InkBox: a new open-source OS and eBook reader based on Qt5

[grapenose]

Trying to put image on Kobo Glo N613.
Downloaded image from here http://23.163.0.39/bundles/inkbox/native/
Used balenaetcher to load the image onto card but when validating I get an error message Check archive is not corrupted.
When I installed the SD card it failed to load.
Tried again by downloading a second image but same result.
Used Rufus to load the image, no error message but when I installed the SD card it tried to load with the screen showing Ink Box loading but it then failed with the a Type 3 error message .
Any advice would be welcome

[NiMa]

I successfully compiled Xcas for KoBox on Quill OS; if enough people are interested, I will consider making it a bundle available for download. Even OpenGL works!

Bit of an oddity to see a CAS on an eReader

Anyways, feel free to let me know if you are interested in running it on yours as well...

[davidhouse]

it's months later...
but I did get Inkbox working on my N613 Kobo Glo, the expendable.
1st try I didn't get a good SD with Etcher. I was reminded of my "Coaster-Days" making many useless boot CD of Linux. The CDs were only good for drinks coasters.
2nd Try I used Mint Linux writer with success to make a 32gb sd. Hooray for me.
I am not 100% done -- I don't see the ereader on my linux destop and I don't see the internal SD on the Kobo Glo to transfer books.

[NiMa]

Title says it all.

With the recent Libra Colour being locked down at bootloader stage and us not being able to hack it even after days of trying, we see no real point to continue Quill OS development as it is likely that newer devices will not be more kind than the current ones when it comes to software hacking.

Why maintain an OS if you know the hardware it runs on is just slowly going to get obsolete?

I have fond memories of first booting Quill (then InkBox) off a Kobo Mini I got from Kijiji back in 2021. I was 15, didn't need to care about school too much and the pandemic somewhat helped. I would often wake up at 5 a.m. to do some programming before my Zoom classes would start at 9.

Life has sadly caught up with me over the years and it's not as easy anymore to get the motivation I need to work on this project. And the Libra Colour might be the final nail in the coffin for Quill OS.

As a desperate cry for help, if anyone has some background in embedded Linux/U-Boot stuff and would like to help, feel free to chime in by joining our Discord or Matrix servers.

Thanks to everyone that has come across the project over the years (a quarter-million views for a thread is pretty impressive for me) and that tested it on their device. I hope it will get a chance to be alive again one day.

[elinkser]

Well, whatever you decide, I will continue to appreciate the xorg-on-chroot instructions you gave - I still use it!

[bricked_claraHD]

Turns out i tried doing it for my own device but bricked it beforehand haha
I had some issues lately with my e-reader which would often need a hard factory reset to work despite no hacks whatsoever on it. It would get locked on the last book read cover's with a *sleeping* on top of the screen.
So, instead of turning it off (with a hard reset), i decided to skip steps and directly flash Quill on it.

It seems that wasn't a good idea and i bricked my device. Long pressing on the button won't change a thing, neither unplugging the battery or the screen... Maybe i need to flash the old OS on it to be able to factory reset ? But i can't find that OS anyways

Now despite of this event, I created an account on this forum solely to reply to your argument:

With the recent Libra Colour being locked down at bootloader stage and us not being able to hack it even after days of trying, we see no real point to continue Quill OS development as it is likely that newer devices will not be more kind than the current ones when it comes to software hacking.

Similar projects as yours, such as Libreboot, are still in development today, despite only supporting much older hardware. Libreboot's last update, in June 2024, added support for laptops from 2011.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by bricked_claraHD

It seems that wasn't a good idea and i bricked my device. Long pressing on the button won't change a thing, neither unplugging the battery or the screen... Maybe i need to flash the old OS on it to be able to factory reset ? But i can't find that OS anyways

For what it may be worth, you can ask for a firmware image for the Clara HD in the Kobo µSD Card Image Requests thread stickied at the top of this forum.

Edit: PMmed you the link.

[bricked_claraHD]

Update:

Thx to DNSB I flashed the Kobo OS on the SD card. Hard reset the Kobo. Flashed Quill OS on the SD card. Booted.

It works !

[DNSB]

Great to hear that it all worked out for you!