Firmware Update Kindle firmware 5.12.1

[Quoth]

I only use "B" on the PW3.
I'd like even one page turn button. However in adding Touch they decided to save 20c and remove ALL buttons except power. They also removed the 3.5mm audio jack as a 50c saving. The USB based audio on PW3 is horrid compared to DXG and Kindle Keyboard.

Software development has often been 10 to 20 years behind the Linux desktop. These do use linux + GNU or Linux kernel and Android (depending on make). Yet SW is focus on homescreen appearance, DRM and Marketing. Not the sorts of features easy 15 years ago.

My kobo is supposedly waterproof, I'd not test that.
I've rarely used lights on my Kobo or Kindle. Because I read lots of paper, I have room lights.

I find customer serivce of all large corporations toxic and arrogant. Amazon is one of the top 10 arrogant international companies on abusing customer privacy and attempting to have monopolies.
See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ions_by_Amazon

[NullNix]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I think turning completely off (after a certain amount of time) is one reason Sony Readers' batteries last so long. I'm also guessing they might have had better quality batteries.

What is "turning completely off"? I'm fairly sure that the sleep mode Oasises go into halts the CPU, but the RAM is still powered because a full boot cycle takes about two minutes and nobody would want to wait *that* long.

[FulciLives]

My Kindle Oasis 2 is still on 5.11.2 and hasn't automatically updated. Shouldn't it have done so by now?

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by FulciLives

My Kindle Oasis 2 is still on 5.11.2 and hasn't automatically updated. Shouldn't it have done so by now?

No. Automatic updates are slow (weeks) and in batches. It appears to be by manufacture date, or what Amazon decides to make sense. If there is something new you want now, you can always manually update.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

No. Automatic updates are slow (weeks) and in batches. It appears to be by manufacture date, or what Amazon decides to make sense. If there is something new you want now, you can always manually update.

I wonder why Amazon does not allow on demand Kindle updates like the Fire or a smartphone. Just say what the update is and offer to download. And option to turn off auto update.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by NullNix

What is "turning completely off"? I'm fairly sure that the sleep mode Oasises go into halts the CPU, but the RAM is still powered because a full boot cycle takes about two minutes and nobody would want to wait *that* long.

I think the Sonys do turn completely off. They're definitely not "sleeping" in the traditional sense, but they only take about 40 seconds to reboot. So there may be something still turned on deep down in the CPU. I don't know. I do know that my Sonys can last a long time (months) between charges when not being used.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by FulciLives

My Kindle Oasis 2 is still on 5.11.2 and hasn't automatically updated. Shouldn't it have done so by now?

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

No. Automatic updates are slow (weeks) and in batches. It appears to be by manufacture date, or what Amazon decides to make sense. If there is something new you want now, you can always manually update.

Yep. I just downloaded it and installed it manually. I'm not sure if that was a good idea, however, as I'm still having the Custom Font crashing issue. If I'm using a custom font in a book and try to open another, it will usually not open. I'll get an error. Usually the Kindles (both the Paperwhite 2 and 8th Generation Basic) will recover from the error (though the book won't open), but sometimes the Kindle freezes and I have to reboot. My workaround is to re-open the book I was reading (which works) and change the font to any of the standard, built-in fonts. I can then go to the Home page and open the book that caused the crash and then change to a custom font. And it will work fine until I close that book and try to open another one. It does this on all custom fonts. These are books bought and downloaded (via WiFi) from Amazon.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Yep. I just downloaded it and installed it manually. I'm not sure if that was a good idea, however, as I'm still having the Custom Font crashing issue. If I'm using a custom font in a book and try to open another, it will usually not open. I'll get an error. Usually the Kindles (both the Paperwhite 2 and 8th Generation Basic) will recover from the error (though the book won't open), but sometimes the Kindle freezes and I have to reboot. My workaround is to re-open the book I was reading (which works) and change the font to any of the standard, built-in fonts. I can then go to the Home page and open the book that caused the crash and then change to a custom font. And it will work fine until I close that book and try to open another one. It does this on all custom fonts. These are books bought and downloaded (via WiFi) from Amazon.

How many versions of each font do you have on your Kindles? It's best to have only four of each, regular, italic, bold and bold italic. If there's more (semibolds, mediums, lights etc), then it might cause problems.

I have not had any crashes with custom fonts either on my Voyage or my Oases. But then, all my books are sideloaded from Calibre, not direct downloads.

[Atunah]

I had the font issue a couple of updates back. I finally gave up and went back to using the stock fonts. I was tired of my kindles locking up and giving popups and not opening books or docs.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

How many versions of each font do you have on your Kindles? It's best to have only four of each, regular, italic, bold and bold italic. If there's more (semibolds, mediums, lights etc), then it might cause problems.

Three font families, four fonts each (regular, bold, italic and bold-italic). Didn't have this issue on earlier releases.

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I have not had any crashes with custom fonts either on my Voyage or my Oases. But then, all my books are sideloaded from Calibre, not direct downloads.

Maybe it's the specific fonts, but they're the ones I want to use. Especially Deja Vu Serif E-Book. I don't think I'm having trouble with side-loaded books, now that you mention it.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Atunah

I had the font issue a couple of updates back. I finally gave up and went back to using the stock fonts. I was tired of my kindles locking up and giving popups and not opening books or docs.

I don't want to go there. I don't like the built-in fonts. But at least it's good to know that I'm not crazy.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Three font families, four fonts each (regular, bold, italic and bold-italic). Didn't have this issue on earlier releases.



Maybe it's the specific fonts, but they're the ones I want to use. Especially Deja Vu Serif E-Book. I don't think I'm having trouble with side-loaded books, now that you mention it.

It must have something to do with direct downloads (KFX format?), then. I use DejaVu Serif Eink too, among others. No crashes.

It would probably be best to complain to Amazon. If enough people do, maybe they'll fix it.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I think turning completely off (after a certain amount of time) is one reason Sony Readers' batteries last so long. I'm also guessing they might have had better quality batteries.

I cannot say to the quality of the batteries. But because the Sony auto-turned off, that is the main reason their batteries lasted so long. When you didn't use one for 3 days, it shut off.

If I know I'm not going to be using my Kobo for a while, I'll power it down. I cannot do that with a Kindle. That's one important feature Amazon seems to have forgotten to steal from Kobo.

[patrickt]

Frustrated Reader: "I find customer service of all large corporations toxic and arrogant. Amazon is one of the top 10 arrogant international companies on abusing customer privacy and attempting to have monopolies."

This reminds me of people obsessed with race and see everyone else as a racist. No large company has given me better service than Amazon. Over the years I've seen the Kindles change in many ways based strictly on customer requests and often catering to small factions in the customer base. Of course, you wouldn't want to pay for it and won't build it for you so you'll keep believing they're one of the top ten worst.

Me? I'll keep reading on my Kindle Paperwhites. I actually think Kindle has recognized their error in trying to cater to elitists with the Oasis line. I suspect the Oasis line will die as the Voyage line has done.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by NullNix

What is "turning completely off"? I'm fairly sure that the sleep mode Oasises go into halts the CPU, but the RAM is still powered because a full boot cycle takes about two minutes and nobody would want to wait *that* long.

Completely turned off is when it's not in sleep mode. When it's not slowly draining the battery while it's not used. It helps keep the batter in good condition longer. If you know you are not using your Reader for at least a few days, you can power it off to conserve the battery. Sony Readers had a feature that if it wasn't used after 3-days, it turned off. If you have multiple Kindles, one of them is most likely not going to be used and most likely has a dead battery. If it was able to be turned off, the battery would not be dead which is not good for the battery. If you don't use your Kindle for days, it slowly drains. That means more charging when you could have turned it off. It means your battery will last a lot longer then it does only being in sleep when not being used for some time.