Getting Started with H2O

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by cybmole

I don't see how it can mess up the device anyway - all it does it send a .kepub book file. So even if that book file is corrupt, it should not stop the device from working with other books , unless there is something very fragile with how Kobo's database works?

I think if you do a whole lot of new things at once and something goes wrong, it can be hard to know which one caused the problem. When I first got my Glo there was no firmware patcher and no Calibre extended driver, and it was quite a while before I dared buy a DRM ebook, so I got introduced to those things one at a time, and not until I was fairly familiar with using the device without them. Things can get more complicated now.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by cybmole

not so, all you have to do is go via Kindle for PC / Kindle for Mac . Install that and register it to the amazon account that you used for buying the books originally. then

amazon -> kindle for PC -> calibre -> kobo

easy peasy

Agreed.

There is one exception to this, though: periodicals, like my subscription to Analog Science Fiction and Fact. They won't download to Kindle for PC, only to physical Kindles, Kindle for Android and (I think) Kindle for iOS. So if you want a copy you can treat like the above, you need a physical Kindle device registered to your account. I use my old DXG for it.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by cybmole

I know that driver is fine for Aura HD but have others tested it with Aura H2O yet, is it confirmed hat it works OK ? there's no logical reason why it shouldn't, but as the OP suspects it of doing damage...

Works for me (tm) No issues with it at all.

[cybmole]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

I think if you do a whole lot of new things at once and something goes wrong, it can be hard to know which one caused the problem. When I first got my Glo there was no firmware patcher and no Calibre extended driver, and it was quite a while before I dared buy a DRM ebook, so I got introduced to those things one at a time, and not until I was fairly familiar with using the device without them. Things can get more complicated now.

yes, I'd stay away from firmware patches unless there is no other workaround,

No matter how good the patch is, you cannot control when kobo will opt to push a new firmware upgrade onto your device ( unless you never let it go online) and then you are patch-less until a new version of the patch can be developed and released to match.
It would be less problematic if you could choose whether to allow the kobo upgrades to run or not, but you can't, unless you forgo syncing, shopping...
There's also the IQ test of making sure that patch version exactly matches your current firmware version...

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by cybmole

yes, I'd stay away from firmware patches unless there is no other workaround,

No matter how good the patch is, you cannot control when kobo will opt to push a new firmware upgrade onto your device ( unless you never let it go online) and then you are patch-less until a new version of the patch can be developed and released to match.
It would be less problematic if you could choose whether to allow the kobo upgrades to run or not, but you can't, unless you forgo syncing, shopping...
There's also the IQ test of making sure that patch version exactly matches your current firmware version...

Actually there is a patch to prevent the firmware updating automatically, so you can still sync and shop via wifi and then update the firmware manually if and when you are ready.

[cybmole]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

Actually there is a patch to prevent the firmware updating automatically, so you can still sync and shop via wifi and then update the firmware manually if and when you are ready.

OK - I missed that, but once you allow ONE update, are you not back in the position of waiting for an updated patch so that you can patch your updated firmware in order to prevent it updating again without asking ?
(what a challenging sentence to have to parse )

[GeoffR]

Originally Posted by cybmole

OK - I missed that, but once you allow ONE update, are you not back in the position of waiting for an updated patch so that you can patch your updated firmware in order to prevent it updating again without asking ?
(what a challenging sentence to have to parse )

Yes, but since you can wait until you are ready to update, you can just wait until a patch is available for the new firmware that you update to.

[John C]

Originally Posted by cybmole

not so, all you have to do is go via Kindle for PC / Kindle for Mac . Install that and register it to the amazon account that you used for buying the books originally. then

amazon -> kindle for PC -> calibre -> kobo

easy peasy

PS. your decision as to whether to use everything "AS IS ", but from a testing perspective, you were adding two separate things then deciding that one of them was messing up. the logical next step is to add only one of the two things & test that. then remove it add the other one....

if you could confirm the format & the purchase source of the books that messed up, that may help me & others to not give irrelevent/ misleading advice. I was assuming that you had epub format purchased NOT from Kobo, but maybe that was false, as you now refer to 2 books bought from amazon ?

margins: the specific patch that I used for epub on Kobo ( not Kepub) involves creating a small text file and writing it to root directory of the device. it is well explained in other threads but may be buried inside a very long one ( as is often the case with kobo "gems" ) you create a text file called kobo_extra.css with just one line:
@page {margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0:}
and choose the numbers therein by trial and error until you like the effect

you can optionally have other stuff in that file e.g. I disable widows, orphans, hyphenation with:
@page {margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0:}
body { orphans: 1; widows: 1; }
body {adobe-hyphenate: none;}

you must use the exact file name and place the file in the root of your device for it to work.
I can upload my file but I'd have to zip it for the board to accept it, so probably faster for you to just type it from scratch

I have kindle for Mac and kindle for droid. With both there is no access to the book file that I can find.

I also suggested installing one plug in at a time and was hoping to see if others had more luck with the plug in.

Thanks for posting the text code to improve the margin spacing. Although as I haven't done done this I would need step by step instructionss such as the ones I posted.

I really like the h20 but think I'll be retuning it because there is no landscape mode and the top margin is too close to the top. I think kobo should fix the margin issue. Although I am very impressed with how well you can patch it. I'm still unclear on which device I can read a book I buy on. So for now just going to use my nexus asi thought the new kindle voyage would be $120. I would keep the h20 if it had landscape view. Thanks again for the help. I'm sure I'll be getting an ereader at some point.

[cybmole]

Originally Posted by John C

I have kindle for Mac and kindle for droid. With both there is no access to the book file that I can find.

.

well simple logic tells us that if you can view the book ,offline, then it is on the device somewhere.

On a pc, Kindle for PC places the books in a folder called My Kindle Content within My Documents.
the file name is a meaningless string but will show with a sensible name when dragged into calibre. you can refer to date and time created to help identify the file(s) you are interested in.

i ask google for kindle for mac book location and it directs me here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=129087
I expect google knows the answers for kindle for droid book location also, if asked. - yep - left as an exercise for the reader

it's not rocket science, this stuff, you just have to apply logic & google as needed.

for any non Kindle e-reader that you end up buying you'll be wanting to do these steps in order to access & convert your amazon books, so you should be motivated to learn how.

[John C]

Originally Posted by cybmole

well simple logic tells us that if you can view the book ,offline, then it is on the device somewhere.

On a pc, Kindle for PC places the books in a folder called My Kindle Content within My Documents.
the file name is a meaningless string but will show with a sensible name when dragged into calibre. you can refer to date and time created to help identify the file(s) you are interested in.

i ask google for kindle for mac book location and it directs me here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=129087
I expect google knows the answers for kindle for droid book location also, if asked. - yep - left as an exercise for the reader

it's not rocket science, this stuff, you just have to apply logic & google as needed.

for any non Kindle e-reader that you end up buying you'll be wanting to do these steps in order to access & convert your amazon books, so you should be motivated to learn how.

The purpose of this topic was to provide basic step by step directions to help other get set up with the H20. You say thats a great idea for someone else to start such a topic yet I'm not applying logic, not motivated to learn, and google is my best friend. I don't need to buy books form Amizon to read them on a kindle for mac or droid. Sorry but this didn't work out for me.

[cybmole]

well I give up too.
first you issue a wild generalised warning that using tools & plug ins in calibre, to send (unspecified) books to H2O will horrendously corrupt the H2O.

then, when challenged, you back off from that & are semingly not interested in figuring out what really happened.

later you say (#23) that your books are actually from amazon, on a mac but you can't shift them to H2O,
then you contradict & say (#25)you don't need to buy books from amazon....

what ever your problem(s are/were I'm obviously not understanding , so that's me done on this thread, except to advise other wanting basic how to set up their H2o device to seek it elsewhere

& why an almost square device needs a landscape mode eludes me also, but hey, send it back if it's too complex for you , read the specs before you order next time

there's no landscape mode in any of my paperbacks either, unless I go learn how to read sideways, but I'm not returning them

I'm done here

[cct1]

I wish the calibre plugin installation was bit more straightforward, as it's poorly described in the directions. I had to remove and reinstall everything--without unzipping the plugin, which I did the first time, and it was actually quite easy. If the instructions were clearer (the instructions/download issue is with the plugin, not Calibre which is about as easy to install as a program could be) there would be less headaches. Calibre is a nice program, I'll be donating to support it as I'll be using it a fair amount (My computer is a Mac).

[cybmole]

Originally Posted by cct1

I wish the calibre plugin installation was bit more straightforward, as it's poorly described in the directions....

I agree it can be scary the 1st time, but the good news is that all plugins install the same way, so once you've done one correctly, others are easy.
and there are lots of plug ins - something for everyone with dedicated caloibre sub forum threads for the most popular ones, so that you can ask for help , report issues, request changes... as needed

[John C]

Originally Posted by cybmole

well I give up too.
first you issue a wild generalised warning that using tools & plug ins in calibre, to send (unspecified) books to H2O will horrendously corrupt the H2O.

then, when challenged, you back off from that & are semingly not interested in figuring out what really happened.

later you say (#23) that your books are actually from amazon, on a mac but you can't shift them to H2O,
then you contradict & say (#25)you don't need to buy books from amazon....

what ever your problem(s are/were I'm obviously not understanding , so that's me done on this thread, except to advise other wanting basic how to set up their H2o device to seek it elsewhere

& why an almost square device needs a landscape mode eludes me also, but hey, send it back if it's too complex for you , read the specs before you order next time

there's no landscape mode in any of my paperbacks either, unless I go learn how to read sideways, but I'm not returning them

I'm done here

Please try not to personalize your comments. I'm sorry that discussing two simple plug ins was such a problem for you and you resort to personal insults, inaccurate assumptions, and taking what I have satiated out of context.

You never got the point of this topic. I was just asking for very basic step by step tips on getting started. Now they have to read though all your inaccurate assumption and insults and there are no basic step by step instructions.

First you said I didn't download the right file. Wrong! Or I wouldn't have had the option to convert to kepub.

Now finally I can't read a book. Every tablet and most readers have landscape view. The H20 larger screen almost made up for it.

It doesn't surprise me that you would make such a hostile final comment. I wish I could just delete this thread as you ruined it.

[John C]

I really liked the H20. Most of the books I planned to buy from Kobo, or if I had Kindle buy from Amizon. But also wanted a reader for local library use. We are also prohibited from discussing transcoding copyright protected material. I simply wanted the option to buy books where ever I wanted and convert them but ran into a bug with the first attempt.

With reluctance I'm sending back the H20. Most of the books I read would fit inside the screen but some don't. I happen to like the landscape mode and could care less about page turn buttons. I'm going to try the Voyage again in a month or so because I liked the landscape view and the margins were all fine. I don't want to hack it patch it etc.