Kobo Start Menu

[jlynton]

Originally Posted by tshering

It would be interesting whether other H2O users do see this too.

Do you see something similar in KoboLauncher/CR?

I get the lines shifting down when I tap and entry in KSM, it appears to briefly add or duplicate a line of text to the header section. This does not happen in vlavsoft launcher or coolreader.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by jlynton

I get the lines shifting down when I tap and entry in KSM, it appears to briefly add or duplicate a line of text to the header section. This does not happen in vlavsoft launcher or coolreader.

Thank you for reporting. I hope this behaviour is not too disturbing. I wonder whether this is happening, while the kbmenu application is still running, or rather while the screen is setup for the next launched application, again kbmenu or another.

[tshering]

If you want to run interactive applications by telnet (or similar) via UsbNet started from KSM, there is the problem that the still running KSM application grabs the touch input. To prevent this:

• type "ps" in order to get a list of all running processes
• kill all scripts that belong to KSM (there is no need however to kill preventfreeze.sh)
• kill kobomenu
• only then start your application

After you have finished testing your application, or whatever you did, restart KSM by typing

sh /mnt/onboard/.kobo/kbmenu/onstart/ksmhome.sh

or. maybe better, simply reboot by typing

reboot

[tshering]

Since there seems to be at least some interest in password protection, I would like to re-introduce this option in KSM 06.

In order to verify that it works correctly on H2O and AURA HD, I prepared a test. (I am of course interested in other devices too, but H2O and AURA HD seem to be the most problematic models.) Edit: Of course, I run the test on my Touch before I posted it here.

How to test:

• extract ksmhome.sh from the uploaded archive and copy it to .kobo\kbmenu\onstart\ of the device
• safely eject and disconnect the device
• select "tools > activate > bouncer > settings.msh > new PW" and enter your chosen password twice (for more details, cf. this post)
• reboot the device; you will be asked to enter your password to continue

If you cannot pass the password check for some reason,

• connect the device via USB cable to a pc
• delete the file bouncerpw.txt of .kobo\kbmenu\kbbouncer\, and force the device to reboot

If the password check does work remove or comment out in the new ksmhome.sh the following line (with a unix-style editor)

sh $ksmroot/scripts_intern/usb/usb_enable.sh

or wait until I post a new ksmhome.sh after positive feedback (a mistake in this file can have severe consequences).


In order to disable the password check, select "tools > activate > bouncer > settings.msh > delete PW"

If you try this test, please share your experience!

[hombretranquilo]

If you try this test, please share your experience!

Woks fine on Aura HD. The screen to add new PW, and the same screen to enter pasword run in landscape mode. But maybe that's the expected behaviour.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by hombretranquilo

If you try this test, please share your experience!

Woks fine on Aura HD. The screen to add new PW, and the same screen to enter pasword run in landscape mode. But maybe that's the expected behaviour.

Yes, this is expected behaviour. Thank you for testing and reporting.

[hombretranquilo]

In addition, this modification enables usb connection at start. That's also expected behaviour?

[PeterT]

I think this was strictly as part of the test. If you read the instructions they say

Originally Posted by tshering

If the password check does work remove or comment out in the new ksmhome.sh the following line (with a unix-style editor)

sh $ksmroot/scripts_intern/usb/usb_enable.sh

or wait until I post a new ksmhome.sh after positive feedback (a mistake in this file can have severe consequences).

This would have been done to provide a safety net in case the mod did NOT work.

[hombretranquilo]

Yes. It seems that. Thanks @PeterT.

Originally Posted by tshering

Since there seems to be at least some interest in password protection, I would like to re-introduce this option in KSM 06.
(snip)
If you try this test, please share your experience!

It works on my Kobo Aura H2O. Firmware 3.11. Tested after rebooting from KSM 06, on power on after shutting down from KSM, and on power on after shutting down from nickel. I tried various passwords with a combination of mixed case letters and digits. The only quirk is that the "Enter" button sometimes appears in the top left hand corner of the screen after entering the password and pressing "Enter" but before showing the next screen. It is purely cosmetic and disappears without any user interaction. It has happened both after setting the password and after entering the password on boot.

Incidentally, I like having the USB filesystem support enabled on the password screen. It is comforting to have as a recovery option as I only use the password to keep out nosy people, not determined people. It would be nice to enable this as a setting in the released version. Of course, if it is kept as an option, it should be turned off before loading the menu.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

It works on my Kobo Aura H2O. Firmware 3.11. Tested after rebooting from KSM 06, on power on after shutting down from KSM, and on power on after shutting down from nickel. I tried various passwords with a combination of mixed case letters and digits.

Thank you for the detailed report. I much appreciate it.

Originally Posted by BWinmill

The only quirk is that the "Enter" button sometimes appears in the top left hand corner of the screen after entering the password and pressing "Enter" but before showing the next screen. It is purely cosmetic and disappears without any user interaction. It has happened both after setting the password and after entering the password on boot.

This seems to be the same problem as reported for the menu itself (cf. the posts 602, 644, 646). My guess is that this is happening when the screen is being cleared of the content of the previously running application when the next application is started. (One could test whether this is the case by inserting a pause between exiting the one application and starting the next.) If this is the case, we could clear the screen between application calls by showing a white picture like ghostbuster.raw.gz. But I am not sure whether this is not even more disturbing than the current problem.

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Incidentally, I like having the USB filesystem support enabled on the password screen. It is comforting to have as a recovery option as I only use the password to keep out nosy people, not determined people. It would be nice to enable this as a setting in the released version. Of course, if it is kept as an option, it should be turned off before loading the menu.

Thank you for the suggestion. I was also thinking of this. The problem I see is, that if somebody instead of powering on by shifting the power slider, powers the device on by plugging in the usb cable (as I often do if I am planning to connect to the pc anyway), the connection to the pc would be interrupted without safely ejecting the device. I guess this might lead to problems on some pcs (I am not sure about this). Maybe it is better to optionally enable USBnet while the password check is running. But then, not everybody feels comfortable with USBnet. What do you think?

Originally Posted by tshering

This seems to be the same problem as reported for the menu itself (cf. the posts 602

Even though the enter button is appearing in the top left hand corner, the orientation is still correct.

The problem I see is, that if somebody instead of powering on by shifting the power slider, powers the device on by plugging in the usb cable (as I often do if I am planning to connect to the pc anyway), the connection to the pc would be interrupted without safely ejecting the device.

Good point. I have noticed that OS X creates a lot of files on mounted disks, even if the user doesn't save data to the disk.

Maybe it is better to optionally enable USBnet while the password check is running. But then, not everybody feels comfortable with USBnet. What do you think?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the user has to setup an ftp/ssh/telnet daemon for USBnet to be a viable recovery option. This may be useful to developers who are thinking about recovery options since they regularly testing new software. It is unlikely to be useful for end users who install a piece of software or a apply a patch prior to thinking about recovery options.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Even though the enter button is appearing in the top left hand corner, the orientation is still correct.

In the case of the menu, the lines shifting can also appear without changing orientation. Do you see this line shifting too? Or is this happening only on some H2O? And, when the enter button is appearing in the top left hand corner, do the remaining parts of the screen stay unchanged?

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the user has to setup an ftp/ssh/telnet daemon for USBnet to be a viable recovery option. This may be useful to developers who are thinking about recovery options since they regularly testing new software. It is unlikely to be useful for end users who install a piece of software or a apply a patch prior to thinking about recovery options.

With KSM 06, usbnet is now working out of the box (on the side of the reader); if KoboLauncher is installed, dropbear is also available. The only hurdle is taking the necessary steps on the pc. Maybe I should provide the options to activate USB, USBnet, or nothing during password check.

Originally Posted by tshering

In the case of the menu, the lines shifting can also appear without changing orientation. Do you see this line shifting too?

Yes. It looks like the entire menu, including the black frame around the menu and the buttons on the bottom of the screen, is shifted downwards by approximately one line of text. In addition to the menu being shifted downwards, it appears as though the top part of the screen is not refreshed (i.e. the top line of the menu is visible twice, once from the original menu and once from the shifted menu). This happens after selecting a menu item and happens consistently. Since this happens after selecting a menu item and the next screen displays properly, it is another one of those cosmetic things.

And, when the enter button is appearing in the top left hand corner, do the remaining parts of the screen stay unchanged?

The rest of the screen is unchanged.

With KSM 06, usbnet is now working out of the box (on the side of the reader); if KoboLauncher is installed, dropbear is also available. The only hurdle is taking the necessary steps on the pc. Maybe I should provide the options to activate USB, USBnet, or nothing during password check.

It would be a nice feature.

[tshering]

If you want to use the password check on power on, replace ksmhome.sh in .kobo/kbmenu/onstart by the on provided here in the uploaded zip archive. Cf. this thread for more information.

Note: This is only for KSM 06, do not use it on older versions.

If you want to enable usb (mass storage) or usbnet for the time of the password check, add to usersettings.txt

duringPWcheckActivate=usb

or

duringPWcheckActivate=usbnet

respectively.

Update: I have removed the archive from this post and included the changes into KBStartMenu_06_bugfix_01.zip, which you can find here.