Got the Kindle Oasis

[knc1]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You automatically get the advanced editor when you edit a post, but, as you say, when you initially write the post, you may need to click the "Go Advanced" button to see it.

The advanced editor used to be an option in the CP.
But that could have changed since I joined, I don't track CP changes.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by knc1

The advanced editor used to be an option in the CP.
But that could have changed since I joined, I don't track CP changes.

Me neither .

[lllusion]

I just got a Kindle Oasis in the mail today. It's refurbished from ebay - one of the ways I could rationalize with myself to buy. $270 w/ tax is in an easier range for me to handle I suppose. So far so good because I don't see any cones or anything strange but I'm not in night reading mode yet.

If I decide to keep it I'm gonna have to pay another $20 to get the ugly ads off and then I might have to bother knc1 more when I mod it.

[Hollow Man]

People make a really big deal out of the light. Personally, I think it's great the way it is. A ridiculous improvement over the gooseneck type light I had attached to my Kindle Keyboard.

The only time I notice that the lighting is uneven is in a completely dark room. And even then, it's so much better than a clip-on light shining a spot on the screen.

-HM

[knc1]

Originally Posted by lllusion

I just got a Kindle Oasis in the mail today. It's refurbished from ebay - one of the ways I could rationalize with myself to buy. $270 w/ tax is in an easier range for me to handle I suppose. So far so good because I don't see any cones or anything strange but I'm not in night reading mode yet.

If I decide to keep it I'm gonna have to pay another $20 to get the ugly ads off and then I might have to bother knc1 more when I mod it.

Just don't let it update to 5.8.8, we can't modify that yet.

[lllusion]

Originally Posted by knc1

Just don't let it update to 5.8.8, we can't modify that yet.

Yikes. Thanks for letting me know. That would mean I have to mod it to be able to block the updates (if I don't want to sit in airplane mode all the time)... so I need to decide if I'm going to keep it soon here!

[littlefoot59]

Thanks for all the tips of how to attach a picture. I shot two of my Voyage screen - one in light and one in dark conditions. They didn't come out very clear, though. I need better ones.
Hollow Man, as to making a big deal out of the light question: of course the light is a great improvement in comparison with an attached reading light. But some people are more senstitive than others and unfortunately it also seems to be a bit of a lottery which kind of screen you get. And especially new kindle models seem to have quality control issues. I was lucky with my PW2 and my Voyage and got very evenly lit screens - maybe because I purchased them not immediately after they were introduced. The PW1 must have been a nightmare. I also think that Amazon made a grave mistake when they named the first e-reader ever with a front lit screen "Paperwhite". That raised false expectations and even today no front lit e-reader can live up to that name.
I do hope that Amazon will eventually introduce a reader which hasn't only autobrightness like the Voyage but also an adaptable blue-light filter. Since I need glasses for reading anyway I bought customary strength reading glasses with a blue-light filter. I use them at night when I read with my Voyage or when I use my tablet. It really makes a big difference and looks much better. The glasses don't look very fashionable, though And those who don't need glasses for reading - yet - will probably hesitate to use glasses just for the benefit of the blue light filter.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by littlefoot59

The PW1 must have been a nightmare. I also think that Amazon made a grave mistake when they named the first e-reader ever with a front lit screen "Paperwhite".

On the contrary, the PW1 was a huge, huge improvement over the earlier non-illuminated devices. The introduction of lighting, uneven or not, was (for me, at least) THE single biggest improvement since eInk devices first appeared. You need to consider these things in the context of what was available at the time, rather than in comparison with later devices.

Note, BTW, that the PW1 was not "the first e-reader ever with a front-lit screen", but simply the first produced by Amazon.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by lllusion

Yikes. Thanks for letting me know. That would mean I have to mod it to be able to block the updates (if I don't want to sit in airplane mode all the time)... so I need to decide if I'm going to keep it soon here!

No, you don't have to mod it to block OTA updates.
If fact, the one that did require you to mod it to install the blocker no longer works.

In step #7 of the current jail break is described the current method of blocking OTA updates.
It only requires that you create a directory (I.E: folder) in the visible, USB storage (does not depend on prior steps).

[littlefoot59]

Which was the first e-reader with a front lit screen?
As to the PW1, which I called a nightmare: the nightmare was mainly the qualitiy control. There were just too many unacceptable devices which have been sold. If you were lucky and got a good one it was somewhat of an improvement. But the bad ones were not an improvement at all IMO. I definitely prefered the basic Kindle in it's Amazon cover with inbuilt illumination. That was small, sufficient, not clumsy at all - and it had real page turn buttons The problem was of course that it didn't have a touch screen and without a real keyboard like the Kindle Keyboard typing by toggling was very tedious. I never bought books from the Kindle itself. I always bought them from my laptop and sent them to the Kindle. But while most separate clip-on reading lights are clumsy, the Amazon cover for the basic Kindle with it's inbuilt lamp was elegant and practical - and quite expensive of course. But at the time definitely worth the extra money. I still have my basic Kindle with it's illuminated cover. I keep it for emergencies Since Amazon still offers a basic Kindle - now with touch screen - I'm a bit mystified why they don't offer this great cover with the tuck-away light anymore. It would be a good alternative for those who don't want an illuminated e-reader for several reasons.

[knc1]

If a person with a low quality PW1 did not return it for exchange, I would have to say that was that person's fault, not the Kindle's or Amazon's.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by littlefoot59

Which was the first e-reader with a front lit screen?

Probably the Sony PRS-700, which was released in October 2008, some four years before the PW. Truly horrible - reading without the light on was like looking through dense fog, the light diffuser was so cloudy.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Probably the Sony PRS-700, which was released in October 2008, some four years before the PW. Truly horrible - reading without the light on was like looking through dense fog, the light diffuser was so cloudy.

Yes, the first really good frontlit screen, IMO, was the Kobo Glo.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by meeera

Yes, the first really good frontlit screen, IMO, was the Kobo Glo.

Although it was somewhat delicate - the light diffuser scratched VERY easily. The PW may have been blotchy, but it was tough.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by meeera

Yes, the first really good frontlit screen, IMO, was the Kobo Glo.

I think it was antedated by the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight, which was excellent for its time.