First Sony Reader Update Available!

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by RWood

From the pictures of the opened Reader I don't remember a clock chip so there is no possibility of a clock in the current hardware.

The full screen view mode mentioned earlier in ConnSoft reminds me of the new Adobe "Digital Edition" software (now in beta testing.)

I think it was Bill McCoy of Adobe who told me once that the core of the PDF software used by the Reader resembles the code of Digital Edition.

[scotty1024]

Originally Posted by RWood

From the pictures of the opened Reader I don't remember a clock chip so there is no possibility of a clock in the current hardware.

The full screen view mode mentioned earlier in ConnSoft reminds me of the new Adobe "Digital Edition" software (now in beta testing.)

Page turns in the Reader do seem a bit faster but I am not sure if it is real, wishful thinking, or just a belief planted in my brain by earlier posts.

Sony Portable Reader CPU reference manual: http://www.freescale.com/files/32bit...C9328MXLRM.pdf

THe CPU in the Sony Portable Reader has a built in Real Time Clock complete with alarm clock and a 1 minute interrupt ability that could be used to wake it up and update the clock on the screen.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by scotty1024

Sony Portable Reader CPU reference manual: http://www.freescale.com/files/32bit...C9328MXLRM.pdf

THe CPU in the Sony Portable Reader has a built in Real Time Clock complete with alarm clock and a 1 minute interrupt ability that could be used to wake it up and update the clock on the screen.

The entire UI philosophy of the Reader involves minimising the number of screen refreshes, because it's screen redraws which use power. Would you really want unnecessary refreshes for a clock? Personally, if I want to know the time, I look at my watch!

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The entire UI philosophy of the Reader involves minimising the number of screen refreshes, because it's screen redraws which use power. Would you really want unnecessary refreshes for a clock? Personally, if I want to know the time, I look at my watch!

They could do it so that the clock only updates when you switch a page.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

They could do it so that the clock only updates when you switch a page.

In one way that could be worse than not having a clock at all, because if you're a slow reader you'd never know whether or not the clock was right .

[TadW]

Something different: Would it be possible (with the given homemade tools we got) to backup the original 1.0.00.20310 (as cramfs files) before doing this upgrade?

[porkupan]

Originally Posted by TadW

Something different: Would it be possible (with the given homemade tools we got) to backup the original 1.0.00.20310 (as cramfs files) before doing this upgrade?

Yes, it is possible, and it is not hard to do either. But I am not sure what would be the use. Not sure how you would restore the backup without bricking your Reader (perhaps in the near future it will again become possible). In this thread there is enough information on how to do it.

[TadW]

Originally Posted by porkupan

Yes, it is possible, and it is not hard to do either. But I am not sure what would be the use. Not sure how you would restore the backup without bricking your Reader (perhaps in the near future it will again become possible). In this thread there is enough information on how to do it.

Well, I thought it'd be useful if you want to downgrade again (let's say because Sony has disabled access to root path via USB). You could restore the backup using the update tools that came with this update.

[jakeluck]

the clock could be on demand, we only care about what time it is when we want to know what time it is right?

[Snowthief]

Originally Posted by RWood

From the pictures of the opened Reader I don't remember a clock chip so there is no possibility of a clock in the current hardware.

Must be nice to have perfect memory like that; "I don't remember seeing it, so therefore it doesn't exist." :)

[diabloNL]

I don't care about a clock. I just want image support for RTF files and I will be a happy camper.

[scotty1024]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The entire UI philosophy of the Reader involves minimising the number of screen refreshes, because it's screen redraws which use power. Would you really want unnecessary refreshes for a clock? Personally, if I want to know the time, I look at my watch!

I'm the guy that categorically opposed an onscreen clock on the iLiad. And the only guy whom ever had one, which then caused me to realize how gosh darned handy it was and publicly admit I'd been wrong.

Based on that unique e-ink experience, for the Sony I'd add a preference: Force clock screen refresh On/Off. One refresh per minute won't break the battery budget if you want an accurate on screen clock. And if you care for longer life, you can turn it off.

I also think it would be useful to support the built in Alarm.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by Snowthief

Must be nice to have perfect memory like that; "I don't remember seeing it, so therefore it doesn't exist."

It is a curse to have such a good memory as mine.

While I was right about a seperate clock chip, Scottie, with far better information, has pointed out that there is a clock chip built into the CPU. My comment, although a bit ill constructed, was that without a clock chip a clock was beyond the current capability of the hardware. The advantage of a clock on the Reader is another matter. I wear a watch and my cell phone always seems to know the correct time.

[orcinus]

Originally Posted by RWood

The advantage of a clock on the Reader is another matter. I wear a watch and my cell phone always seems to know the correct time.

Some people like to relax with a book, away from the irritating buzzing thingies like watches and cell phones
And i usually keep both away from my bed too (except when i need the alarm). Then there's the bathroom, reading during lunch... Lot's of places where you won't find a clock, but where one built in the reader would be of great use

Re: implementation & battery drain - like someone already said, one (very localized) refresh per minute is hardly a problem. Besides, you flip pages more often than that. I guess it could also be visible only in the menus so that would reduce the number of refreshes even further... In any case, it's definately a non-issue.

Oh, BTW, i'm new here, so hi everyone!

[NatCh]

Welcome to MobileRead, orcinus!

Originally Posted by scotty1024

Force clock screen refresh On/Off. One refresh per minute won't break the battery budget if you want an accurate on screen clock. And if you care for longer life, you can turn it off.

I also think it would be useful to support the built in Alarm.

The little symbol that comes up when you click the jogstick demonstrates that the Reader can do a partial screen refresh, so I think it could be done as far as the screen goes.

On the other hand, implementing an alarm would be ... interesting. It'd have to be visual (since there's no speaker), and I'm not sure how useful that might be.

On another note, I think this update is s'sposed to address the "clock losing track of itself" think, after a long time without a ConnSoft connection, I mean.