MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

rapper10 · 04-10-2013, 01:21 AM

Frankly, I am surprised that Amazon hasn't tried to hire Ixtab. Their current TV advertising focuses on the less expensive Kindle Fire being on the same level as the iPad, so they are obviously going to need great people to do insanely great things in a hurry to substantiate this claim.

I have a Paperwhite. I can't figure out what features are being added or fixed in each of Amazon's firmware upgrades. My reading experience hasn't changed, so I have to assume that all the changes revolve around connectivity, the use of Amazon's online store and cloud service, and desire to block jailbreaking. Wouldn't the obfuscated code use more disk space, make the processor work harder, and drain the battery quicker? This means the firmware updates shouldn't be that important for readers of this blog. If you want to jailbreak and use JBPatch, you have to connect your Kindle to your computer. You can just as easily sideload reading material from your computer and not need the mysterious firmware enhancements.

One good thing about Amazon is that they haven't adopted the Apple model regarding firmware upgrades. With Apple, you are blocked from restoring to anything but the current version. With our Kindles, we can very easily restore to an older version.

So, instead of developing for obfuscated new firmware, why not stick with developing for version 5.3.1 and make users downgrade to this version if they want to use JBPatch and the other enhancements. This version was the first update for the Paperwhite, so Amazon probably fixed all the reading-experience bugs then. It was also the last version where our developers were having fun.

I think users should continue making suggestions here, as long as they don't come across as demands. Maybe Amazon will see something that makes them rethink things; maybe Ixtab, twobob, and the other developers see something that's too good of a challenge to pass up.

I remember this poll from not too long ago:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=195617
I wouldn't mind seeing all the features from the Touch ported to the Paperwhite. But I am an avid reader, so any enhancement makes a difference and is appreciated.

04-10-2013, 01:21 AM	#1355
rapper10 Member Posts: 6 Karma: 22222 Join Date: Dec 2008 Device: PRS505, K3, PW	Frankly, I am surprised that Amazon hasn't tried to hire Ixtab. Their current TV advertising focuses on the less expensive Kindle Fire being on the same level as the iPad, so they are obviously going to need great people to do insanely great things in a hurry to substantiate this claim. I have a Paperwhite. I can't figure out what features are being added or fixed in each of Amazon's firmware upgrades. My reading experience hasn't changed, so I have to assume that all the changes revolve around connectivity, the use of Amazon's online store and cloud service, and desire to block jailbreaking. Wouldn't the obfuscated code use more disk space, make the processor work harder, and drain the battery quicker? This means the firmware updates shouldn't be that important for readers of this blog. If you want to jailbreak and use JBPatch, you have to connect your Kindle to your computer. You can just as easily sideload reading material from your computer and not need the mysterious firmware enhancements. One good thing about Amazon is that they haven't adopted the Apple model regarding firmware upgrades. With Apple, you are blocked from restoring to anything but the current version. With our Kindles, we can very easily restore to an older version. So, instead of developing for obfuscated new firmware, why not stick with developing for version 5.3.1 and make users downgrade to this version if they want to use JBPatch and the other enhancements. This version was the first update for the Paperwhite, so Amazon probably fixed all the reading-experience bugs then. It was also the last version where our developers were having fun. I think users should continue making suggestions here, as long as they don't come across as demands. Maybe Amazon will see something that makes them rethink things; maybe Ixtab, twobob, and the other developers see something that's too good of a challenge to pass up. I remember this poll from not too long ago: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=195617 I wouldn't mind seeing all the features from the Touch ported to the Paperwhite. But I am an avid reader, so any enhancement makes a difference and is appreciated.