K5 FW 5.x ScreenSavers Hack

[eschwartz]

Ooh, NiLuJe goes to the dark side...

You will of course need to start a thread about your adventures in Koboland from the perspective of a Kindle hacker.

[NiLuJe]

@eschwartz: Two words: Pain. Misery.

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[eschwartz]

I still want to hear a compare and contrast, an in-depth analysis of the differences.

But perhaps that can wait til you get over the shock?

[NiLuJe]

@eschwartz: In (very) short:

From a user's POV: This is NOT an epub reader. The ePub renderer is horribly crippled compared to their own kepub renderer. Which of course leads to fun times w/ a cross-platform library, since the kepub format is not as well reversed as KF8.

From a tinkerer's POV: The system might be 'open', but it's not fun at all, and Kobo's software is a brick-wall in terms of possible interaction with it.

I'll probably go into more details (and in less black/white terms) at some point .

[eschwartz]

Yeah, at worst we can always use kindlegen but when the postprocessing is done in private on the vendor's servers, that would make it difficult...

Anyway, whenever you post your findings, I will read it with interest.

[NiLuJe]

@eschwartz: I've just finished dumping all the Kindle USBNet crap in a single monstrosity, so at least I've got my tools now ;p.

So, one thing it's got going for it: a crapload of RAM ^^.

[pghaworth]

Good info on the Kobo. The grass had appeared a slightly better shade of green after the KV's debut. That said, I'm significantly less fond of Amazon these days.

[NiLuJe]

@pghaworth: I hear you. Not terribly fond of Amazon either right now. And as I said, not exactly thrilled by Kobo either... :/.

[pghaworth]

@NiLuJe - I'm happy at present with my PW2, but quite discouraged for the future of ereaders in general. Kobo was lacking when I tried one in 2011 and I guess they haven't come far in the time since. Seems like Amazon is only going to get more invasive, and with no options other than these two it doesn't look good.

Apologies to be .

[rogerinnyc]

I've mentioned this in other threads, but, in the absence of a jailbreak allowing NiLuJe's custom fonts and screensaver hack, I returned my KV and went for a Kobo H2O. Originally not all that happy because the page turns were a touch slower -- but I must say that I'm now used to them and am happy to have the benefit of custom fonts, custom font sizes, custom line spacing, custom margins, etc., plus NiLuJe's screensaver hack as an automatic option. The screen quality is, IMO, equal to that of the Voyage, plus you get a slightly larger screen (I mostly consider this a plus, it feels and looks more like a book -- others might not -- it no longer fits in a blazer inside pocket). Plus waterproof (to a point).

I'm not a hacker (other than using the tools made available here), but there is some very helpful development on the Kobo forum for customizing the device with different headers and footers, different font size and line spacing steps, etc. Plus Calibre drivers to auto-convert to kepub format, which as NiLuJe said, is really the format you need to use. In any event, that forum can only benefit from NiLuJe's participation!

Having said all that, I would still consider re-purchasing the KV if NiLuJe's screensaver and font hacks were available for it. I actually miss whispersync and xray, and the device itself is still pretty sweet in its feel and responsiveness.

[NiLuJe]

@rogerinnyc: Yup, that sums up my feelings on the subject fairly well .

I'd just add that I do find the screen 'quality' to be lower, compared to a PW2. As you said, it's definitely more sluggish, but I also find that it ghosts quite a bit (I'd say it's better than a PW1, but not by much), an area where the PW2 is freakishly exemplary. On the other hand, the lighting is even and flawless, so that's always a good thing, when you remember the PW1 mess . It's definitely sharp (compared to a PW2, at least, since I haven't seen a KV), but the IR-grid touchscreen still has the same pros/cons: no extra layer, but a raised bezel, w/ glossy insides, and a lack of precision (I somehow find it worse than my old Touch, but it might be just the bigger size, or the fact that I haven't used the Touch daily in a while).

[rogerinnyc]

I agree, there's a touch more ghosting on the Kobo, but I found it satisfactorily resolved by setting the refresh to every page - which of course then subtly slows down the page turns, but that was a trade off I was willing to make - and now, without comparing it constantly to a Kindle, doesn't bother me. Obviously it's all subjective, but I found the H2O screen and font sharpness definitely better (marginally) than my PW2 and pretty equivalent to the Voyage.

Definitely agree that the IR interface makes for less precision in highlighting words to look up, etc. You almost have to aim high and it's still touch and go whether you get it right. And although the recessed bezel is fine - and the same essentially as the PW2 - the flush bezel of the Voyage is pretty sweet.

Still hoping for a jailbreak for the Voyage.....

[NiLuJe]

I'd also add that the dictionary is just plain terrible. Granted, we're spoiled with the NODE on the Kindle, but, still .

Yeah, I'm definitely intrigued by the idea of a flush bezel, I remember having an Aura in hand, and it was kinda neat .

[cqwang]

Quick question:
In COVER mode, when the cover pic of the current book is not in exactly the same proportion as the screen, how do I make the cover pic zoomed to crop and fill the screen instead of fitting to the screen and leaving white borders at two sides?

Or, how can I make the white borders black, so they look more comfortable on the black KPW?

[pghaworth]

The options are under "Cover Mode Behavior".

Edited to add omitted info.