Is jailbreaking really all that? (User experiences)

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

The CharisSIL I use on my Kindles is version 4. ChareInk has a bit too small line-height for my taste. And it doesn't look quite as good on the Kindles as the earlier version (imho, of course).

Yes, Kindles render fonts differently than Kobos. The difference is small, barely noticeable, but it's there. I found that LexiaDama with patched line-heights works best for me on my Libra, I never considered it my favorite on my Kindles.

ChareInk was specifically tuned to give a smaller line height. It's based on Charis SIL v5

What you can do is set the spacing to the second setting to give you a larger line height with ChareInk. That would work. You don't need to keep it on the first setting with the least line height.

I think ChareInk makes a Kindle a lot better as the line height is not too large as it is by default.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

That has been true multiple times in the past, until it wasn't.

Whether or not there will be any future jailbreak no one can say.

I doubt there will be a jailbreak with 5.12.2. I think if there is to be another jailbreak, it will be with a newer firmware.And if you buy a new Kindle, you have to be prepared to use it with the stock 5.12.2 firmware.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by SusanReads

I know this, but I have lots of faith in all those reader hackers with lots of free time.

But it could very well be that all the holes are closed. The thing is, with each jailbreak, Amazon learns what the hole is and closes it. This could be the end of jailbreaks.

[Pajamaman]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But it could very well be that all the holes are closed. The thing is, with each jailbreak, Amazon learns what the hole is and closes it. This could be the end of jailbreaks.

Yeah, it sucks. If a new jailbreak gets released ever, I might grab a new Kindle if it's got a decent red light so I can run it with Koreader. They're pretty solid bits of kit. Mind you nothing compares to the Nook GL3 redlight. It's like living on a small rocky planet orbiting a red dwarf star in night-black intergalactic space. Love it.

[ilovejedd]

What I'm looking for is experiences with jailbroken Kindles. Why did you want to jailbreak? Is it only for the screensavers? And now that you've jailbroken your Kindle is it really what you'd hoped for?

* I did it to get automatic collections support via Calibre (Kindle Collections + LibrarianSync). Then discovered KOReader (alternate reading software with support for EPUB and CBZ comic books) and the jailbreak ended up much more useful than intended. Apart from being able to read comics without having to convert them with KCC, my Paperwhites now have folder hierarchy support, Dropbox support, OPDS support and fine-tuned tap zones to name a few. With KOReader, it even syncs last read position with my Kobo ereaders.


And is it easy to maintain the jailbreak? Or do you regret is because it's a lot of hassle?

* No hassle at all. It's a simple toggle/menu option on KUAL to disable automatic updates on the Kindle and after that, no worries even if I keep the Kindles always on wifi.


I just want to know if it's really worth it, and if people regret jailbreaking their device because it's not what they'd hoped. Or it's too difficult to maintain the jailbreak. Or if they kind of really wanted the new update (because of features?), but can't because it's now jailbroken.

* I'm still on 5.10.1.3 both for keeping the jailbreak and so KFX books downloaded directly to the Kindle use Alf-friendly DRM.

Even without the benefits of jailbreak, the DRM issue alone trumps any features Amazon could provide via firmware update. I actually bought extra PW4s when they went on sale back when Amazon was still shipping 5.10.1.3 or lower so that I have backup devices.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

. . . . . .
I think if there is to be another jailbreak, it will be with a newer firmware.
. . . . . .

And there-in lies the best reason for a jailbreak to be found (or learned).
As I posted recently, the PW4 has had updates created by Amazon/Lab126 at the approximate rate of once every two months.

Here is a good example of what is involved:

Originally Posted by Gerald Weinberg

There is no code so big, twisted, or complex that maintenance can't make it worse.

Yeah team Lab126!

[JSWolf]

If the main eason for getting a Kindle is to jailbreak to install KOReader, you could get a Kobo Libra H2O and while running KOReader, pretend that it's an Oasis 3.

[SusanReads]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If the main eason for getting a Kindle is to jailbreak to install KOReader, you could get a Kobo Libra H2O and while running KOReader, pretend that it's an Oasis 3.

There's a nice thread about the quality of the Libra screen going on in the Kobo section. Many readers (myself included) are not happy with the quality of the Libra screens. So even though a Kobo device has more options, I can't and won't part from my (almost) perfect Kindle screens. So a jailbroken Kindle sounds lovely. I do hope it can happen with the new firmware one day.

[gustavonow]

That's a good question, I think for most of us it is mainly the desire to unlock the potential, mixed in with a hint of necessity.

Originally Posted by SusanReads

What I'm looking for is experiences with jailbroken Kindles. Why did you want to jailbreak? Is it only for the screensavers?

I had that desire ever since I bought the Kindle Paperwhite 2, I had books and had to use workarounds to convert them to formats the Kindle would understand, it just felt lacking to me (Calibre wasn't that hard, but I had to keep 2 versions of each book, PDFs were a nightmare and even with k2pdfopt, the Kindle would run out of memory or I would desire to change the zoom and couldn't. Also, I felt enticed by the whole "unlocking your devices potential".

Also, I felt dissatisfied because with the native Kindle PDF Reader, you honestly won't be satistied reading PDF, landscape mode is the only way you will actually read the text, and all the zooming in and out, with hit-and-miss most of the time feels more like doing chores than reading.

But to be fair, the Kindle UI for reading KINDLE BOOKS from the Kindle store is the best you can get, it feels like heaven.

Originally Posted by SusanReads

And now that you've jailbroken your Kindle is it really what you'd hoped for?

The jailbreak itself does little, but it's a necessary step. I personally never used any of the software you can download (for more than just to try them), except for KOReader.

KOReader gave me exactly what I wanted, great reading experience, similar to the native Kindle store reading, across any book I found, I should also mentioned, PDF reading actually *felt* like reading a book for once, due to the reflow feature.

Also, using the native Amazon software, I felt pressured to buy, I guess because of their persuasion techniques, with KOReader I feel free to make my own choices.

Originally Posted by SusanReads

And is it easy to maintain the jailbreak? Or do you regret is because it's a lot of hassle?

After you Jailbreak it you never have to think about it anymore.

Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of initial hassle, the forum is very much novice-unfriendly, but after you finish, your device will work without fail, 90% like the normal Kindle.

Originally Posted by SusanReads

I just want to know if it's really worth it, and if people regret jailbreaking their device because it's not what they'd hoped. Or it's too difficult to maintain the jailbreak. Or if they kind of really wanted the new update (because of features?), but can't because it's now jailbroken.

I have this voice in the back of my head saying I should jailbreak once it's possible, but on the other hand, it it really worth it? If it's only for the screensavers, I can live without those.

So what are your experiences with jailbroken devices?

This is from my experience and my experience only:

• If you need or want to read PDFs (like books, class teachings, courses, anything to actually learn) Jailbreak and install KOReader.
• If you don't want to be constantly enticed into spending your money buying from Amazon (which I felt, unlike with Kobo's native software that I had before) Jailbreak and install KOReader.
• If you want to be able to buy from different stores, outside Amazon, or read books from Project Gutenberg. Jailbreak and install KOReader
• If you want a hassle-free, idiot-free, click-buy-read experience -for a price-, and don't care about the limitations on filetypes then the native Kindle is the best for you, it will deliver what you want.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by gustavonow

Also, using the native Amazon software, I felt pressured to buy, I guess because of their persuasion techniques, with KOReader I feel free to make my own choices.

Why would you? I have only sideloaded books on my Kindles, recommendations are turned off (you don't have to jailbreak for that) and I never see any Amazon ad at all. The majority of my books are bought elsewhere.

IMHO, one should jailbreak if one reads lots of PDFs, wants to modify one's device (custom touch zones, custom screensavers, etc) or doesn't want to use Calibre. It's not necessary for simply reading sideloaded books. But as always, YMMV.

[pavel-s]

There are a lot of cool ideas, thoughts, use-cases being said. I just would like to add that for me kindle also is a possibility to have a low-cost e-ink coding station that can work in any lighting conditions, especially during shiny summer days without the need to find a shadow.

There are Onyx BOOX (~800$) and Dasung E-Ink Monitor (~1300$) on the market. But they are pretty expensive (comparing to kindle, ~130$).

Currently, the best choice, probably, is kindle + vnc + raspberry that allows you to use a keyboard. But now, when PW4 came with Bluetooth, I hope, someday it would be possible to just take a Bluetooth keyboard and a kindle and sit somewhere on a beach, writing some code in vim.

[WaseemAlkurdi]

Originally Posted by pavel-s

There are a lot of cool ideas, thoughts, use-cases being said. I just would like to add that for me kindle also is a possibility to have a low-cost e-ink coding station that can work in any lighting conditions, especially during shiny summer days without the need to find a shadow.

There are Onyx BOOX (~800$) and Dasung E-Ink Monitor (~1300$) on the market. But they are pretty expensive (comparing to kindle, ~130$).

Currently, the best choice, probably, is kindle + vnc + raspberry that allows you to use a keyboard. But now, when PW4 came with Bluetooth, I hope, someday it would be possible to just take a Bluetooth keyboard and a kindle and sit somewhere on a beach, writing some code in vim.

You could SSH oner Wi-Fi into a Linux 'chroot' running on an Android phone. (Buzzword overkill aside, that's a real solution, isn't it?)

[kacir]

Originally Posted by pavel-s

I hope, someday it would be possible to just take a Bluetooth keyboard and a kindle and sit somewhere on a beach, writing some code in vim.

A long time ago I have installed a full version of Vim on my PocketBook 623. No hacking required. Just copy a vim.app file to an appropriate folder on the device. The only downside was that I had to use the on-screen keyboard to use it.
I never used it to do real work. Mostly it was just for showing off to fellow geeks and a few times to write down a phone number or something very short.

[pavel-s]

Originally Posted by WaseemAlkurdi

You could SSH oner Wi-Fi into a Linux 'chroot' running on an Android phone. (Buzzword overkill aside, that's a real solution, isn't it?)

Well, it's a nice option. Though, it draws more battery from both the kindle (e.g. keeping Wi-Fi connection) and the phone. Rooted kindle itself has a terminal (thanks to that forum) and, with a Bluetooth keyboard connected, I assume, it can last much longer. It removes that noisy voice from your head saying "will your phone battery survive one more hour"?

And a kindle without the phone can keep your away from distractions.

Originally Posted by kacir

A long time ago I have installed a full version of Vim on my PocketBook 623. No hacking required. Just copy a vim.app file to an appropriate folder on the device. The only downside was that I had to use the on-screen keyboard to use it.
I never used it to do real work. Mostly it was just for showing off to fellow geeks and a few times to write down a phone number or something very short.

Probably, Amazon just cares too much about its content leaking via rooted kindles. That is what other products (like PocketBook 623, etc) don't need to bother. Though, I wish I have to just copy vim.app, connect a Bluetooth keyboard and be happy

Another reason I love kindles - is their content. Many respectful authors publish their books at the Amazon store. And it so easy to get them while they are still hot.

[knc1]

Not to worry about your 'phone battery running down ...
Kindles normally only have 3 to 4 hours (depending on FW and model) of run time.

The BT controller requires a computer to run it, so the Kindle can never sleep.