Firmware 3.19.5613 discussion

[Number9]

Look for, where?

[PeterT]

See Instructions for patching firmware 3.19.5613

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I found that out last night when trying the new Google font Literata out that suppose to help reading. I had to convert it to TTF to get the advanced controls to work.

Sorry, but Literata is not going to help reading. It's nothing special in that regard. Personally, I like the look of Merriweather Sans better.

[Blossom]

It's a pretty font though Google Play Books uses it. I did convert it to TTF so I can use advanced controls. It's huge in size though because it has so many different characters. So it kind takes longer to update formatting on the reader.

[dclauzel]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Chess was passively disabled in a 3.14 or 3.15 firmware update. Anything since that version has been taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't actually fully removed by Kobo. So if you're using the tile and it isn't launching I'd assume Kobo has finally removed the associated files for chess from the 3.19 firmware.

So short answer, yes it seems you'll need to go third party for chess.

Is it possible to just put again the software into the Aura HD, via a patch?

[MGlitch]

Originally Posted by dclauzel

Is it possible to just put again the software into the Aura HD, via a patch?

No, the patches tweak existing features they don't actually add code to anything.

You could revert to an older firmware, but you would also lose any benefits gained in 3.19

[DragonflyKing]

What happened to the page slider in the Books Library?

I hadn't upgraded my Kobo Touch for a year and recently upgraded to 3.19.5613. Now when I go to my Books Library I have to page through one page (6 books) at a time. I have over 500 books on this device. How am I supposed to get to the middle or end of the alphabet?

The only way that I can get to a book is to browse my Calibre library on my PC for my next read and type the title directly into the search on the Kobo? Why have they removed this important feature? Can I get it back?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by DragonflyKing

What happened to the page slider in the Books Library?

I hadn't upgraded my Kobo Touch for a year and recently upgraded to 3.19.5613. Now when I go to my Books Library I have to page through one page (6 books) at a time. I have over 500 books on this device. How am I supposed to get to the middle or end of the alphabet?

The only way that I can get to a book is to browse my Calibre library on my PC for my next read and type the title directly into the search on the Kobo? Why have they removed this important feature? Can I get it back?

Unfortunately, that was removed from the library a long time ago. To skip pages, you can tap the "Page x of y" above the page list and enter the page number for where you want to go.

[BobC]

I've recently noticed on my Glo that the "Advanced" page of the Font adjustment options (Typegenius) seems to have changed.

The text on the page offers adjustment to weight and Sharpness of the font, but the controls only allow changes to Font Size and Weight. Why Size is there when it is also on the "basic" page is a little odd.

Sharpness used to be adjustable - has this been the case for a few releases or has it just happened with 3.19.5613. Do we know if this is by design or is a bug. At least the text should accord with the options if it is by design.

BobC

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by BobC

Sharpness used to be adjustable - has this been the case for a few releases or has it just happened with 3.19.5613. Do we know if this is by design or is a bug. At least the text should accord with the options if it is by design.

The ability to adjust sharpness independently of weight was removed after firmware 3.1.1. Why? I have no idea, perhaps Kobo thought their devices were just too good and wanted to remove one of their best features to give the competition a chance.

Since then there has been a combined slider that adjusts weight and sharpness together, so the text saying adjust weight and sharpness is still accurate.

Edit: One thing that irks me is that Kobo use the TypeGenius screenshot with the separate weight and sharpness sliders to advertise the H2O even though this feature was removed long before the H2O was introduced. It is like they know that it is a great feature that will attract people to buy the device, but removed it anyway.

[Blossom]

I was wondering about that. I keep seeing you can adjust font sharpness in the descriptions but all I see is font weight and font size. I also noticed something about font sharpness in the patch but didn't mess with it not knowing what it does.

[surquizu]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

The ability to adjust sharpness independently of weight was removed after firmware 3.1.1. Why? I have no idea, perhaps Kobo thought their devices were just too good and wanted to remove one of their best features to give the competition a chance.

Since then there has been a combined slider that adjusts weight and sharpness together, so the text saying adjust weight and sharpness is still accurate.

Edit: One thing that irks me is that Kobo use the TypeGenius screenshot with the separate weight and sharpness sliders to advertise the H2O even though this feature was removed long before the H2O was introduced. It is like they know that it is a great feature that will attract people to buy the device, but removed it anyway.

I think that the maximum sharpness value is fixed (I think it is logical) and only the weight is adjusted. I confirmed with a study:

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by surquizu

I think that the maximum sharpness value is fixed (I think it is logical) and only the weight is adjusted. I confirmed with a study:

I found the opposite result:

This screenshot was taken on my Glo with firmware 3.15.0, the sharpness ranges from -0.4 to +0.2, and weight ranges from -0.2 to +0.8, i.e. when the combined slider is at minimum the sharpness is -0.4 and weight -0.2 and when the slider is at maximum the sharpness is +0.2 and weight is +0.8.

Edit: I've verified that it still works the same in the current firmware as it did in 3.15.0: attached is the screenshot from the same test KePub book taken on my Glo with firmware 3.19.5613, and I've checked that readingFontSharpness\Georgia and readingFontWeight\Georgia are set to the same values in the configuration file with the slider set to maximum and minimum.

(You will probably need to view the image at 100% zoom or larger to see the sharpness increase from left to right in this screenshot. I've added another image which shows the four extremes or weight/sharpness from the screenshot scaled 4x)

[BobC]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

......

Since then there has been a combined slider that adjusts weight and sharpness together, so the text saying adjust weight and sharpness is still accurate.

.......

I suppose it is technically accurate if the slider has been combined, however IMO the way the text and slider labels are presented is rather misleading, particularly when sharpness and weight used to be independently adjustable.

BobC

[murg]

Originally Posted by surquizu

I think that the maximum sharpness value is fixed (I think it is logical) and only the weight is adjusted. I confirmed with a study:

Originally Posted by GeoffR

I found the opposite result:

The Sharpness feature is now controlled psychically.