How and where to start hacking the 505?

[Hadrien]

Originally Posted by ArcherPDA

Please please please help me end this SONY-imposed information embargo!!!!!

Slate.com? Puh-leeeassse!

OK, users MUST have the ability to add their own RSS feeds, AND sync daily.

I read and sync RSS feeds daily on my PRS-500...

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The 505 is better because of a bunch of things...
1. The vizplex screen
2. the USB interface
3. The new menu modes for dealing with a lot of content
4. More internal ram
5. The buttons on the right instead of the left (IMHO

Dunno about that. I agree with 1, dunno about 3 (but probably better). 2 doesn't matter. 4 is useless; I have a few months' worth of reading in my 500's memory, and besides, cheap SD cards make the internal memory a moot point. I disagree with 5. A hacked 500 with buttons on left and joystick page turn works fine with either hand holding the reader. Menu buttons along the side are sensible, but the ones on the bottom work fi ne and most time is spent reading books, with only occasional menu access.

The screen quality is important, though. Ease of page turning (buttons) and battery life are nextmost important, imo. Now, a 505 with hacks would definitely have a leg up on the 500!

[urseus]

Originally Posted by Hadrien

I read and sync RSS feeds daily on my PRS-500...

So is there a way to say leave your 505 reader in the computer overnight, then when you get it in the morning it has the latest news?

Like everytime you hook it up to the PC it syncs that days news?

[stustaff]

Originally Posted by DrMoze

Dunno about that. I agree with 1, dunno about 3 (but probably better). 2 doesn't matter. 4 is useless; I have a few months' worth of reading in my 500's memory, and besides, cheap SD cards make the internal memory a moot point. I disagree with 5. A hacked 500 with buttons on left and joystick page turn works fine with either hand holding the reader. Menu buttons along the side are sensible, but the ones on the bottom work fi ne and most time is spent reading books, with only occasional menu access.

The screen quality is important, though. Ease of page turning (buttons) and battery life are nextmost important, imo. Now, a 505 with hacks would definitely have a leg up on the 500!

1, I agree
2, it does if you have a MAC or use Linux
3, havent used a 500 so?
4, he said RAM not memory! the RAM is what makes the pages turn faster so yes thats better.
5, yes you can replicate it with a hack but its clearly better that the 505 comes with that setup as standard.

[kovidgoyal]

Originally Posted by urseus

So is there a way to say leave your 505 reader in the computer overnight, then when you get it in the morning it has the latest news?

Like everytime you hook it up to the PC it syncs that days news?

web2lrf bbc -o news.lrf
prs500 cp news.lrf prs500:/Data/media/books

Just run that script using your OSes scheduling capabilities

[coldcell]

Hi all, I'm completely new to ebook readers, so I don't know about the glory of PRS-500 hacks (and I've got a 505), but one thing I'd LOVE to have is a button remapping of the indented button in the centre of the D-pad (on the right bottom side) so that it turns pages.

Is there anything currently that can do the remapping, or is something in the works? Was this ever possible on the PRS-500?

Thanks!

[moneytoo]

Originally Posted by coldcell

Is there anything currently that can do the remapping, or is something in the works? Was this ever possible on the PRS-500?

There are several hacks on the Russian forum http://www.the-ebook.org/forum/
I use only localized fonts and clock hack but there are also new icons, remaping "menu navigation pad" to "previous page/next page"...
(But I dont understand much Russian, only using Google Translate)

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by stustaff

1, I agree
2, it does if you have a MAC or use Linux
3, havent used a 500 so?
4, he said RAM not memory! the RAM is what makes the pages turn faster so yes thats better.
5, yes you can replicate it with a hack but its clearly better that the 505 comes with that setup as standard.

Just a follow-up, now that I have been using a 505 for a bit more than a week. (Russified the old 500 and gifted it.)

I misread 4, apparently, although I thought the RAM was primarily used for internal storage of book files. Does more RAM = faster page turns? (For general image-free lrf books?) I thought the 505 was a bit faster because of the newer display technology.

Mainly, wrt #5, I realize hacks are not so important for the 505 because of the slightly improved layout. The right-side buttons and lower-left disc for page turns work similar to the 500 with joystick hack (although the corner/side controls are reversed). I do miss the clock, but apart from that the other hacks I used seem to be built in.

I still like the cover on the 500 a lot better--thicker, better feel, and folds over much better. But the 505 one isn't so bad.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by moneytoo

There are several hacks on the Russian forum http://www.the-ebook.org/forum/
I use only localized fonts and clock hack but there are also new icons, remapping "menu navigation pad" to "previous page/next page"...
(But I don't understand much Russian, only using Google Translate)

What hacks are there for the 505?

[Dajala]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

web2lrf bbc -o news.lrf
prs500 cp news.lrf prs500:/Data/media/books

Just run that script using your OSes scheduling capabilities

Kovid

Would/could you build the functionality into libprs500 so we could add our own RSS feeds? Using web2lrf and writing scripts is well beyond my abilities, and I hesitate to add, other people not as technically gifted as yourself.

Thanks.

[kovidgoyal]

Adding feeds requires at least some programing I'm afraid.

[moneytoo]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What hacks are there for the 505?

• new icons
• clock
• uniformnym book list (??, часами и униформным списком книг)
• browsing joystick forward
• Russian fonts

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by moneytoo

• new icons
• clock
• uniformnym book list (??, часами и униформным списком книг)
• browsing joystick forward
• Russian fonts

I think the uniform book list is the "smaller menu fonts" so all menu items are the same size.

Any chance of posting instructions on how to add these hacks? (I would personally like all of them--they seem just right for tweaking the 505.) Any Russian speakers want to volunteer? (Google translate is an option, but I have a deeper fear of bricking the 505 and not being able to recover it. The 500 was recoverable, at least.)

[JSWolf]

I agree. I would love to see how these hacks are done for the 505.

[DrMoze]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I agree. I would love to see how these hacks are done for the 505.

You can go to the e-boom forum, and read the thread (title is in English) using Google Translate (or babelfish). I did that to Russify my 500 (it's a bit more complex than simply flashing from an SD card, but I survived it!). Not perfect, but you can get some idea of how to do it. For the 505, I'd want more exact info (than this rough/partial translation) to avoid bricking it.

BTW, for the 505, Russification appears to involve a straightforward SD flash (using a version of igorsk's flasher). For the hacks, I believe you need to create a new new_opt.img file for the 505 which includes the hack modifications. I'd love to get this img file with the above hacks included--I frankly am afraid to mess around trying to create it myself, which could brick the 505. Call me paranoid!