New Firmware V1.25 2008-03-19

[ibat]

I have upgraded to new Firmware version available on the Jinke site:

jinke updates

• DjVu works now for me!
• Many new features in coolreader
• FB2 support seems slower
• But I have not figured out what "Female" in the coolreader menu does!

[Gudy]

I can't recommend this update at all. Most of my books are zipped fb2 files: Name.fb2.zip. They turn up in the bookshelf just fine, but I can not open them. The system tries to load them and then just returns to the bookshelf.

[ArgonZ]

Hi!
Can anyone verify if the new firmware still "freezes" with fb2 books?

I've noticed that some problems got worst... Perhaps that is why they haven't increased the version number.

[sweetcream]

What coolreader?

Or is that something to do with the fb2? Why is everyone using that format anyway, Ebooks don't usually come in this format do they?

[ArgonZ]

just try opening a book with fb2. It realy is the best supported format on the V3. Except for the occasional crash, of course.

[sweetcream]

Originally Posted by ArgonZ

just try opening a book with fb2. It realy is the best supported format on the V3. Except for the occasional crash, of course.

Really? I might have to just try it, it would be great to change the ugly english font. As for crashing...txt files I read crash occasionally so I'd have to just see first.

[wapcaplit]

Looks like a bugfix release is now up (2008-03-24). Since I benefitted from the previous posters' "dinna upgrade its a wee bit kludgy" I'll be the victim this time...

Mind you though - all I tend to use is fb2 so thats the primary test you're getting.

P.S. Just for you, Gudy, I'll try zipping up an fb2.

--

Firmware now updated. Simple as usual (vol+).

.fb2 files open no problem - zipped fb2 files, similarly will open fine.

Hitting the "zoom" button now pops up a little menu with a selectable list of font sizes (with a preview of each one). Nice. Like always it takes a while to repaginate a largish file and you don't get a little "I'm working, leave me to it" display - but it does work.

No changes to the rtf parser that I can see (very cursory look, I don't use it).
Not sure if they've swapped the page fwd/back buttons when reading a pdf in landscape mode - if they have then good job...its much more logical now (but TBH I can't remember since I don't use pdf either!).

I haven't done any serious reading yet but its working fine on a >1 MiB .fb2 and a >0.25 MiB zipped .fb2

Go to it...

[mvoosten]

Originally Posted by wapcaplit

Not sure if they've swapped the page fwd/back buttons when reading a pdf in landscape mode - if they have then good job...its much more logical now (but TBH I can't remember since I don't use pdf either!).

Confirmed that it is swapped to the more logical way.

[ibat]

Yes, am downloading upgrade "V3update hanlin V1.25 2008-03-24".

Though I didn't have problems with the last update. When you initially loaded FB2s it took a long time to open the book, but then turning pages was normal. But now DJVUs work. I have never had crashes in fb2 only in DjVu.


The phrasing in the description on the Jinke update page : "Modify bugs."

I am curios whether I find new bugs instead of the old ones

[Gudy]

Originally Posted by wapcaplit

P.S. Just for you, Gudy, I'll try zipping up an fb2.

--

Firmware now updated. Simple as usual (vol+).

.fb2 files open no problem - zipped fb2 files, similarly will open fine.

Thanks a bunch! I seem to have problems downloading from Jinke's site at work, and the lBook site still only has the 2008-03-18 version, so I'll give this another go when I'm back home this evening.

[ibat]

My experience with "V3update hanlin V1.25 2008-03-24" is quite positive.

• the beep tone is 2 octaves deeper
• fb2 support at least subjectively quicker
• DjVu also slightly quicker

[Gudy]

Originally Posted by ibat

My experience with "V3update hanlin V1.25 2008-03-24" is quite positive.

• the beep tone is 2 octaves deeper
• fb2 support at least subjectively quicker
• DjVu also slightly quicker

I don't use DjVu, and I switch off the beep first thing after a firmware update. But yes, fb2 support seems to be quite a bit quicker.

I've gone back to the 2008-01-29 lBook firmware, though, mainly for the following reasons:

• the lBook firmware uses CoolReader for .txt files, while the stock Jinke firmware apparently uses their own viewer. CoolReader is so much better than the Jinke text viewer, it's not even funny anymore. This also explains the different experience with .txt files I noted in post #26 of the Using the V3 thread
• the new CoolReader version uses menus to configure fonts etc., which is quite nice and contains a few new options. But the fb2.css approach no longer seems to work, or at least only works with limitations. The way they deal with font sizes has also changed: when using the FreeSerif font, the font size at the "smallest" setting has gone from perfectly readable to 4pt Flyspeck, and when setting the font size to "medium", the interline spacing is ridiculously huge even at the smallest setting, reducing the amount of text per page by a third. I prefer being able to use my finely tuned fb2.css with sane formatting to being able to use the new options.
• the new firmware seems a bit less stable, and I had to reset the unit once already.

[lunohod]

I've installed the new hanlin firmware and I'm missing book descriptions in the bookshelf, there are only file names.

[ArgonZ]

And, also I report that it keeps rebooting while reading fb2 books.
But it does feel a bit faster opening and turning pages on the fb2 files.

[torbich]

New (unofficial) firmware for the test:
http://www.savefile.com/files/1497255
The most interesting features (for FB2/TXT reader):
1) Clock in status bar and the possibility to adjust clock from the menu!
2) Footnotes
3) Memory leakage fixes.