Sigh. I wrote out a huge reply, then decided I should probably practice what I preach. There are plenty of threads discussing the drawbacks of Kobo after all.

But filmo is quite correct. There is no need to root a Kobo. There are guides on how to modify it on the wiki, and there is a thread on how to setup the development tools in the Kobo Developer subforum. So the option of creating a reader that is better for the needs of the more demanding of us are out there.