MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Augen "The Book" First Official Firmware Update

kilohertz53 · 08-27-2010, 07:49 PM

Augen finally got around to issuing an official update for "The Book" e-reader. It's on the Augen US website:

http://www.augenus.com/indexhome.html/Updates.html

It's not on the Augen customer support site.

If you don't use DRM'ed epubs purchased from online e-book stores or from the public library, you do not need this update. It doesn't do anything for the wifi, browser, SD card, video, or audio functions of the device. Both the unofficial and official updates install a newer edition of the Adobe DRM software. The unofficial update screwed up the function of the G-Sensor (accelerometer). The official update only halfway restores it.

The instructions provided for the update are almost unintelligible, but it's really not difficult to install. Download and unzip the file to a handy location like your desktop. Connect the turned off e-reader to the computer with the USB cable. Hold down the ALT key on the TB while you press the "ON" key. Windows will see it as a new device. If you passed on the first (unofficial) update, you'll need to install a windows driver. It's in the unzipped folder called "thebooksoftware1". Windows should find the appropriate .inf and .sys files, and install the driver. Be patient, it takes a couple of minutes. (If you already did the unofficial update, you already have the driver installed on your system, so the last couple of sentences don't apply to you.)

Once the driver is installed, all you need to do is double click on the file called "system.bat" in the "thebooksoftware1" folder. A DOS window will pop up and you can watch as the the firmware is re-written. When it's finished, hit any key to exit the program and close the window. Disconnect the TB from the computer and use something like a straightened paperclip to press the RESET button on the back of the device. The instructions from Augen tell you to do /restore and /format functions in the settings menu of the TB afterwards, but this is totally unnecessary, and does not magically make the half-assed upgrade work any better. (Format will erase all your data, including the free e-books, so if you really want to do it in spite of my warning, make a backup copy of your e-books, pictures, audio, and video files.)

The update will bump your Adobe DRM software to version 9.1.28890 (from 9.0xxx). The G-sensor will work as it's supposed to, except for epubs in the Digital Editions folder. With those, the first page that you put into landscape mode will be fine, but all subsequent pages in landscape mode will be blank. At least, that's the way it worked for me.

As usual, you do the update at your own risk.

　

08-27-2010, 07:49 PM	#1
kilohertz53 Zealot Posts: 141 Karma: 671 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Harwichport, MA Device: Sony PRS-500, Sony PRS-350, Augen "The Book"	Augen "The Book" First Official Firmware Update Augen finally got around to issuing an official update for "The Book" e-reader. It's on the Augen US website: http://www.augenus.com/indexhome.html/Updates.html It's not on the Augen customer support site. If you don't use DRM'ed epubs purchased from online e-book stores or from the public library, you do not need this update. It doesn't do anything for the wifi, browser, SD card, video, or audio functions of the device. Both the unofficial and official updates install a newer edition of the Adobe DRM software. The unofficial update screwed up the function of the G-Sensor (accelerometer). The official update only halfway restores it. The instructions provided for the update are almost unintelligible, but it's really not difficult to install. Download and unzip the file to a handy location like your desktop. Connect the turned off e-reader to the computer with the USB cable. Hold down the ALT key on the TB while you press the "ON" key. Windows will see it as a new device. If you passed on the first (unofficial) update, you'll need to install a windows driver. It's in the unzipped folder called "thebooksoftware1". Windows should find the appropriate .inf and .sys files, and install the driver. Be patient, it takes a couple of minutes. (If you already did the unofficial update, you already have the driver installed on your system, so the last couple of sentences don't apply to you.) Once the driver is installed, all you need to do is double click on the file called "system.bat" in the "thebooksoftware1" folder. A DOS window will pop up and you can watch as the the firmware is re-written. When it's finished, hit any key to exit the program and close the window. Disconnect the TB from the computer and use something like a straightened paperclip to press the RESET button on the back of the device. The instructions from Augen tell you to do /restore and /format functions in the settings menu of the TB afterwards, but this is totally unnecessary, and does not magically make the half-assed upgrade work any better. (Format will erase all your data, including the free e-books, so if you really want to do it in spite of my warning, make a backup copy of your e-books, pictures, audio, and video files.) The update will bump your Adobe DRM software to version 9.1.28890 (from 9.0xxx). The G-sensor will work as it's supposed to, except for epubs in the Digital Editions folder. With those, the first page that you put into landscape mode will be fine, but all subsequent pages in landscape mode will be blank. At least, that's the way it worked for me. As usual, you do the update at your own risk.