Canadians--advantages of a flash install?

taming · 07-22-2010, 01:23 AM

I was one of those weird folks who had problems with locked content. After going back and forth with the Kobo help team and not coming up with a solution, I took my Kobo to Chapters and had them flash it.

It solved the problem (something a reinstall of the update [and many other proposed fixes] didn't do). More then that, there are some other good things that came out of it.

This flash install seems to have improved the page numbering issues. Now, at the bottom of each page, the page number I am on, and the total pages in the book show up. So, for example, I am on page 42 of an 850 page book right now. If I go to the menu, I can go to each chapter individually. I do not get one of those annoying Chapter end pages each time I go from one chapter to the next as I read.

The books were, of course, gone after the flash and I had to sync. Although all my books were loaded again, the ones that were open before the flash were bookmarked at the right place after I did the sync.

Chapters also gave me a coupon for a free Kobo download. It is apparently something they are supposed to do after they do the OS update.There were only three eligible books, but one of them (The Passage) was one I wanted to read.

In addition, my lovely Chapter's store gave me a $10 gift card for all the trouble I had gone to. It is good at the store or on the Chapter's website (not on the Kobo site).

It was well worth my while to drive to Chapters and letting them flash my Kobo.

sabredog · 07-22-2010, 01:30 AM

A great result and one update method I would love to see available in Australia.

zoran · 07-22-2010, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabredog

A great result and one update method I would love to see available in Australia.

And all over the world.
SD cards are not geographically specific animals. They may
live and be happy even in Australia, spite sharks and the
sand. What stops the rest of users to get the method none
had any problem so far?
My point? Please, make SD card upgrade default one and
remove clouds of misery from above our heads.
Best regards.

taming · 07-22-2010, 09:55 AM

One thing to note: book purchased AFTER the flashing had the page numbering and chapter handling improvements I mentioned earlier, and even text justification. Books I had purchased prior to the flashing did not. Deleting the books and downloading them again could change that, I suppose.

Gedvondur · 07-22-2010, 11:14 AM

Do you think that if I ask nicely, the people at Chapters may let me make a copy of their card?

Duiker · 07-22-2010, 11:23 AM

I'm a bit confused, what is Flashing?

zoran · 07-22-2010, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gedvondur

Do you think that if I ask nicely, the people at Chapters may let me make a copy of their card?

I assume Kobo issues the image. So Kobo should spread
it using any of zillions of internet ways to do that.
If on Kobo's account, I prefer blonds having SD card in
hands.

JPenguin · 07-22-2010, 11:36 AM

I could be wrong but I don't think the page count issue was fixed by flashing, some ePubs I have display the page count of the whole book instead of chapter, it was like this before the update too. I updated my Kobo using the Desktop update method.

taming · 07-22-2010, 12:40 PM

I think it may be a flash thing because my husband has the same books on his Kobo that was updated at home (not flashed at Chapters) and those books do NOT have the page numbering and justification that I have on the my (flashed) Kobo. Then again, I installed the new books on my Kobo using ADE and he just did a sync.

In any case, I did not have correct page numbering on the 15 books purchased pre-flash and all four purchased post flash are good for it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPenguin

I could be wrong but I don't think the page count issue was fixed by flashing, some ePubs I have display the page count of the whole book instead of chapter, it was like this before the update too. I updated my Kobo using the Desktop update method.

HarryH · 07-22-2010, 05:32 PM

SD update

It appears that the SD card does a better upgrade , if this is the case why can't we have a copy of the files to do our own

Harry

zoran · 07-23-2010, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryH

SD update

It appears that the SD card does a better upgrade , if this is the case why can't we have a copy of the files to do our own

Harry

That is something that simply cannot be explained.
I understand that we are in 80s, early 90s, so we
have to wait for mailman. 2010? What could be told
for hiding the method that did not fail.

sabredog · 07-23-2010, 01:29 AM

Sameer

There is a growing request for the SD upgrade option.

Can Kobo please provide an upgrade image that can be DL'ed and copied to an SD card for upgrading the Kobo?

Seems much less of a hassle than USB upgrades.

zoran · 07-23-2010, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabredog

There is a growing request for the SD upgrade option.

Can Kobo please provide an upgrade image that can be DL'ed and copied to an SD card for upgrading the Kobo?

Seems much less of a hassle than USB upgrades.

Tried to connect the guy, no answer.
To me it seems that the major problem is that directory tree
would be exposed to eyes of the community. One could simply
delete compressed books preloaded on the device. Other might
remove some options and add something to fstab. My reaction
is "so what". As linux, source has to be shown anyway.
Good tutorial to make exactly the same SD card is must. I
opt for smaller cards, not 4gb, but 2gb instead. One option
could be to make complete image for dd to the medium. Another
to make file system by the hand and then untar or whatever.
What other souls think on the topic?

gmos · 07-23-2010, 02:21 AM

I've asked for a download link several times with Kobo support - sometimes it seems an option, other times they've avoided the question. I've also raised the question a couple of times in other threads on this forum.

Had my Kobo for nearly 2 weeks, and had it 'bricked' for almost all of that time : not happy at all. May demand refund and wait for the Kogan Reader http://www.kogan.com.au/shop/ebook-r...-e-ink-screen/ .

If the source code must be made available under the GPL requirements, then there is no reason to be so reluctant to provide the binaries as well!

Every other piece of equipment that I've upgraded the firmware on has a download link - can't see what the problem is.

zoran · 07-23-2010, 03:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmos

I've asked for a download link several times with Kobo support - sometimes it seems an option, other times they've avoided the question. I've also raised the question a couple of times in other threads on this forum.

If the source code must be made available under the GPL requirements, then there is no reason to be so reluctant to provide the binaries as well!

Every other piece of equipment that I've upgraded the firmware on has a download link - can't see what the problem is.

I think I know what it is.
For some reason they decided to upgrade from ext3 formatted SD card.
If let stay native (vfat or however you call it), any user might copy files
and be happy. I might be wrong.
Keeping community out of possibility to make the best upgrade, which
so far had none to complain, is really strange.

07-22-2010, 01:23 AM	#1
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	Canadians--advantages of a flash install? I was one of those weird folks who had problems with locked content. After going back and forth with the Kobo help team and not coming up with a solution, I took my Kobo to Chapters and had them flash it. It solved the problem (something a reinstall of the update [and many other proposed fixes] didn't do). More then that, there are some other good things that came out of it. This flash install seems to have improved the page numbering issues. Now, at the bottom of each page, the page number I am on, and the total pages in the book show up. So, for example, I am on page 42 of an 850 page book right now. If I go to the menu, I can go to each chapter individually. I do not get one of those annoying Chapter end pages each time I go from one chapter to the next as I read. The books were, of course, gone after the flash and I had to sync. Although all my books were loaded again, the ones that were open before the flash were bookmarked at the right place after I did the sync. Chapters also gave me a coupon for a free Kobo download. It is apparently something they are supposed to do after they do the OS update.There were only three eligible books, but one of them (The Passage) was one I wanted to read. In addition, my lovely Chapter's store gave me a $10 gift card for all the trouble I had gone to. It is good at the store or on the Chapter's website (not on the Kobo site). It was well worth my while to drive to Chapters and letting them flash my Kobo.

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07-22-2010, 01:30 AM	#2
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	A great result and one update method I would love to see available in Australia.

07-22-2010, 09:55 AM	#4
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	One thing to note: book purchased AFTER the flashing had the page numbering and chapter handling improvements I mentioned earlier, and even text justification. Books I had purchased prior to the flashing did not. Deleting the books and downloading them again could change that, I suppose.

07-22-2010, 11:14 AM	#5
Gedvondur Member Posts: 17 Karma: 19666 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo	Do you think that if I ask nicely, the people at Chapters may let me make a copy of their card?

07-22-2010, 11:23 AM	#6
Duiker Addict Posts: 258 Karma: 30680 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I'm a bit confused, what is Flashing?

07-22-2010, 11:36 AM	#8
JPenguin Connoisseur Posts: 90 Karma: 42 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo EReader, Kobo for Palm Pre	I could be wrong but I don't think the page count issue was fixed by flashing, some ePubs I have display the page count of the whole book instead of chapter, it was like this before the update too. I updated my Kobo using the Desktop update method.

07-22-2010, 05:32 PM	#10
HarryH Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Nova Scotia Device: Kobo Version 1 firmware v 1.8.3	SD update It appears that the SD card does a better upgrade , if this is the case why can't we have a copy of the files to do our own Harry

07-23-2010, 01:29 AM	#12
sabredog Geographically Restricted Posts: 2,629 Karma: 14933353 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Perth, Australia Device: Sony PRS-T3, Kindle Voyage, iPad Air2, Nexus7v2	Sameer There is a growing request for the SD upgrade option. Can Kobo please provide an upgrade image that can be DL'ed and copied to an SD card for upgrading the Kobo? Seems much less of a hassle than USB upgrades.

07-23-2010, 02:21 AM	#14
gmos Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kobo	I've asked for a download link several times with Kobo support - sometimes it seems an option, other times they've avoided the question. I've also raised the question a couple of times in other threads on this forum. Had my Kobo for nearly 2 weeks, and had it 'bricked' for almost all of that time : not happy at all. May demand refund and wait for the Kogan Reader http://www.kogan.com.au/shop/ebook-r...-e-ink-screen/ . If the source code must be made available under the GPL requirements, then there is no reason to be so reluctant to provide the binaries as well! Every other piece of equipment that I've upgraded the firmware on has a download link - can't see what the problem is.

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