Paperwhite 2 / 3 and Calibre 1.48

Joanna · 07-20-2015, 01:48 PM

I am shopping for a new reader. The plan was to buy a 2nd generation Paperwhite but now with the 3rd generation entering the market I am thinking about buying a Paperwhite 3.

Is it compatible with Calibre 1.48?

I can't update to the latest version of the software (running Win XP on all my PCs).

eschwartz · 07-20-2015, 04:13 PM

Yes, the PW3 will connect to calibre 1.48 -- however, the thumbnails that calibre creates were bumped in size for the Voyage, and that might be necessary for the resolution of the PW3 as well.
That only affects the cover view thumbnails though, and only the ones calibre sideloads.

N.B. -- there is a sticky describing various options for calibre on WinXP. e.g. your computer will probably run linux quite well.
Running an outdated OS is not the best policy, security-wise

Joanna · 07-30-2015, 01:09 PM

Thanks for your reply! I am glad this should work.

"only the ones calibre sideloads" - does "sideload" means here uploaded from the hard drive by Calibre (and not bought on Amazon)? I'm switching from an Onyx reader., where I would just upload all the books using Calibre.

Is there any workaround for this problem with cover view thumbnails? I've seen a thread about the Voyage, gotta find it.

Thanks for your link to the sticky, can't believe I missed it! A total Calibre afficionado a few years ago, I haven't been around for quite a while (I got to the point where I decided I was more or less satisfied with the structure of my Calibre collection, and wanted to focus on my reading

).

Yeah, I know I have to switch to another OS sooner or later. Got traumatized by Windows Vista back when it was brand-new, which successfully discouraged me from trying any new Windows versions (I do know it is not rational

but the episode with Vista going into an infinite rebooting loop due to a faulty system update made quite an impression

). Plus, I postponed buying a new laptop quite a few times, as I'm quite found of a 15,4'' display, which is apparently not produced anymore (seems like I kinda struggle to move on

). And I still run some software that is not quite compatible with 64-bit systems... and not easy to replace, as these are mostly old dictionaries. Food for thought, I guess.

JSWolf · 07-30-2015, 01:37 PM

If your computer is capable of running Windows 10 64-bit, I would suggest finding a cheap (if possible) copy of Windows 7 64-bit or Windows 8.1 64-bit and then once installed, update to Windows 10 64-bit and then you can run the latest Calibre and even a newer version of Sigil.

eschwartz · 07-30-2015, 01:40 PM

Yep, just the ones for the non-PDOC books added via calibre's send-to-device feature. calibre generates the thumbnails for those, and needs a more recent version to handle the increased resolution on the Voyage-and-probably-PW3.
It is literally just a problem of telling calibre to automatically make a bigger image. You could resize the images yourself, but that is way too much work!

So you end up with a tiny thumbnail that doesn't look quite as good

and we can't have that.

Books sideloaded via your File Browser won't have a cover thumbnail unless they are a PDOC, and books downloaded directly from Amazon, both get their thumbnails via the device's internal processes, and the covers will be fine.

eschwartz · 07-30-2015, 01:47 PM

The path of least resistance would be to keep your Windows XP, but run from source using my backports branch -- including the updated Kindle driver.

I don't feel like belaboring the issue of OS upgrades.

Presumably you are already aware of your options.

Joanna · 07-30-2015, 02:58 PM

eschwartz, thanks for your advice. I will try the running from source thing. Hopefully, I am capable of doing this

(right now, I find all the reading about the Calibre development environment and Python quite intimidating).

One question (probably a terribly stupid one): from what I see, all the communication with devices is handled by device interface plug-ins. Would it be somehow possible to use a later plug-in with the old Calibre version? Or is it possible to change the image size in the old plugin?

Or is it what your backports solution basically does?

Sorry, feeling really overwhelmed at the moment

JSWolf, unfortunately my computer is not capable of running newer Win 10 (nor any 64-bit system). Even when I buy a new one (which I certainly intend to do), I still have a WinXP netbook which I tend to use for travelling, which is also when I do most of my reading. So no luck here

JSWolf · 07-30-2015, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joanna

JSWolf, unfortunately my computer is not capable of running newer Win 10 (nor any 64-bit system). Even when I buy a new one (which I certainly intend to do), I still have a WinXP netbook which I tend to use for travelling, which is also when I do most of my reading. So no luck here

In that case, would it be possible to install Win 7 32-bit instead of Win XP?

eschwartz · 07-30-2015, 08:18 PM

The Kindle driver is a builtin plugin, which means that to override it you need to run from source. Which is what my backports solution does. As of a few minutes ago, anyway.

Must have missed that last time.

The alternative is to byte-compile the driver file, and replace it in library.zip -- which I am afraid might be a little too complicated, and can mess up easily.

Joanna · 08-01-2015, 01:11 PM

eschwartz, thanks for your explanation (and your patience!). I guess I have to read everything thoroughly. And then, preferably, read it again

. For the time being, I will wait until the new reader arrives (wasn't sure whether to purchase a Paperwhite 2 or 3 due to the potential Calibre incompability; now I've decided to order a P3).

JSWolf, I've got an old Dell Inspiron 1501 (with expanded RAM) and a slightly newer MSI Wind 150 Plus. I seriously doubt they would be able to run Win7 well enough. Plus, the cost of the license would be probably higher than the total value of the computer

.

07-20-2015, 01:48 PM	#1
Joanna Groupie Posts: 199 Karma: 76476 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Poland Device: none	Paperwhite 2 / 3 and Calibre 1.48 I am shopping for a new reader. The plan was to buy a 2nd generation Paperwhite but now with the 3rd generation entering the market I am thinking about buying a Paperwhite 3. Is it compatible with Calibre 1.48? I can't update to the latest version of the software (running Win XP on all my PCs).

07-30-2015, 01:09 PM	#3
Joanna Groupie Posts: 199 Karma: 76476 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Poland Device: none	Thanks for your reply! I am glad this should work. "only the ones calibre sideloads" - does "sideload" means here uploaded from the hard drive by Calibre (and not bought on Amazon)? I'm switching from an Onyx reader., where I would just upload all the books using Calibre. Is there any workaround for this problem with cover view thumbnails? I've seen a thread about the Voyage, gotta find it. Thanks for your link to the sticky, can't believe I missed it! A total Calibre afficionado a few years ago, I haven't been around for quite a while (I got to the point where I decided I was more or less satisfied with the structure of my Calibre collection, and wanted to focus on my reading ). Yeah, I know I have to switch to another OS sooner or later. Got traumatized by Windows Vista back when it was brand-new, which successfully discouraged me from trying any new Windows versions (I do know it is not rational but the episode with Vista going into an infinite rebooting loop due to a faulty system update made quite an impression ). Plus, I postponed buying a new laptop quite a few times, as I'm quite found of a 15,4'' display, which is apparently not produced anymore (seems like I kinda struggle to move on ). And I still run some software that is not quite compatible with 64-bit systems... and not easy to replace, as these are mostly old dictionaries. Food for thought, I guess. Last edited by Joanna; 07-30-2015 at 01:23 PM.

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07-20-2015, 04:13 PM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Yes, the PW3 will connect to calibre 1.48 -- however, the thumbnails that calibre creates were bumped in size for the Voyage, and that might be necessary for the resolution of the PW3 as well. That only affects the cover view thumbnails though, and only the ones calibre sideloads. N.B. -- there is a sticky describing various options for calibre on WinXP. e.g. your computer will probably run linux quite well. Running an outdated OS is not the best policy, security-wise

07-30-2015, 01:37 PM	#4
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 76,063 Karma: 134368292 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	If your computer is capable of running Windows 10 64-bit, I would suggest finding a cheap (if possible) copy of Windows 7 64-bit or Windows 8.1 64-bit and then once installed, update to Windows 10 64-bit and then you can run the latest Calibre and even a newer version of Sigil.

07-30-2015, 01:40 PM	#5
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Yep, just the ones for the non-PDOC books added via calibre's send-to-device feature. calibre generates the thumbnails for those, and needs a more recent version to handle the increased resolution on the Voyage-and-probably-PW3. It is literally just a problem of telling calibre to automatically make a bigger image. You could resize the images yourself, but that is way too much work! So you end up with a tiny thumbnail that doesn't look quite as good and we can't have that. Books sideloaded via your File Browser won't have a cover thumbnail unless they are a PDOC, and books downloaded directly from Amazon, both get their thumbnails via the device's internal processes, and the covers will be fine.

07-30-2015, 01:47 PM	#6
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	The path of least resistance would be to keep your Windows XP, but run from source using my backports branch -- including the updated Kindle driver. I don't feel like belaboring the issue of OS upgrades. Presumably you are already aware of your options.

07-30-2015, 02:58 PM	#7
Joanna Groupie Posts: 199 Karma: 76476 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Poland Device: none	eschwartz, thanks for your advice. I will try the running from source thing. Hopefully, I am capable of doing this (right now, I find all the reading about the Calibre development environment and Python quite intimidating). One question (probably a terribly stupid one): from what I see, all the communication with devices is handled by device interface plug-ins. Would it be somehow possible to use a later plug-in with the old Calibre version? Or is it possible to change the image size in the old plugin? Or is it what your backports solution basically does? Sorry, feeling really overwhelmed at the moment JSWolf, unfortunately my computer is not capable of running newer Win 10 (nor any 64-bit system). Even when I buy a new one (which I certainly intend to do), I still have a WinXP netbook which I tend to use for travelling, which is also when I do most of my reading. So no luck here

07-30-2015, 08:18 PM	#9
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	The Kindle driver is a builtin plugin, which means that to override it you need to run from source. Which is what my backports solution does. As of a few minutes ago, anyway. Must have missed that last time. The alternative is to byte-compile the driver file, and replace it in library.zip -- which I am afraid might be a little too complicated, and can mess up easily.

08-01-2015, 01:11 PM	#10
Joanna Groupie Posts: 199 Karma: 76476 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Poland Device: none	eschwartz, thanks for your explanation (and your patience!). I guess I have to read everything thoroughly. And then, preferably, read it again . For the time being, I will wait until the new reader arrives (wasn't sure whether to purchase a Paperwhite 2 or 3 due to the potential Calibre incompability; now I've decided to order a P3). JSWolf, I've got an old Dell Inspiron 1501 (with expanded RAM) and a slightly newer MSI Wind 150 Plus. I seriously doubt they would be able to run Win7 well enough. Plus, the cost of the license would be probably higher than the total value of the computer .

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