Touch Kobo Touch Firmware 2.0

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Tasmin

I'm contemplating updating my 2.0.0 to the Japanese 2.0.2... I'd do it mainly to be able to turn my pages faster, but especially to be able to easily sideload a huge bunch of epubs without having my KT delete them and having to put them back again and losing my bookmarks and stats on books I'm currently reading...

But, I don't recall any reports on the latter being fixed in 2.0.2. Anyone?

It seems to be fixed. With 2.0.0, if I updated an ePub on the KT, it would get deleted when the KT was disconnected. With 2.0.2, this isn't happening. Bookmarks and annotations are all kept.

[DrNefario]

I'm not sure the books really have disappeared. I think maybe it's a glitch in the processing.

I had four sideloaded epubs (from the university of adelaide) which weren't showing up with the right covers. When I tried to fix them, they seemed to disappear from the device. Initially they were still showing in the carousel, but when I tried to open one, it crashed and reset the device. When it restarted, the four books had gone.

I tried re-adding one book from Calibre. All four reappeared. They all still have the wrong covers, but they all work and I am leaving well alone. Looks like it ought to be fixed fairly soon.

I don't much care about shelves right now. I didn't lose my Shortlist, but I'm not going to spend any time setting them up when Kobo might change the whole thing at the drop of a hat. I'd like to see the useless upselling garbage removed, or at least hidden a few menus down. (I'm happy to get recommendations and a wish list through the website or desktop, if - and only if - I ask for them, but they are just an annoying, intrusive waste of prime real-estate on the device.)

There are two basic things I'd like to see rock-solid before any more messing around with the UI:

- My wifi has never worked. This means all the wish lists and recommendations in the world are completely worthless. I'm also convinced it's a software issue, given the range of other wifi devices I own, and the fact that it can connect when I turn off all security.

- Get the book reader right. If this is broken, then it doesn't matter how good anything else is, I am not going to buy books from Kobo, and I'm not going to recommend the reader to anyone. If this is good, then it doesn't really matter how terrible anything else is, since this is where I spend 99% of my time. There currently seem to be significant issues with font sizes, paragraph breaks, page turns, hyphenation and foreign (to me!) languages*. Don't try to run when you can't walk.

*I've only experienced the first three, so far. The font size inconsistencies I can live with because I'm only reading one book at a time, and can adjust up and down for the current book. The paragraphing problem seems to have gone away now I've stopped using Rockwell (it looks like it does still try to avoid widows (or is it orphans?), which I don't really want, but isn't too bad), and I don't especially mind the slow page turns (although I might when I get further into the book, if it slows way down like other single-file epubs.)

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by davidfor

It seems to be fixed. With 2.0.0, if I updated an ePub on the KT, it would get deleted when the KT was disconnected. With 2.0.2, this isn't happening. Bookmarks and annotations are all kept.

Thanks Davidfor!

[BoxingOrange]

Originally Posted by toeragamuffin

I did a manual update and can happily report that my device is functioning significantly faster, including page turns and general navigation.
The process was this:
I downloaded: http://download.kobobooks.com/firmwa...date-2.0.2.zip
I unrared then unzipped the 2.0.2 pack and placed; KoboRoot.tgz, manifest.md5sum, & the upgrade folder in kobo/kobo folder on the device.
Unplugged the kobo from pc then it went through update proceedure.
Even though on the kobo it still says version 2.0 the above mentioned changes are very noticable.

I've never used the desktop software (all my books are loaded with Calibre), and so my KT isn't registered, I've manually update to 2.0.2 but now I'm being forced to setup the Kobo desktop app. Does anyone know how to stop this? It's as if it's going through an initial setup routine.

[PeterT]

@BoxingOrange: I know there has been a post describing what to insert into the user table in the KoboReader.sqlite to avoid the registration...

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I'm not sure the books really have disappeared. I think maybe it's a glitch in the processing.

I had four sideloaded epubs (from the university of adelaide) which weren't showing up with the right covers. When I tried to fix them, they seemed to disappear from the device. Initially they were still showing in the carousel, but when I tried to open one, it crashed and reset the device. When it restarted, the four books had gone.

I tried re-adding one book from Calibre. All four reappeared. They all still have the wrong covers, but they all work and I am leaving well alone. Looks like it ought to be fixed fairly soon.

Something strange is going on indeed. I just put a sideloaded Terry Pratchett on my KT, but the cover wasn't properly full screen. I did open the book and then close it to see what the 'inside' looked like (so the KT marked the book as 'currently reading'). I deleted the book off the KT (using Calibre), and put a newly edited version back on in the same session. Disconnected, restart: no Terry Pratchett. I connected the KT to my computer and looked at the contents from the Finder (windows explorer on PC): there was a Terry Pratchett folder, but it was empty. So, the book was actually really deleted... Or so you'd think. When I copied the Pratchett book back over using Calibre again, then disconnected and restarted: there was the Terry Pratchett.. but ALSO two Robert Jordan books that I'd put on ages and ages (days) ago but had trouble with them being deleted but didn't bother putting them on again. Sheesh. Weird.

Edit to add: and the Pratchett book was not the first one I sideloaded after the trouble with the Jordan books... So it's extra strange that the Jordan books decided to turn up now, and not with previously sideloaded books.

[Mrs_Often]

Updated to the Japanese 2.0.2 with absolutely no problems at all.

But, editing a sideloaded epub (in Sigil or something) right from the KT does still make the epub be deleted during (?) processing.

[BoxingOrange]

Originally Posted by PeterT

@BoxingOrange: I know there has been a post describing what to insert into the user table in the KoboReader.sqlite to avoid the registration...

Thanks for that Peter, that was enough to help me find this post, https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=262, and apply it. I've still got problems, every time I turn it on it processes all my content, and I can't create the shelves (this is the feature I REALLY wanted), I might need to install the desktop program on to get this sorted after all. Can anyone highlight any pros/cons to doing/not doing this.

[HarleyB]

I'm not sure I understand why you don't want to install the desktop program? You do need to provide an email address but you can always use a "kobo only email address" and keep your private email address private.
There is no necessity to actually USE the desktop other than to upgrade when and if you wish. I have had the desktop installed for over 2 years and only ever use it to upgrade when I want to. I do purchase books from Kobo (using the website kobobooks.com) but I always download the epub into ADE and then into Calibre.

As far as I'm concerned the desktop only exists so that I can upgrade my Kobo if and when I choose.

[BoxingOrange]

Sound like you do exactly the same as me. All my books are converted and stored on an SD card, I don't use the internal memory. What's the "kobo only e-mail address", does this work like the Kindle and I can e-mail books to the device?

[exodont]

@BoxingOrange

Here's what I did:
install Desktop, register an account using email and password, connect KT, let Desktop register your KT, then when it begins to synchronize your ereader, click the exit button. You'll then see a Completed Installation message, shut down Desktop and uninstall it, eject your KT and it will fire up to the Home page with No Books loaded message. Desktop will have had no time to download anything on to the KT, 2.0.2 will be installed and you can now sideload all the epubs you want.

I never have the WiFi on and never buy books from Kobo - I use Amazon, de-DRM with Calibre plugins and convert to epubs. I just use the Kobo as a reading machine, no ads, no hassle, just the occasional email from Kobo trying to sell books but that's it. Shelves works fine. Never bothered with the sqlite route as this has worked with installs of 2.0.2 on two different readers.

PS... forgot to mention to install the 2.0.2 which you've DL from the link here somewhere first of all and you've arrived at the black screen saying connect to Kobo website. Also, install 2.0.2 on to a KT that has been factory reset first - do not install over previous upgrades, it screws up the fonts. Never use Desktop to upgrade the OS, best to wait for a link to appear here.

[novou]

Originally Posted by BoxingOrange

What's the "kobo only e-mail address", does this work like the Kindle and I can e-mail books to the device?

HarleyB means using an email address that you only enter for your Kobo account, essentially a throwaway address.

[register512]

Originally Posted by Tasmin

Norm/Register512, you make it sound like your problems are everyone's problems. I understand how frustrating it is to have a new update break your device, but really, not everyone experienced problems. For me, things do work the way they're advertised; my shortlist didn't disappear; and I didn't have to do a factory reset. As for 'problems' 3 and 4, these aren't actually problems. They're just the way things were designed, and I do agree, the design isn't exactly perfect. But hey, that's why there's more updates coming up...

I just wanted to clarify for people wanting to upgrade so they wouldn't get scared away.

A large part of the frustration stems from the number of times I have seen new features cause problems, and fail to address issues that have existed for a long time. The entire SD card debacle comes to mind -- I still have a 16GB card that iscompletely useless with my KT, yet the advertised capabilities of the KT stated "add-on CD cards up to 32GB in size". If I insert the card, the KT goes totally berserk.

The entire experience I just went through with the upgrade to 2.0 is just like that, and if I had problems, then I can bet that other people had similar problems. Many of them probably don't know about these forums, and are suffering in silence, or are ready to return their KT. ...or worse yet, are ready to pitch it in the garbage and buy a Kindle.

Don't get me wrong -- I love my KT, and have since I bought it. It is gradually becoming the product it was originally advertised to be, but it seems like "two steps forward, one step back" with every release of firmware.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Tasmin

Updated to the Japanese 2.0.2 with absolutely no problems at all.

But, editing a sideloaded epub (in Sigil or something) right from the KT does still make the epub be deleted during (?) processing.

I was about to reply to your previous post saying that it was a bug in 2.0.0 when I saw this.

I have updated a few epubs onto my KT with 2.0.2 on it with no problems. What sort of changes did you make? The changes have been to the metadata (via calibre) or updated versions from the original site with extra chapters.

I have had problems in the past where the structure of the epub changed to much. Adding chapters at the end seems to be OK (but they don't go in the TOC). Removing them or moving them will break things. If this was the first time the epubs were edited the epub in Sigil, Sigil will rewrite the structure moving all the files into sub-directories. The KT would have a problem with this and deleting the file is the probable result. With 1.9.17, a change would cause a problem when you tried to read the epub. It would either cause the KT to reboot, or any navigation based on the TOC in the epub wouldn't work.

[BoxingOrange]

@exodont

Thanks for the great description, worked first time. Shelves working too