Libra What's possible with the H2O?

[linkert]

Got a Kobo! It's neat, however I'm a bit overwhelmed with options, old information and countless posts with clues and references to features but less answers and or links.

I do Linux at home (Void! Yeay) which was part of my decision to go for the Kobo Libra H2O, it's Linux. The user baskerville is well know within the world of tiling window managers and I really like his work. Was pleasantly surprised when I came across *Plato* and realized he's also responsible for that project.

I've skimmed through the sticky posts in this forum and felt like I still needed to make a post in order to gather a bit more insight before going forth with any mods to the software of this ereader. The stickied threads are all from early 2010-'13 which then makes me question the posts validity, at least the OP - somethings must have changed and options opened up since then?

I got Calibre going on the laptop, starting to get a hang on how it operates and how it structures a library. I'd much rather not plug the device in with USB to add and remove books - I've seen mentions of wireless syncing but few references to the procedure and how to go about it.

Here's a list of *features* and *questions* - if anything is familiar and you know something I might find interesting I'd highly appreciate a lead or link.

* WiFi sync of content (books and pdfs). SSH, Syncthing or similar would be optimal
* I will not be purchasing books from the Kobo store - any bandcamp-esque stores for eBooks? (drm free, local copy)
* Mail client would be cool, haven't seen anything on the matter tho.
* RSS feeds - will possibly use Pocket for such integration. Other ideas?
* Plato, KOReader, other? Pros and cons - blogs on the topic? Found YouTube to have surprisingly little coverage on different reader apps (or what you call them).

Any up-to-date information on any of the topics would be appreciated. I'll keep digging myself and will edit in anything I find interesting.

,
Robin

[Sirtel]

As to DRM-free books, there are quite a lot of DRM-free epubs in the Kobo store and in Google Play. And yes, you can download a local copy to your computer from both of them.

Smashwords sells only DRM-free, but they're mostly self-published.

Baen and Angry Robot are SF/fantasy publishers who sell their ebooks DRM-free on their websites.

Then there are public domain ebooks on Project Gutenberg and here on MR.

As to modifying your Kobo, you may also be interested in patching:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=337427

[Quoth]

Four H2Os:
1) Original, IR touch, SD Card slot, 6.8", not quite 300 dpi. Internal micro SD card. I have this.
2) and 3): Revised cost reduced version but same screen.
4) Libra, has buttons and 300 dpi 7" screen. No SD card slot. My favourite for annotating / proof reading. Kobo Utilities on Calibre.

I read my Amazon purchase on the H2O Libra. See Calibre and Apprentice Alf. I have three real eink Kindles, so I purchase for them.
I find the epub format and the included ereader app fine. I do use Koreader on a Likebook Mars (7.8" Android eink).

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Quoth

I read my Amazon purchase on the H2O Libra. See Calibre and Apprentice Alf.

Yep. I buy wherever the book is cheapest (or sometimes it's an Amazon exclusive, meaning it's not available anywhere else) and read it on whichever of my ereaders I'm using at the moment, thanks to Calibre and the Apprentices.

Many MR members do likewise.

[compurandom]

RSS feeds: I use calibre's fetch news feature heavily for that. But you'll still have to solve the sync issue.

Pocket: I use this heavily too, but not for rss feeds. I don't think it is suited for that. However, if a rss feed has a link to a longer article, I do use pocket for that.

USB: I plug in for usb to sync and for free, my kobo gets a charge at the same time. I rarely need to charge it intentionally.