Hi there. First i'd like to apologize if any of these are noobish. My googlefu is either failing me when searching for some of these questions, I outright can't find the answer, The answer is a year or so old, or it's not quite answering the question in the first place. I have looked around on here, but there are boatloads of threads and posts to digest that I just haven't absorbed yet or been able to find to absorb. I do hope it's okay to post this here. I know part of the questions are firmware related and probably better directed to the Developers corner, but I wasn't sure splitting it into two threads would be wise. If I need to move my post please let me know and I do apologize in advance.
Otherwise, I Decided to get a kindle (I was starting to notice the eyestrain from reading on my tablet, and looked it up and figured that eyestrain might be why I find myself getting distracted while reading. I figured a kindle would help with that. That and it's so frustrating being able to read for only a few hours at a time before having to throw the tablet on charge again!
My device is as follows;
Device: Kindle Paperwhite 3 2015 (G090G1)
Firmware: 5.7.4.1
The questions;
1. As stated above, Im currently on firmware 5.7.4.1 and while there are only a few things that look interesting jailbreak wise, I was wondering if it was safe to update and see what the newest firmware is like (and if I can just deal with basic firmware stuff) or if I would be better off to jailbreak now and then update. Honestly about the only thing I like the idea of is custom fonts (Which I can do by embedding it into the book proper via calibre) and collection management.
1a. Also, is there a risk that at a later point in time my device will randomly get bricked because I jailbroke it? I think I read about a kindle update doing that a few years ago when trying to research pro's and cons of jailbreaking the kindle. So im really not sure how valid that actually is or if it's a cause for concern but I'd rather not have my device bricked randomly. I know bricking is always a concern with jailbreaks and custom firmwares (Im not new to that particular field) I just wonder how much of a concern it is with the kindle specifically. Specially if I just disable OTA's and manually update instead to have full control? Is disabling OTA's even nessecary?
2. If I do jailbreak will I keep my special offers, or no? The reason I ask is because I actually kind of want to keep them. I like being exposed to new content and such. Specifically books in this case, because I just don't have the resources in my home town to be exposed to new authors or books. So, will I keep them? Might seem weird to want them there but I do. So should I choose to jailbreak will I keep them? If not, let me know so I can just pay the fee before going through with a jailbreak.
3. Format for books. So, I know side loading books is possible and I know you need the books to be a kindle compatible filetype. So, is it better to use mobi or azw3? My assumption is azw3 since you can alter the metadata to include the ASIN that way it will have good reads integration and the like as per this link;
http://ebooks.stackexchange.com/ques...dle-paperwhite
Regarding that link, is that still a good enough way to do it, has some coding wizard made some plugin to simplify the process, or is there another way to do it? Im not going to lie I do not look forward to do that for my (paltry) library of 200 epubs. But I would as I add them to my kindle if need be.
4. Sideloading vs send-to-kindle. Going through the previous steps to give it an asin, to give the book goodreads integration and the like, am I better off just transferring the books locally, or using send to kindle via a GMX proxy and having it done directly from calibre? Are there pros and cons of each or is it just that one method is more convenient than the other by virtue of being wireless and one being wired? I would really like some feedback on that.
5. Collections. I keep reading that they're difficult to manage from the device itself and it's one of the reasons I am considering the jailbreak so that I can use calibre instead to manage Collections (I assume it's an addon. So, what would be the name of the addon? Would it be librarianSync?) and then export them to the device. Could someone explain to me how exactly it works? Would the books then be considered sideloaded, or does it just export a collection file while the books can then be sent via your chosen method? More or less how does it works and if it's actually worth jailbreaking the device for this feature. I figure it would be useful (since I feel it would help with organizing everything) but is there a better way? What are your opinions on it?
6. I was reading about people using something like plugboards (I think) since there isn't any "series" metadata that transfers in with the books. So, for example, if I made a collection of "The Expanse" novel series, it would end up getting the order all out of whack. Thus it would be better to, instead, use plugboards to rename the files To be, again example, "The Expanse 01: Leviathan wakes". So my question is, would that effect all versions of the book or can you specific that when setting it up. I admit I have as yet failed to read the entirety of the guide, but I kind of also wasn't expecting my kindle to arrive 3 days earlier. That, and I wasn't sure how up to date and valid the guide still was. It is This <insert guide> guide that I found.
Speaking of plugboards; Is this still a decent guide to getting started with using calibre to help manage books for the kindle
https://redd.it/3b7dzl if not, would anyone be willing to tell me what's different and/or what steps they would suggest instead? I am more than okay with being linked to other guides and the like!
7. Advice, Any other guides you would suggest I read? Plugins for calibre you suggest? Tips, tweaks, or user friendly alterations I should do? Other reasons why a jailbreak is worth it?
For now, I think that's all of my questions, I do apologize for being lengthy, but I prefer being clear over being vague. I do, again, apologize if any of this is super easily answered and I've wasted anyone's time. My googlefu (and searchfu) just isn't working well for finding kindle information and I really don't want to end up screwing up the kindle within the first week I get it or doing something wrong that makes it more frustrating, then a pleasure, to actually use.
--D