hacking a kindle

[ZippyDan]

i'm thinking of picking up a new kindle, but i'm afraid of a limited iphone-like experience. i loved my iphone when it was jailbroken. where is the best community for reading up on what is possible with the latest kindle line? (not the kindle fire) this will determine my purchasing decision.

 

[Super56K]

I have a Kindle 3 wifi with the keyboard. There is a lot that can be done, but I've owned mine since Oct 2010 and haven't done a thing with it hacking wise.

To get an idea of what people are doing with them check here and click their developer corner subforum:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=140

 

[DaveSimmons]

What do you want to do with an e-ink Kindle besides read books? You can read non-Amazon content from Baen.com, Gutenberg, etc. without needing to hack the Kindle. The e-ink refresh speed doesn't make it usable for much besides reading.

 

[Bateluer]

What do you want to do with an e-ink Kindle besides read books? You can read non-Amazon content from Baen.com, Gutenberg, etc. without needing to hack the Kindle. The e-ink refresh speed doesn't make it usable for much besides reading.

Pretty much. I looked at rooting my Nook First Edition, but there's really not much point. Modding is going to be bigger on the Kindle Fire, but on the e-ink versions, its not worth the effort.

 

[ZippyDan]

here are some possibilities (not sure about legalities/feasibilities)

1. buy an ad-supported version and then disable the ads
2. ability to use unlimited 3G for sites other than wikipedia/amazon
3. ability to read/view a wider variety of file types (perhaps even buying books from b&n and using them on the kindle? i dunno)
4. if i already own a book in print, am i in any way justified in torrenting a digital copy of it? if so, ability to view "pirated" materials
5. ability to use kindle as a basic word processor/document editor/notepad

 

[rumpleforeskin]

here are some possibilities (not sure about legalities/feasibilities)

1. buy an ad-supported version and then disable the ads
2. ability to use unlimited 3G for sites other than wikipedia/amazon
3. ability to read/view a wider variety of file types (perhaps even buying books from b&n and using them on the kindle? i dunno)
4. if i already own a book in print, am i in any way justified in torrenting a digital copy of it? if so, ability to view "pirated" materials
5. ability to use kindle as a basic word processor/document editor/notepad

1. The advertiser has subsidised part of the price of the kindle so by ad blocknig you would be denying the advertiser what he/she paid for. Depending on your morals this may not be an issue for you but its certainly not fair on the advertiser.

2. similar issue to number 1

3. there is a great freeware program called calibre that can convert alomost any ebook/document into a kindle friendly format, there are also plugins to remove DRM from files you own. calibre can be downloaded from http://calibre-ebook.com/

4. Moraly I see no reason why not, but you should check the laws in your country. In reality you could download 1,000's of ebooks with or without owning the original in print as there are plenty of .mobi and .epub files available in all the wrong places of the net.

5. I have a kindle 3 and the refresh rate is just too slow to type a document, may be an interesting idea but practically its a dead end. As an example on the kindle if you start typing a search you the display is usualy a good 5 letters behind.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Depending on your morals this may not be an issue for you but its certainly not fair on the advertiser.

Who has a set of morals that they feel bad for advertisers that wasted their money?

That means they can never buy or use a DVR, they always have to stare at billboards as they drive by, and they can never uninstall the crap that came with their new computer.

That person's life sucks.

 

[upsdriver]

Who has a set of morals that they feel bad for advertisers that wasted their money?

That means they can never buy or use a DVR, they always have to stare at billboards as they drive by, and they can never uninstall the crap that came with their new computer.

That person's life sucks.

If you don't watch every second of the Youtube pre-video ads then you are morally obligated to mail the advertisers .4 cents.

 

[QueBert]

Who has a set of morals that they feel bad for advertisers that wasted their money?

That means they can never buy or use a DVR, they always have to stare at billboards as they drive by, and they can never uninstall the crap that came with their new computer.

That person's life sucks.

When I had a DVR I used it to record shows when I was away/asleep, not so I could skip thru commercials. People who do crap like buy a DVR for the reason you listed are part of the reason advertisers don't pay as much for commercial time. Which in result is why the price of cable continues to go up. Your billboard analogy doesn't work since you're not using something the advertiser paid for without looking at the ad. People who buy the ad supported Kindle and hack it to get rid of the ad's are huge douche-nozzles.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Which in result is why the price of cable continues to go up.

Actually that is due to a lack of competition.

People who buy the ad supported Kindle and hack it to get rid of the ad's are huge douche-nozzles.

On your scale, people who only browse the internet with Adblocking turned on are practically criminals!

Advertisers don't own us. They pay for a shot at our eyeballs. If we deflect that chance they made a poor choice or they got unluckily as most people can't block 1% of the ads we see in life.

Advertisers can pay to get around blocked ads- buying time during live sporting events for example. If they chose a method that is less cost effective but block-able, they chose to deal with a small percentage of the population blocking them.

 

[QueBert]

Actually that is due to a lack of competition.

How so? In my area I can get cable, I can get satellite from 2 different companies and I can get digital TV from AT&T & Verizon. How much more competition could there be? Oh and one could stick with OTA if they don't feel like paying anything.

 

[Zaap]

Sorry, but it's a bit naive to believe if there were no such thing as DVRs that cable/sat providers wouldn't still charge an arm and a leg for service. And many people live where they have no choices, or all the choices do the same price-gouging; they charge a reasonable rate for about a year, then up the rates to the upper stratosphere beyond that.

It's funny- but I remember these same arguments when the VCR was first out- the studios were whining that they'd never get anyone to go to the movies ever again if they could just tape them. Then they figured out, stop being dumbasses and SELL movies, and each time a new format arrives, SELL the same stuff again! Now they make more money than ever off the very thing they first railed against.

Meanwhile broadcasters whined about people fast-fowarding past the commercials. Broadcast TV is still wildly profitable.

The bottom line is, there's still plenty of viewers that watch the commercials, and a hit TV property is in no danger what-so-ever of its creators/networks going broke, in fact, they're making sums of money their predecessors couldn't even fathom.

 

[Muse]

Meanwhile broadcasters whined about people fast-fowarding past the commercials. Broadcast TV is still wildly profitable.

The bottom line is, there's still plenty of viewers that watch the commercials, and a hit TV property is in no danger what-so-ever of its creators/networks going broke, in fact, they're making sums of money their predecessors couldn't even fathom.

I do not feel guilty for FFing past commercial breaks. The few things I watch would be intolerable to me otherwise. It's bad enough I have to see all the crap that passes for food when I go to supermarkets or Costco. I'll be damned if I have to watch commercials where they try to shove it down my throat. YMMV, do anything you want with your petty life.