofficial hack that might cause Amazon to completely lock down what access there is to the underlying OS already.

Basically don't hold your breath.
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Old 07-07-2009, 04:18 PM   #3
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I don't think this is all that complicated. Savory is a K2 app for automatically converting ePub and PDF to MOBI on the K2 (see also Savory - a native ebook conversion package for the Kindle 2). Savory is about as complicated as a Kindle hack is likely to get, but patching the web browser sounds simple:
Quote:
How does Savory work?
Plain-english version

Savory installs a small program which runs on your Kindle and watches for new files in the 'Documents' directory with names ending in '.epub' and '.pdf'. When the system notifies Savory that a document has shown up, it wakes up and runs an open-source file conversion program called Calibre. Savory also updates your Kindle2's browser configuration file to tell it that the Kindle can now handle .pdf and .epub documents.
I have not been following Savory (because I have a K1) but it seems to have done all the hard work required to allow the KDX (say) download PDF and ePub files and probably other filetypes too. Independent of SugarSync support, just adding PDF support to the KDX's web browser would be a major advance in functionality.
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Old 07-07-2009, 04:20 PM   #4
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...because of the Whispernet charges and the sizes of PDFs being many times larger than other formats such as .mobi or .lit I can see why they locked out PDF download support.
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Old 07-07-2009, 04:22 PM   #5
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...because of the Whispernet charges and the sizes of PDFs being many times larger than other formats such as .mobi or .lit I can see why they locked out PDF download support.
They might have done so deliberately, but it is just as likely that they are locked out because the K2 did not download them and the browser was not updated for the KDX. The K2 does not natively support PDFs and therefore there was good reason not to download them on the K2.
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Old 07-07-2009, 09:42 PM   #6
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Way I see this as a simple workaround is to hack Savory-like daemon (running process in the background) so it looks for files downloaded with a .mobi/.prc extension which are really pdfs, and renames them accordingly. Unless the Kindle browser is smart enough to read file headers and not just rely on file extensions & MIME data.

...if it can be hacked around, it probably will, but again, if somebody releases this, and the end result is that Amazon locks down the next version of the firmware so it's a lot harder or even nigh impossibile to install "hacks" imma be upset, and I'm sure others would be too.

Something like this application would be an incentive for Amazon to lock things down, if people all of a sudden start downloading 10-100mB pdf's without a cent being paid to them while they're paying Sprint for each mB.
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Old 07-08-2009, 10:30 AM   #7
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Clarification

To clarify what I am requesting (or dreaming of):

Currently Kindle users can load an app onto their K's from Mobile Read and from Feedbooks that allow users to access these websites and download books directly onto their K's - so that these apps must somehow tweak the Kindle web interface to allow the download of books not purchased through Amazon -- in mobi & prc formats bypassing that pesky Amazon error message denying the download. As many books as you want!

With SugarSync's mobile interface you can access your Sugarsync box via the web interface on the Kindle - but the Kindle is blocking downloads - regardless of the format.

Can one of the existing book download apps be modified for the SugarSync mobile interface to allow direct download of files to the K?

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Old 07-08-2009, 05:11 PM   #8
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You can already downoad prc and mobi books through the native web browser if I remember correctly... I haven't heard of any app you can load onto your kindle for either website. Can you point me a link?
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Old 07-08-2009, 05:24 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poohbear_nc View Post
To clarify what I am requesting (or dreaming of):

Currently Kindle users can load an app onto their K's from Mobile Read and from Feedbooks that allow users to access these websites and download books directly onto their K's - so that these apps must somehow tweak the Kindle web interface to allow the download of books not purchased through Amazon -- in mobi & prc formats bypassing that pesky Amazon error message denying the download. As many books as you want!
The mobi guides from MobileRead and Feedbooks are not apps, they're just books with download links in them to mobi files. You could make one yourself.

BTW, I also think some version of Savory for the DX might be the way to go. I was able to download a pdf file that I hosted on my own website using Savory on my K2.
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Old 07-09-2009, 11:11 AM   #10
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You can already downoad prc and mobi books through the native web browser if I remember correctly...
This is one of the problems I am encountering - when I go to Sugarsync via the K web browser, I can't download any books I have backed up there - of any format - just get an Amazon error message that the download is prohibited b/c it's not a supported format - even though it IS a supported format, i.e., mobi or prc or azw.
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Old 07-09-2009, 11:16 AM   #11
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[QUOTE=daffy4u;516026]The mobi guides from MobileRead and Feedbooks are not apps, they're just books with download links in them to mobi files.
You could make one yourself.
QUOTE]

Thanks for the clarification for the nature of these guides - makes sense how they show up on the K table of contents.

Can you point me to any information, wiki, etc. on how to make a guide? I'm not a programmer but willing to give it a try.


Savory seems to be an answer for PDFs, but I would like to store my mobi & prc books sorted into folders on Sugarsync and be able to "pull one off the shelf" via the K web browser when I want to read/re-read one.
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Old 07-09-2009, 01:01 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poohbear_nc View Post
Thanks for the clarification for the nature of these guides - makes sense how they show up on the K table of contents.

Can you point me to any information, wiki, etc. on how to make a guide? I'm not a programmer but willing to give it a try.


Savory seems to be an answer for PDFs, but I would like to store my mobi & prc books sorted into folders on Sugarsync and be able to "pull one off the shelf" via the K web browser when I want to read/re-read one.
You can create a text file with links to all of your books (or an html file changed to a txt extension, or a word file run through MobiPocket Creator or... a number of ways). The problems with using Sugarsync is the log-in. You don't have to log in to MobileRead or Feedbooks to download. If you have another place to store them which doesn't require a log-in, it should work.
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Old 07-09-2009, 02:31 PM   #13
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Since online storage services require logins, I am back to the question of whether the K web browser can be tweaked to allow downloads, or are we permanently blocked b/c

"Just so you know that the, bookmarked web pages are only for your reference and not for downloading the content."

The above was taken from a CS response in another thread for a question of why PDFs can't be downloaded.

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Old 07-09-2009, 03:27 PM   #14
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If you have a website or a friend with a website, you could create a hidden directory with books on it, that would not require a log-in.
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Old 07-09-2009, 03:34 PM   #15
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If you have a website or a friend with a website, you could create a hidden directory with books on it, that would not require a log-in.
Cool idea - thanks! I'll start tinkering on it this weekend.
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