Disable "Tweet/share that you've finished this book" message on 4th gen. Kindle

[LaCadaDe]

Is there anyone who knows how to disable the "Tweet/share that you've finished this book" message?? I find it horribly annoying! Please, just don't answer "back-page out of it" or "just avoid the last page". What I want to know is if anyone knows if there is a hack that can disable it altogether from 4th generation Kindle.
Finding this thing "Tweet/share that you've finished this book" at the end of "The Brothers Karamazov", for example, (and of course by the time you get there, you have forgotten that this thing is awaiting you at the next turn) is a bit like having to put up with a short advert on a techno music soundtrack at the end of your favourite CD, whatever it is (remember that you have PAID for the CD)
Please help!

[DiapDealer]

Please, just don't answer "back-page out of it" or "just avoid the last page".

Sorry, that's all I got. I suspect that's all anybody's got.

[ixtab]

On the KT, you could simply remove or rename /opt/amazon/acw/endactions.acx . That will give you an error message instead. I guess there are more elegant solutions, but I didn't dig any deeper. (a bit of background info, slightly different context though)

On the K4 (NT), it's probably different, because the software is totally different. I don't have such a device though, so I'm unable to provide any further information.

PS: This also doesn't appear on unregistered Kindles, but I guess unregistering it only to avoid that page is not a viable option either

Update: Here's how to permanently disable that "feature" on the Kindle Touch (without any error messages or anything):

/usr/bin/sqlite3 /var/local/appreg.db "update properties set value='hidden' where handlerid='com.lab126.EndActions' and name='viewModes'"

To restore the original behavior:

/usr/bin/sqlite3 /var/local/appreg.db "update properties set value='windowed hidden' where handlerid='com.lab126.EndActions' and name='viewModes'"

This must be entered on the command-line of the device itself (e.g. via SSH, by using the jailbreak and usbnetwork hack).

[twowheels]

Wow... breathe in, breathe out, hit the big home button, and be done with it. You're going to have a heart attack if such little things stress you out so much.

[Poetcop]

That seemed to work! (5.0.4) I had to restart however. Thanks ixtab, very neat finding! Like LaCadaDe, I prefer not to be jarred out of my post-finishing revere by a blast of targetting advertising.

[Zeebra]

There seems to be bigger things to complain about then this. You don't even get that tweet message unless you page ALL the way to end past the "about author" page or anything else after the end of the book. Seems like a strange thing to want to complain about to me

[ixtab]

The one thing that I seriously don't get is subjective comments about other peoples' preferences.

If you aren't bothered by something, fine. Actually, this entire thread is a non-issue for you. So why do you paradoxically feel that need to step in and explain to other people that it is no big deal?

[geoffwood]

Originally Posted by ixtab

The one thing that I seriously don't get is subjective comments about other peoples' preferences.

If you aren't bothered by something, fine. Actually, this entire thread is a non-issue for you. So why do you paradoxically feel that need to step in and explain to other people that it is no big deal?

Because it is a fascinating insight into other people's personality traits. To see someone say that they are "jarred out of my post-finishing revere by a blast of targetting advertising" is interesting to me and makes me wonder how they function in life. Do they never watch TV, do they rip the covers off paperbacks to avoid the "jarring" advertising of the authors other works on the back cover?

Just because we don't agree doesn't mean we can't comment or take an interest. Would you rather live in a world where only people who agreed were allowed to comment? Would you prefer to never have your views or preferences questioned in any way, only reinforced by people who support you 100%? Sounds like a pretty closed-minded existence to me.

[ixtab]

Except that asking and trying to understand why a person feels some way (whichever way, it doesn't matter) is entirely different from "Seems like a strange thing to want to complain about to me" and "There seems to be bigger things to complain about then this".

These sentences are purely self-righteous, and I don't see the faintest attempt of even trying to reflect or understand other positions.

Update: PS: Having read your reply again... there is a tremendous difference between passively bearing all the ads that you're being swamped with, and ubiquitous "social media" integration and interaction, as innocuous as it may seem. Where do those multi-billion companies make their money from? I don't know whom to attribute this statement to (and I may well have gotten some words wrong here), but: "If you're getting excellent service for free, then *you* are the merchandise."

[geoffwood]

I'm not sure i understand the "tremendous difference". They are both advertising, the fact that one is advertising a free product in order to then sell access to you to other advertisers seems to me like a distinction without a difference. They are advertising in order to get you to change your behavior whether that is making a post on Facebook that you may not otherwise have made, or buy a different detergent.

Amazon does exactly the same thing. They sell eReaders at close to, if not below, cost and in the past have sold e-books at below their wholesale cost. They aren't doing that out of the goodness of their hearts, they are doing it to drive you "the merchandise" to their site to sell you more stuff.

[ixtab]

You're right, I was a bit unclear about what I meant. I was trying to contrast the "traditional" ads (TV, newspapers, billboards...), which are horrendously annoying, because they tend to consume ... (how much? I don't know precisely, but a good share of) your attention, with the, errm... social media economy (for lack of a better word).

Both are not directly asking money from you, but both are hoping to make money with you. I'm intentionally (over)simplifying the following. The former, traditional, model (TV, newspapers, ...) is hoping to make money by making you buy select products. It's still a lot of guesswork, because the publishers don't know who they effectively reach, and the advertisers even less. They have rough estimates about numbers and target groups (like, the target group for a breast-feeding course is different from a Wrestling event is different from a golden Bible sellout), but they are just that: estimates. They are hoping to reach some audience, but that doesn't have a personal effect on me. I might in fact be a fanatical christian female wrestler who just had her first baby.

Facebook, Google, Twitter... are also not asking for money from you. In fact, they're doing everything to make you more comfortable in their nests. Why? Not because they want to spend millions every month to maintain their infrastructure, in order to have you feel comfortable.

So again: where do they get their money from? Did you really, seriously, honestly, think about this? None of these companies is even trying to keep it secret: they're making their money through advertising, just like TV stations. With one fundamental difference: where the TV station is simply flooding the region without knowing the recipients, Facebook (from now on taken as a running example) knows everything about you: your location, your interests, your FB history and pretty much every FB-enabled site on the Web (and of course also whether you liked it.... or not(!)).

In a sense, Facebook's business model is just like the newspapers' one - but also much more dangerous... They're selling potential customers (you) to potential clients (advertisers). So, you have been looking online for cheap used cars, sold your sports equipment and googled about mortgage rates? Not looking good, but hey, you might want some of our dead cheap life insurances, or maybe a medical trip to Mexico to cut expenses. Huh?

Oh... You have looked for contraceptive advice lately, and booked some budget motel stays from our partner companies. Hey, how about our super-confidential weekend stay in the 4 star lovers' lounge at a 50% discount?

And how about some cheap funeral institute in your area? Your recent requests relating to "terminal cancer" suggest that you do...

Bullshit? No! It's reality, wake up! Maybe not as "plastic" as described above, but pretty close, and getting closer every day.

BTW, this discussion was about the annoying options screen appearing after some book has ended.

[geoffwood]

You don't need to tell me to "wake up" I fully understand the new economy. Given a choice between seeing random adds that are being broadcast to everyone versus targeted ads that are narrowcast to a select audience and focussed on their specific needs or interests, I'll take the latter, as will most marketers.

[HoopyFrood]

I hate, okay maybe a bit strong, really, really, really dislike the "Share with" and "Tweet this" thing too. I don't like Facebook, have never tweeted and don't read tweets, and feel that the unsolicited urging to "share" is something I can do without.

I don't like them, I have no logical easily argued reason, I just don't like them. So sue me.

[daletsteele]

I have a different spin on this discussion. I occasionally like to post something from a book or document I'm reading along with my comment. This works fine on my Touch as long as it's an Amazon document. If I try from any of my Calibre handled books and documents I get a "service unavailable, try again later" message that never works. I've mentioned to Amazon without results. I've checked the latest upgrade to 5.1 but the problem is still there. Would it be fair for me to say that this really bugs me and I just can't function without a solution? Well maybe not, but I would like to have the feature work as I see fit. Back to the debate now...

Thanks, Dale

[yoho]

Excellent debate, i must say.