Quote:
Originally Posted by jbefumo
Couple of questions:
First, if I absolutely HAVE to go the route of hardware modification, is there a reference anywhere as to how to open the case? Before I break out my crow bar and acetylene torch? ;^)
I'm surmising that since it has identical buttons on the right and left, they're simply wired in parallel, and adding another set, via, say, a mini stereo jack, would be feasible, though I won't know for sure until I open it up.
Preferably, however, I'm wondering if supplying +5v to either the D+ or D- connection of the USB connector might be a possibility, providing I can find a way to capture those events, and a way to access the API (presumably) for paging forward or backward. Or am I totally off base here? Is there any documentation out there that would support such an effort?
I actually applied to Amazon's beta developer program, but I have no idea what their criteria might be, or how long it will take them to respond.
Thanks again,
Joe
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To open it use a spudger tool. Do NOT use a sharp knife. I have a kindle 3 with a damaged eInk display cable. When open you can see that the display cable rests against the case edge and can easily be damaged if opened incorrectly. You may be able to use a guitar pick, but I tool a credit card and sharpened an edge around a corner by scraping it with a sharp knife. For photos of kindle 3 opening, search for "kindle 3 teardown" or similar.
The buttons on the left and right are just extra keyboard buttons, and they generate different key codes. At a an SSH prompt (or onscreen console) type "waitforkey" then press a key, to see the keycode. You will see that left and right buttons are different.
Regarding supplying +5v across the D+ and D- USB connections, perhaps supplying power to the power wires might be necessary to trigger a USB insertion event. Try it and see. You should probably limit current to the data connections with a 1K resistor to prevent damage when you try them. It might need more than just voltage though (not sure). Perhaps it needs to talk to a host PC or host bridge device (again not sure). Either read the amazon source code for you kindle, or read the USB specifications, or just try it (but be careful to NOT connect the wires backwards).