JBPatch

[trilla]

Originally Posted by ixtab

So yeah, Amazon's obfuscation strategy worked - by now, it's almost impossible to understand what is happening in their software.

They won. We lost. Thanks for listening.

It's sad to hear =( Really sad.

First, I think maybe you could add some warning information on first post about disabling firmware auto updates? I disabled them for 5.3.3 version and JBPatch still works fine (I can't guarantee that this 100% work, but my KPW didn't update itself till now and I constantly use wifi sync). I use this method for enabling USBNetwork and this for disabling updates. Maybe this helps someone like me, it's hard to find this info because forum too big.

Second, I know you're all white hats, but what if we could organize some kind of fund to support future development? Donations for children of Laos is good (I myself make a donation for them), but maybe some interest for developers (ixtab or other hacker) could help for project to live? Like a local kickstarter =)

[twobob]

The fact is they want rid of us on this "system level".

And honestly... I'm happy to let them "have the win" if it means they FINALLY let us alone to develop our own apps.

It probably doesn't mean that at all but let me have my delusion.

Good call on the update blockers.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by trilla

Second, I know you're all white hats, but what if we could organize some kind of fund to support future development? Donations for children of Laos is good (I myself make a donation for them), but maybe some interest for developers (ixtab or other hacker) could help for project to live? Like a local kickstarter =)

We have had great luck with that - something like 8 of the 3,000+ users have donated almost enough to pay the shipping on two devices now (or some other foolishly low number).

I don't have access to the numbers - but I know it is not very much.
Maybe one or two "6 packs" to moisten ixtab's woes (not even close to drowning them).

[veezh]

Originally Posted by trilla

what if we could organize some kind of fund to support future development? Donations for children of Laos is good (I myself make a donation for them), but maybe some interest for developers (ixtab or other hacker) could help for project to live? Like a local kickstarter =)

I think this is a fantastic idea and would definitely support it.

[rapper10]

Frankly, I am surprised that Amazon hasn't tried to hire Ixtab. Their current TV advertising focuses on the less expensive Kindle Fire being on the same level as the iPad, so they are obviously going to need great people to do insanely great things in a hurry to substantiate this claim.

I have a Paperwhite. I can't figure out what features are being added or fixed in each of Amazon's firmware upgrades. My reading experience hasn't changed, so I have to assume that all the changes revolve around connectivity, the use of Amazon's online store and cloud service, and desire to block jailbreaking. Wouldn't the obfuscated code use more disk space, make the processor work harder, and drain the battery quicker? This means the firmware updates shouldn't be that important for readers of this blog. If you want to jailbreak and use JBPatch, you have to connect your Kindle to your computer. You can just as easily sideload reading material from your computer and not need the mysterious firmware enhancements.

One good thing about Amazon is that they haven't adopted the Apple model regarding firmware upgrades. With Apple, you are blocked from restoring to anything but the current version. With our Kindles, we can very easily restore to an older version.

So, instead of developing for obfuscated new firmware, why not stick with developing for version 5.3.1 and make users downgrade to this version if they want to use JBPatch and the other enhancements. This version was the first update for the Paperwhite, so Amazon probably fixed all the reading-experience bugs then. It was also the last version where our developers were having fun.

I think users should continue making suggestions here, as long as they don't come across as demands. Maybe Amazon will see something that makes them rethink things; maybe Ixtab, twobob, and the other developers see something that's too good of a challenge to pass up.

I remember this poll from not too long ago:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=195617
I wouldn't mind seeing all the features from the Touch ported to the Paperwhite. But I am an avid reader, so any enhancement makes a difference and is appreciated.

[knc1]

A nice suggestion.

At the time of 5.3.1, there was only minimal work done to prevent "surprise updates" from Amazon.
But more recently, a lot of work has been done in that area.

I will not say "prevented" because there may still be holes in our protections that could allow a system update to slip through.
Still, the end-user now has a very good chance that their device will stay on the firmware version the end-user intends without any forced surprises from Amazon.

[booklover6]

I just don't turn wifi on anymore. My 2 e-ink Kindles are safe, that way.

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by rapper10

I have a Paperwhite. I can't figure out what features are being added or fixed in each of Amazon's firmware upgrades. My reading experience hasn't changed, so I have to assume that all the changes revolve around connectivity, the use of Amazon's online store and cloud service, and desire to block jailbreaking.

People spotted fixes to PDF reading in the latest update, fixes to stop the light staying on on shutdown (which hasn't happened to me since my 5.3.3 update), and I'm fairly sure they've squashed some memory leaks. Nothing major, just bugfixes to intermittent bugs, really.

Originally Posted by rapper10

Wouldn't the obfuscated code use more disk space, make the processor work harder, and drain the battery quicker?

No, I'm fairly sure renaming variable and function names in Java class files doesn't do any of that. Obfuscation is not encryption. (If anything, the obfuscated names are shorter, so it uses a tiny tiny bit less disk space than the original class files would.)

[rehanog]

Hi,

First of all. Thanks, Ixtab for doing such wonderful work for all of us. You have made my reading life much happier. Just made a donation to Laos on your behalf!

Quick question: does anyone know if jbpatch works happily with kpvbooklet / koreader. i.e., I already have jbpatch installed - is it safe for me to also install kpvbooklet and koreader? I am on 5.3.3 PW

Thanks a lot,

Rehan

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by rehanog

Hi,

First of all. Thanks, Ixtab for doing such wonderful work for all of us. You have made my reading life much happier. Just made a donation to Laos on your behalf!

Quick question: does anyone know if jbpatch works happily with kpvbooklet / koreader. i.e., is it safe for me to install kpvbooklet and koreader. I am on 5.3.3 PW

Thanks a lot,

Rehan

Yes, they should peacefully co-exist. (But of course the JBPatch patches won't affect the "reader" part of those programs [margins, hyphenation etc.]).

[rehanog]

Hi,

Thanks for the amazingly speedy response to my last question. You've inspired me to ask another one :-).

Is there any reliable way to disable auto-upgrade (I'm on PW 5.3.3)? I am afraid of losing my wonderful new reading experience. Should I just never again use the wifi and live forever in aeroplane mode? I've poked around a bit in the forums, and seen a few suggestions. But there doesn't seem to be any definitive answer.

Thanks again,

Rehan

[ixtab]

Pretty much the same question is currently being discussed here. I haven't used it myself, but the backdoorlock hack seems like the best choice for only preventing automatic updates without interfering with anything else.

The most radical solution is of course to keep the device in airplane mode. This way, it won't phone home at all.

[GoSharks]

@rehanog
If you install Kual and use the BackDoorLock extension you will be able to use wifi without worrying about unsolicited backups on your PW.

or in other words...what ixtab said.

[ixtab]

JBPatch v4.0.0 released.

It supports all previously supported firmwares, plus the Paperwhite FW 5.3.4.

Note that the patches for FW 5.3.x now consist only of the hyphenation, margins, and dictionaries patch. The reasons are explained in some of my previous posts.

The font size patch has been dropped for 5.3.x Firmwares, as it seems to have caused way more problems than it solved (you can still install it manually on firmwares < 5.3.4, if you really want to).

For the 5.1.x firmwares, nothing has really changed.

For more information, see the details and upgrade notes in the first post.

[diba]

THX, works perfect ... as expected ;-)