Do most people mod/root their Kobos?

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by rtiangha

Chinese for sure. I'm not sure about Korean. You could do English too, lol.

You COULD do almost any language/script vertically, of course. I can (barely) read Hangul, and I know that outside of special contexts like posters and calligraphy, it's normally written horizontally. Certainly in the sort of reading done on an ereader, always horizontally.

That's why I asked which are FREQUENTLY written vertically. It seems reasonable that the KOReader devs focus on the sort of usage most common to the devices on which KOReader is used

[rtiangha]

This is what Wikipedia says:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizo..._Asian_scripts

You'd probably want vertical rendering of Western script functionality anyways if western numerals or acronyms were used in the Asian text as well.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Ah, my apologies. I thought the firmware files were on pgaskin.net, but upon closer inspection I see that they are actually hosted on akamaihd.net. Thank you for the correction. You can manually downgrade or upgrade to any firmware supported by your particular Kobo model, regardless of which firmware you're currently running, right?

Yes, but you do have to be careful with the database versions if you are going back more than 2 or 3 versions. If you really want to revert to an older firmware version, I'd recommend the full factory reset whether from the developer menu or hardware option. That will wipe everything and leave your Kobo in it's fresh from factory and needing setup mode.

[Uncle Robin]

Originally Posted by rtiangha

This is what Wikipedia says:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizo..._Asian_scripts

Yes, there's nothing in that Wiki article that negates my earlier post. I can't read Hanja, which is only really used in formal/ceremonial contexts nowadays anyway (afaik many Koreans can't read Hanja either), but certainly all the Hangul I see shared by the Koreans I follow on Instagram is written LTR horizontally, as the article acknowledges.

[cellaris]

Originally Posted by ps67

I agree: we aren't the average user of a Kobo (or Kindle etc.). Most people simply buy books and read them or, at most, use a Kobo for library books with Adobe Digital Edition.

A PocketBook representative offered a statistic (based on those anonymous statistics that are sent when you go online) that points in that direction: 93℅ of their users do not change the original settings of their e-readers. It is quite likely that this statistic can be extrapolated to other brands. As you say, most people want simplicity: download a book and read. And from that point of view Amazon's ecosystem is the undisputed leader (whether we like it or not).

Those of us who are involved in forums I think we have the reverse statistic: possibly 93% modify their e-readers, to a greater or lesser extent depending on their needs. I am fortunate that Kindle's few customisation options fit my preferences. I have no problems with margins, line spacing, fonts and font size. With my own font scale and the "FONT_RAMP" file I get what I need. So I am very satisfied with the Kindle reading program (which is flawless in its execution). But if someone wants to have more customisation options and other features (collections, statistics...) Kobo is obviously much better. In my case I am lucky enough to enjoy both my Kindle and Kobo (and other brands) devices.

[Quoth]

Korean Hangul is from about the 15th C, but only really popular since the end of WWII Japanese occupation (started in 1905?).
It can be vertical, but that's maybe rare for ordinary books. Unlike Chinese and Japanese it's an alphabet.

As in traditional Chinese and Japanese writing, as well as many other texts in East Asia, Korean texts were traditionally written top to bottom, right to left, as is occasionally still the way for stylistic purposes. However, Korean is now typically written from left to right with spaces between words serving as dividers, unlike in Japanese and Chinese. Hangul is the official writing system throughout Korea, both North and South. It is a co-official writing system in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and Changbai Korean Autonomous County in Jilin Province, China. Hangul has also seen limited use in the Cia-Cia language.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangul I'd imagine "stylistic purposes" = calligraphy & art.

I've watched an English language Korean TV service off and on for many years, Arriang TV.

[compurandom]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That Wiki page is a bit confusing and it's incomplete.

Not sure how it is confusing, I've organized it as best as I can.

It's a wiki, if you think it's missing something, either add it or post in the forum thread linked on that page.

It's left out the better hyphenation dictionaries for one.

Link added...probably someone should organize a comprehensive list of dictionaries or dictionary sources or threads or something.

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Yes, but you do have to be careful with the database versions if you are going back more than 2 or 3 versions. If you really want to revert to an older firmware version, I'd recommend the full factory reset whether from the developer menu or hardware option. That will wipe everything and leave your Kobo in it's fresh from factory and needing setup mode.

Perhaps things have changed from several years ago, but I used to freely upgrade and downgrade the firmware on my Kobo Aura without a single issue.

[Dr. Drib]

I'm just me. To answer your question: 'No'.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

Perhaps things have changed from several years ago, but I used to freely upgrade and downgrade the firmware on my Kobo Aura without a single issue.

As I said, it depends on how many versions you are going backward. There are changes made in the database and I have triggered an involuntary factory reset when I tried installing a much older version of the firmware. The main issue was the changes in how the user record was handled which—I think—caused the user record from the newer firmware version to look like a corrupted user record. Sadly, the person who could likely help most with this discussion is no longer with us.

[MGlitch]

I will say this you can not go back to the old homescreen from current firmware. Though that’s quite a few versions ago. Your Kobo will be unresponsive and trigger a factory reset. And of course without mucking around you won’t be able to register without upgrading.

And yes this was tested on hardware that supported that firmware.

[Barbara1955]

I don't make Software changed... But did install a larger SD Card

[the.Mtn.Man]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

I will say this you can not go back to the old homescreen from current firmware. Though that’s quite a few versions ago. Your Kobo will be unresponsive and trigger a factory reset. And of course without mucking around you won’t be able to register without upgrading.

And yes this was tested on hardware that supported that firmware.

I miss the old home screen.

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by the.Mtn.Man

I miss the old home screen.

Your Aura can, technically, go back to it. Though you'd have to manually edit the registration fields, and I rather doubt you could successfully sync any purchases even if you were able to successfully get it registered manually to your Kobo account.

So the question is, do you miss the old home screen enough to give up all the changes since (I believe) firmware 3.19? And forgo purchasing from your device, and syncing purchases to your device?

I sometimes do miss it, I wish there was a way to use it on current generation Kobos, but I'm not going to stick to my Kobo Aura H2O on reverted firmware just to have it. Then again, I don't use my Kobo Aura H2O anyway.

[JeanPierre]

Obviously not. We're a tiny minority of Kobo's userbase.