Libra New Libra owner guidance re registering, connectivity, patches

[dasbooter]

First excuse my ignorance and if I'm posting in the wrong section of the forum. My new Libra sits in the box in front of me after a battery charge. I've read the tips and tricks thread and a few others on the first three pages. I'm typically aggressive in terms of owning and controlling hardware I purchase. I've definitely cracked open and flashed ota or soldered jtag to accomplish this or that. Still I purchased from kobo because to me they seemed the least "evil" of the bunch, hehe.

1) this thread right here seems to ask all the questions I would. Can I use it, substituting for the Libra?https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=334173

2) Can somebody clarify for me the repercussions of online connectivity(logging in/out) or point me to that information. It seems there is a registration bypass, but this also has repercussions. I'm really trying to figure this out.

3) I work in a medical/technical field and I really need, in these times, some escapism whether it's getting the reader just right with some patches or the reading the book itself.

Thanks for the patience

[geek1011]

Originally Posted by dasbooter

1) this thread right here seems to ask all the questions I would. Can I use it, substituting for the Libra?https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=334173

Yes, except for the part about taking a SD card image.

[DevonHess]

1. All of that applies to pretty much every modern Kobo model.

2. If you read a couple books, and then for whatever reason decide to log out, the Kobo will delete all books associated with your account and will erase progress of any sideloaded books.

Bypassing registration is possible. But with no account, there's no guarantee that a new Kobo update won't come out and break your device.

The safest thing is to register normally and never log out. If you don't want to use your real email, a fake email is fine.

3. Not sure if this is a question, but if you want to patch, here's the most recent thread.

[dasbooter]

Originally Posted by geek1011

Yes, except for the part about taking a SD card image.

Yes basic tenet to try and backup to restore. My quick googlefu is lacking here, is that bc this cant be done even with opening up the hardware. I'm researching how the firmware updates occur voluntary or otherwise and the possibility of downgrading.

Originally Posted by DevonHess

3. Not sure if this is a question, but if you want to patch, here's the most recent thread.

Inevitably I found that yes the modding community has something I would like to try but in order I will:
1)reacquaint myself with calibre (I used it along time ago when I could maintain a linux install)
2) most likely try a few other readers Koreader, Plato.
3) have a look at Nickelmenu
4) have a look at patching firmware

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by dasbooter

Yes basic tenet to try and backup to restore. My quick googlefu is lacking here, is that bc this cant be done even with opening up the hardware. I'm researching how the firmware updates occur voluntary or otherwise and the possibility of downgrading.

No, it is because the Libra H2O does not have removable storage. There is no way to take an image and then later restore it. Or at least no easy way.

Inevitably I found that yes the modding community has something I would like to try but in order I will:
1)reacquaint myself with calibre (I used it along time ago when I could maintain a linux install)
2) most likely try a few other readers Koreader, Plato.
3) have a look at Nickelmenu
4) have a look at patching firmware

Honestly, just read some books. You will learn something about the device. You will learn what you like and what you don't like. Then you will know what you need to look for to change. Or maybe you will decide it is perfect. Or so bad you throw the device in the garbage.

[Elektron]

Good advice. I'd also play around with some things in Nickel (Pocket integration, browser, etc.)
Have fun

[geek1011]

Originally Posted by dasbooter

Yes basic tenet to try and backup to restore

The main issue with that is that it's possible to damage the device when creating a backup (and the other option of doing it over the network is tedious and slow), and you're unlikely to need it in the future. And, as davidfor said, the newer devices don't even have an easy way to restore images.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by davidfor

No, it is because the Libra H2O does not have removable storage. There is no way to take an image and then later restore it. Or at least no easy way.



Honestly, just read some books. You will learn something about the device. You will learn what you like and what you don't like. Then you will know what you need to look for to change. Or maybe you will decide it is perfect. Or so bad you throw the device in the garbage.

There is actually no need to change anything, nor circumvent sign-up. Kobo doesn't demand a payment method or an address. Or didn't last time. The email doesn't need to even work.

I do use Calibre and backup the database occasionally. But I use the Kobo Utilities to read/copy the annotations for a book as soon as I finish it, or the next day, so a self corrupted database isn't a huge issue.

The best addition is Calibre, no need then to change anything on the Kobo. Annotations and Collections work better than the Kindle. Sync is over-rated. It was handy on a PDA with a PC. Not needed for ereaders. If I do start to read on the phone instead, I can simply search a phrase, which is faster than Sync and Sync relies on single vendor ecosystem. It seems more a hazard than help on Kindles.