Is it even worth jailbreaking your Kindle?

DSpider · 01-02-2015, 06:09 PM

Hello.

I was wondering if it's even worth going through the trouble of jailbreaking it. The only reason I wanted to do it was because of KOReader or Duokan (ePub support), but considering that I would still wanna run the e-books through Calibre (especially through the "Hyphenate This" plugin), I don't even see a reason anymore. May as well just stay on official firmware. I mean, sure, Leafpad would (probably) be nice. A terminal would be nice too, with SSH capabilities (I'm running Arch Linux as my main OS). But in the grand scheme it just seems like a lot of work. Sure, the default margins that some Amazon CEO dreamed up are pathetic, the default fonts lose their interest after a while, but they work, and over all I'm kinda happy with the device itself, I guess. ePub would have been very useful for me, but considering that I still have to run them through Calibre (for the hyphenation), then I may as well output them as AZW3...

What are the other benefits of jailbreaking it? Chess? Sudoku? Come on... Maybe CBZ support through KOReader, for reading manga and such. That would be interesting, but then there's the "Kindle Comic Converter", so... better PDF support, what?

knc1 · 01-02-2015, 06:14 PM

That ("worth") is a subjective topic.

So unless you are just trolling for a word-war, the answer has to also be a personal, subjective one.
You will have to decide for yourself, if it is "worth" (while).

Myself, I believe I should own the behavior of the devices that I own.

wister · 01-03-2015, 12:11 AM

It takes 5 mins. You spent more time on your post.

davebiff · 01-03-2015, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

That ("worth") is a subjective topic.

Absolutely, there has to be value, or a reason. For me - well, there are 5 Kindles in my house. Being able to use the screensaver hack to make them quickly distinguishable is a huge win.

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

Myself, I believe I should own the behavior of the devices that I own.

That too

Dave

DSpider · 01-03-2015, 10:16 AM

Yeah... the default screensavers get boring after a while. Is there anything that displays the cover of the currently reading book? And something that creates thumbnails on the home screen of the books that have been recently side loaded. Is there anything that would create such covers for PDF documents, as well? It would be interesting if they also changed their attributes to the equivalent of "BOK" from Calibre, instead of some of them showing up as "Personal" or "Documents".

pghaworth · 01-03-2015, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSpider

Is there anything that displays the cover of the currently reading book?

I have the cover of my current read as my screensaver. It's the main reason I started jbing so long ago. Other perks too, but very individual as to whether they're "worth" it. I have several models of Kindles and they're all jb.

knc1 · 01-03-2015, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSpider

Yeah... the default screensavers get boring after a while. Is there anything that displays the cover of the currently reading book?
- - - - -

Check out the first post of the second most viewed thread on this forum.

Having been a member here for five years, you should have noticed it by now.

eschwartz · 01-05-2015, 09:23 PM

Even if you decide you don't need the jailbreak now, I would apply it anyway, it takes very little time and it ensures you won't get locked out of jailbreaking a device that is sometime soon going to get the dangerous 5.6.x update.

If you ever end up wanting the jailbreak later, you would regret not doing it now.

Mainly I just use the screensavers hack, USBNetwork for ssh from my ArchLinux machine (

) and collections manager/librariansync. I am focused on reading with the default everything on the Kindle, but the jailbreak allows me to manage the contents easier.

USBNetwork and Coward's / Rescue Pack are good Just In Case anything bad ever happens, your chances of fixing it are much better. More important on PWs which can't use Kubrick.

montalex · 01-06-2015, 08:19 PM

The much improved fonts in the font hack alone make jailbreaking worth the 5 minutes that it takes to apply. I used to use Georgia 2 fonts, but the current default hack font (Droid serif) is great. And I like using my custom screensavers, that have my name and phone number written at the bottom.

twowheels · 01-06-2015, 08:27 PM

The reason my son has a hand-me-down Kindle 3, I didn't have to deal with lost checkbook 'in the wild', and I still have my favorite backpack is because of the screensaver hack. I left my backpack on the train and even chasing the train down on my bike was unable to catch it in time to get my stuff back. Luckily somebody found my kindle and saw my custom screensaver with contact info and returned it to me.

That said... somebody had already riffled through the bag and kept the camera and broke the metal tabs that hold the K3 into the lighted cover. I used some wire-wrap wire and solder and fixed it up well enough to work, even if ugly.

Thing is... I never put the screensaver hack on my KPW because of the magnetic cover -- I never see them anyhow. I have considered embossing the case. :-)

I do use KOReader now and then when I want to read a PDF, but I wouldn't consider it a huge win as conversion isn't that big of a deal and for some reason the mobi reader seems to have slightly better rendering and seems faster. PDF handling with KOReader is MUCH better, but I don't use them enough to really care much.

Barty · 01-17-2015, 01:23 PM

Do you want to change the default font faces and font sizes?

Do you want smaller left and right margins?

Do you want to customize your screensavers?

To me the first two are must haves. I will not buy the voyage because there is no jail break for it

spinda · 01-17-2015, 07:00 PM

Absolutely!

If you like interactive fiction, there's a Gargoyle port.
SkipStone is an alternative web browser (Gecko/WebKit).
KindleExplorer lets you manage your Kindle's files without having to hook it up to a computer.
If you have an older Kindle that you don't use anymore, kindlevncviewer can turn it into an e-Ink monitor + keyboard. This works great with a Raspberry Pi.

Also, from my experience, KOReader handles PDFs and ePub files much better than any conversion software does. The cropping functionality is fantastic for reading papers. You can also control contrast, columns, margins, line spacing, and so on on-the-fly.

01-02-2015, 06:09 PM	#1
DSpider Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 343115 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Romania Device: PW2 2014	Is it even worth jailbreaking your Kindle? Hello. I was wondering if it's even worth going through the trouble of jailbreaking it. The only reason I wanted to do it was because of KOReader or Duokan (ePub support), but considering that I would still wanna run the e-books through Calibre (especially through the "Hyphenate This" plugin), I don't even see a reason anymore. May as well just stay on official firmware. I mean, sure, Leafpad would (probably) be nice. A terminal would be nice too, with SSH capabilities (I'm running Arch Linux as my main OS). But in the grand scheme it just seems like a lot of work. Sure, the default margins that some Amazon CEO dreamed up are pathetic, the default fonts lose their interest after a while, but they work, and over all I'm kinda happy with the device itself, I guess. ePub would have been very useful for me, but considering that I still have to run them through Calibre (for the hyphenation), then I may as well output them as AZW3... What are the other benefits of jailbreaking it? Chess? Sudoku? Come on... Maybe CBZ support through KOReader, for reading manga and such. That would be interesting, but then there's the "Kindle Comic Converter", so... better PDF support, what?

01-05-2015, 09:23 PM	#8
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Even if you decide you don't need the jailbreak now, I would apply it anyway, it takes very little time and it ensures you won't get locked out of jailbreaking a device that is sometime soon going to get the dangerous 5.6.x update. If you ever end up wanting the jailbreak later, you would regret not doing it now. Mainly I just use the screensavers hack, USBNetwork for ssh from my ArchLinux machine () and collections manager/librariansync. I am focused on reading with the default everything on the Kindle, but the jailbreak allows me to manage the contents easier. USBNetwork and Coward's / Rescue Pack are good Just In Case anything bad ever happens, your chances of fixing it are much better. More important on PWs which can't use Kubrick. Last edited by eschwartz; 01-05-2015 at 09:26 PM.

01-17-2015, 07:00 PM	#12
spinda Member Posts: 12 Karma: 7954 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kindle PW1/2/3/4/5, KV, KT2, K2	Absolutely! If you like interactive fiction, there's a Gargoyle port. SkipStone is an alternative web browser (Gecko/WebKit). KindleExplorer lets you manage your Kindle's files without having to hook it up to a computer. If you have an older Kindle that you don't use anymore, kindlevncviewer can turn it into an e-Ink monitor + keyboard. This works great with a Raspberry Pi. Also, from my experience, KOReader handles PDFs and ePub files much better than any conversion software does. The cropping functionality is fantastic for reading papers. You can also control contrast, columns, margins, line spacing, and so on on-the-fly.

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01-02-2015, 06:14 PM	#2
knc1 Going Viral Posts: 17,212 Karma: 18210809 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Central Texas Device: No K1, PW2, KV, KOA	That ("worth") is a subjective topic. So unless you are just trolling for a word-war, the answer has to also be a personal, subjective one. You will have to decide for yourself, if it is "worth" (while). Myself, I believe I should own the behavior of the devices that I own.

01-03-2015, 12:11 AM	#3
wister Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	It takes 5 mins. You spent more time on your post.

01-03-2015, 10:16 AM	#5
DSpider Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 343115 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Romania Device: PW2 2014	Yeah... the default screensavers get boring after a while. Is there anything that displays the cover of the currently reading book? And something that creates thumbnails on the home screen of the books that have been recently side loaded. Is there anything that would create such covers for PDF documents, as well? It would be interesting if they also changed their attributes to the equivalent of "BOK" from Calibre, instead of some of them showing up as "Personal" or "Documents".

01-06-2015, 08:19 PM	#9
montalex Fanatic Posts: 556 Karma: 1283268 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: KindleDX,Kindle 4, Kindle Keyboard 3G	The much improved fonts in the font hack alone make jailbreaking worth the 5 minutes that it takes to apply. I used to use Georgia 2 fonts, but the current default hack font (Droid serif) is great. And I like using my custom screensavers, that have my name and phone number written at the bottom.

01-06-2015, 08:27 PM	#10
twowheels Wizard Posts: 1,853 Karma: 13432974 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kobo Clara HD, iPad Pro 10", iPhone 15 Pro, Boox Note Max	The reason my son has a hand-me-down Kindle 3, I didn't have to deal with lost checkbook 'in the wild', and I still have my favorite backpack is because of the screensaver hack. I left my backpack on the train and even chasing the train down on my bike was unable to catch it in time to get my stuff back. Luckily somebody found my kindle and saw my custom screensaver with contact info and returned it to me. That said... somebody had already riffled through the bag and kept the camera and broke the metal tabs that hold the K3 into the lighted cover. I used some wire-wrap wire and solder and fixed it up well enough to work, even if ugly. Thing is... I never put the screensaver hack on my KPW because of the magnetic cover -- I never see them anyhow. I have considered embossing the case. :-) I do use KOReader now and then when I want to read a PDF, but I wouldn't consider it a huge win as conversion isn't that big of a deal and for some reason the mobi reader seems to have slightly better rendering and seems faster. PDF handling with KOReader is MUCH better, but I don't use them enough to really care much.

01-17-2015, 01:23 PM	#11
Barty doofus Posts: 2,543 Karma: 13088847 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	Do you want to change the default font faces and font sizes? Do you want smaller left and right margins? Do you want to customize your screensavers? To me the first two are must haves. I will not buy the voyage because there is no jail break for it

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