Database Users

Android app that is as good as the nook application?

This is a question about if there is a library/reading application for android that is as good as the library and epub support of the stock nook color application (i find the android market nook application lacking in a lot of areas). This is the only thing holding me back to stock 1.2 instead of CM7...

numus said:
This is a question about if there is a library/reading application for android that is as good as the library and epub support of the stock nook color application (i find the android market nook application lacking in a lot of areas). This is the only thing holding me back to stock 1.2 instead of CM7...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Search the threads. This has been discussed many times. You can start here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1169284&highlight=reader

I find Aldiko to be even better than the stock app. The library system is easier to manage, it's incredibly easy to import books, and the brightness is controlled by sliding your finger up or down the left side of the screen. Also has a convenient night mode if you're like me and read often in the dark.

I've been holding off installing CM7 on the internal flash of my Nook for just this reason. The stock library/reader apps are quite nice, and none of the apps available on the market really match it. There are several decent ones, but none are as slick and simple as the stock Nook software.
Lately, though, I've been using CM7 on SD card more often, and using FBReader for my reading app. It's a very nice reader, but is a bit lacking in the library management area. But it's got some nice features (can use any TrueType font, brightness adjustment returns to normal when you leave the app, it automatically returns to the place you were in the book like the status bar icon on the stock firmware).

Someone linked above the thread I started about this as I'm in the same boat. I had two problems with Aldiko - it won't "library" in place, leaving two copies of every book on your sd card and I had a book that was cutting off sentences and not displaying right. I know it's only one book, but it was the only reader that had an issue.
For me, I think I've mostly settled on Moon Reader. Nothing's perfect, but this one seems to be the best balance.

Been using Aldiko (the latest version) and seems to be working very well.. Don't like the fact that it wont autoscan and update from my library storied ont he EMMC (that is were calibre likes to put my books it seems)... Otherwise it is a pain to navigate to the emmc library and update from it but it is possible. Only downside is there is no way to create a shelf of books you want to display.. it is either display everything, or recently opened. Also liked in moon+ that it gave the brief book description in list display...

doncaruana said:
Someone linked above the thread I started about this as I'm in the same boat. I had two problems with Aldiko - it won't "library" in place, leaving two copies of every book on your sd card and I had a book that was cutting off sentences and not displaying right. I know it's only one book, but it was the only reader that had an issue.
For me, I think I've mostly settled on Moon Reader. Nothing's perfect, but this one seems to be the best balance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I prefer the Nook app because of the way the text is formatted, but I agree with dc, Moon Reader is a good alternative.

[Q] What should a Newbie Nooker Do?

I was able to get a great deal on a Nook Glowlight. It's coming in the mail soon. I'm trying to get prepared.
I have an Android phone, and an HP Touchpad. I'm looking at using my e-reader as an e-reader and not as a tablet or phone substitute.
1. Should I root using Glownooter or should I root using minimal root?
I don't want to add Gapps to my Nook because I won't need anything other than a source for APKs. I'm okay with sideloading apks. (For purchased apps, I can backup the APK file on my rooted phone with Titanium and restore it on my Nook, right?)
2. I will be putting Amazon Kindle 3.2 and FBReader+FBSync on. Are there any other e-readers I should consider?
2. Aside from e-reader apps, what do most people put on their tablets?
I already plan on adding a web browser, file manager, Dropbox, and Titanium Backup. What else is recommended?
3. For complex PDFs, what app is recommended?

IBNobody said:
1. Should I root using Glownooter or should I root using minimal root?
I don't want to add Gapps to my Nook because I won't need anything other than a source for APKs. I'm okay with sideloading apks. (For purchased apps, I can backup the APK file on my rooted phone with Titanium and restore it on my Nook, right?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only real nooter for Glow is the Glownooter, but it does have Gapps and the such, what you could do is open up the zip for Glownooter and remove all the Gapps related stuff from /system
IBNobody said:
2. I will be putting Amazon Kindle 3.2 and FBReader+FBSync on. Are there any other e-readers I should consider?
2. Aside from e-reader apps, what do most people put on their tablets?
I already plan on adding a web browser, file manager, Dropbox, and Titanium Backup. What else is recommended?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I imagine with a regular tablet people install their games and video players and the such, but since the screen isn't setup for a refresh rate decent for videos, and it has no sound, it's unlikely that any of those types of things would work nicely with the Glowworm.
One of the ereaders I've heard works well is called Cool Reader, but I personally use the built in reader and have never bothered with anything else.
IBNobody said:
3. For complex PDFs, what app is recommended?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ezPDF it works wonderfully for PDFs and supports Landscape/Portrait modes, along with special "zoomed reading" mode where it'll zoom in around the text blocks which I personally think makes it easier to read/navigate PDFs.

IBNobody said:
[...] 2. I will be putting Amazon Kindle 3.2 and FBReader+FBSync on. Are there any other e-readers I should consider?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend Mantano Reader for both epub and PDF formats. It works well on the NST, and handles both formats very well. I have completely replaced the NOOK Library with the Mantano home screen, and the NOOK Reader with Mantano's reader. I like viewing covers for both formats on one screen.
2. Aside from e-reader apps, what do most people put on their tablets?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other than reading, mine's mostly set up to allow quick checks of work stuff when I'm on the road. I put on email (maildroid, which handles MS Exchange well), calendar (Calendar Pad) and Astrid Tasks, plus a few other travel programs (TripIt, mainly). Evernote for synchronized notes with my various computers. Google Voice to read transcriptions of voice mail. I use Dropsync to pull down daily newspaper and magazine feeds I have my desktop generate daily using Calibre, then import them into Mantano. I use ES File Explorer (nice Dropbox and other cloud integration). Folder Organizer lets me set up quick access menus on the notification menu for often-used programs. Nook Touch Tools to remap QuickMenu to show Mantano, maildroid, calendar pad, astrid and dropsync.
[...] 3. For complex PDFs, what app is recommended?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mantano is definitely worth a look. I like that it maintains page zooms between pages, so I don't have to fiddle with each page.

Thank you both.
I have a copy of ezPDF Pro from Amazon's FAOTD that I can try out on the Nook.
I'll try out CoolReader and Mantano, too. But the two biggest sellers of FBReader is the FBSync synchronization feature and the ability to remap FBReader page-turn keys with an XML file on the SDCard. Will those other two readers let me flip pages with the side buttons?

IBNobody said:
[...] I have a copy of ezPDF Pro from Amazon's FAOTD that I can try out on the Nook.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have ezPDF, and quite liked it. I just prefer using Mantano as one reader than can display and read my entire (pdf and epub) library in one app.
I'll try out CoolReader and Mantano, too. But the two biggest sellers of FBReader is the FBSync synchronization feature
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mantano offers a cloud service, but it's not free. I've gone for the $20/year 5 GB, 2000 title option that lets me sync among 4 devices. In addition to reading positions, it also syncs categories, metadata and tags, which I find useful.
I've read good things about FBReader and will try their sync option someday. As I recall, it didn't handle some of my document formatting as well.
Will those other two readers let me flip pages with the side buttons?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mantano will, yes.
---------- Post added at 10:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:58 AM ----------
IBNobody said:
[...] What else is recommended?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some tips on battery life:
The NST can maintain very good battery life if you stick to your "primarily a reader" philosophy. In particular, avoid anything that polls in the background. While I do use maildroid, I have it set to only poll manually. I don't have any sort of background sync running (e.g. facebook, newsfeeds). No widgets.
I do have Tasker set up to wake the device once daily and force a sync with Dropsync to download my Calibre-generated news from Dropbox. I also have Tasker set to only enable wifi when a short list of specific apps runs (e.g. maildroid). Wifi is shut off when the screen goes off. I enable wifi manually for things like reader sync that I only do occasionally.
While I haven't done any scientific testing, my battery life seems as good as on a non-rooted device. I recently left my NST on my coffee table unplugged when I left town for a week, and on my return, it was still at 90%.
Being on older Android 2.1 Eclair, the NST will benefit from a task manager. I tried a few, including Advanced Task Manager, but I finally settled on System Tuner Pro. I get very few warning messages now (< 1 daily), and no memory problems. I have it set to only kill tasks when the screen goes off, and when actually low on memory using the "Light" preset. I have it ignore Mantano and Tasker.
With these settings, I haven't had any particular problems with the Google stuff loaded. If I don't use it, it doesn't affect battery life. I did freeze Gmail since I just don't like it.

tinynooter works on the glow, also. (and on the NST without the glowlight.)
If you're comfortable sideloading apk files via adb either glownooter or tinynooter will do the trick. Once you're shelled in over adb, you need to su to get an adb root shell - most of the time I'm ssh'ing into my device in any case
What tinynooter doesn't do is install any of the google apps, a modified framework or kernel - it's very much the base device but with root rights. For convenience the Amazon appstore is on board.
I'm curious what makes a nooter and what does not? I'd been thinking that nooter was a generic term for 'nook rooter?'

If you've got a glow nook, my advice to you as one newbie to another is to WAIT. There is almost no newbie support for the glow nook as I rather unfortunately discovered today. Even if you've rooted an android device before, the odds are slim that you've ever side-loaded an apk and there is not a guide to be found on this forum for the GlowLight. Not that it matters, because adb won't pick up a rooted glowlight. Additionally, do -not- try to install norefresh or multitouch.
I'm restoring my glow nook to factory tomorrow morning myself and just waiting it out. Besides, using it unrooted for awhile will help you figure out what you do and don't want out of a rooted device (for example you -are- going to need a separate pdf reader, but it might turn out that everything you read on your nook will already be .epub or easily converted to .epub).

For IRC, AndChat works excellent.
http://www.andchat.net/index.php
Mini vMac If you are a mac person, this is something to check out. I bought the paid version and unlike the free version, the paid one conforms to the screen resolution perfectly on the nook.
http://dolfin.github.com/minivmac4android/
Bacon reader-
http://baconreader.com/
It's not necessarily newb stuff, just some things I put on mine for fun that work quite well

sswoozooss said:
For IRC, AndChat works excellent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dunno how well it works on NST, but on the glowlight, AndChat has a problem with autoscrolling unless you manually clear your buffer every few lines.

AndChat is good on my non-glow nook. I don't have any scrolling issues. I really really want a glow nook but I guess from what I read here, not everything is sorted out yet.

serupento said:
If you've got a glow nook, my advice to you as one newbie to another is to WAIT. There is almost no newbie support for the glow nook as I rather unfortunately discovered today. Even if you've rooted an android device before, the odds are slim that you've ever side-loaded an apk and there is not a guide to be found on this forum for the GlowLight. Not that it matters, because adb won't pick up a rooted glowlight. Additionally, do -not- try to install norefresh or multitouch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's wrong with norefresh please ?

[Q] touchnooter and uninstalling google market

hi folks.
gonna be getting me one of these when they go on sale in a week or so here in the uk.
i want one to root because it looks like the perfect ereader to use with pdfs.
my question is once rooted and touchnooter is installed multi touch and no refresh are enabled and the very few apps i want installed are on the deivce can i then somehow remove the market app?
the plan is to simply install a few other ebook apps some pdf apps gmail skydrive and then never install another app ever. i want it as minimal as possible to help with the battery and the less that is on there the better
if anyone knows please let me know.
cheers

You could remove Market after using TN, or simply root without it. I've spent a lot of time looking at battery consumption on my NSTs, and have never noticed Market causing any drain worth worrying about.
With the recent release of Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite, you might want to wait to see how B&N responds. The NST is nice enough, but a capacitive screen would be nice.

bobstro said:
You could remove Market after using TN, or simply root without it. I've spent a lot of time looking at battery consumption on my NSTs, and have never noticed Market causing any drain worth worrying about.
With the recent release of Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite, you might want to wait to see how B&N responds. The NST is nice enough, but a capacitive screen would be nice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the reply. yes i did see the tinynoot root solution after i originally posted this thread.
my question about that is if i used that method can i still install the multi touch and no refresh hack (i am guessing i can but confirmation would be nice). if i can then i will most likely go down that route. it isnt all about battery life but i know the market does check very often when wifi is enabled for updates and what not and i would rather not have to worry about that at all. bottom line i want to keep the reader as close to a reader as possible. pdf email web browser ebook reader and file manager is all that is needed. nothing more is required or wanted and therefore i want it is minimal as possible with no bells or whistles.
not really too fussed about any new future nook and will take the plunge as soon as i can here in the uk. if they bring out something extra special later then i will simply sell the old and buy the new but i will do that as and when i want/ have to. the reason the nook gets my vote over my kindle is the page turn buttons. i have a keyboard 3g at the moment and it is great but it doesnt handle pdfs very well. i bought the new kindle touch but i missed the physical buttons and so bought another keyboard but amazon have crippled the pdf functionality and although i could jailbreak it and install one of the pdf viewer hacks that improve the situation i cant be bothered with all the faffing around. however i was willing to do this but then i saw the multi touch no refresh hack on the nook and watched how it handled pdfs when the hacks were installed and that was me sold. i have a lot of pdfs that i would to view on an e ink screen and the nook is by far and away the best solution for the job.

"can i still install the multi touch and no refresh hack" (after rooting with tinynoot)
Not clear that you can, but if you look at the thread on the overclock kernel that's just been posted, the dev who posted that
also posted an APK that gives you much/most of hte benefit of the no refresh hack, in terms of screen speed.
I am not sure if that work also gives multitouch.

[Q] NST 1.2.1 Library

Using a rooted NST 1.2.1 with cool reader.
Is there a library app compatible with this apart from the stock library? The app is just to view the books present on the device. Something like bookshelves, like the moon reader kinds.
Also, is there a NoRefresh compatible with 1.2.1 ? The other NoRefresh apps dont work with this version.

Well, you can try my Library (see signature).
I've never used CoolReader (or seen the manifest out of it) so I can't say how it will work.

Thank Renate, Your Library app is amazing, I love its simplicity. Besides, It also helps me to break the habit of putting a lot of book on my nook =).
Btw, Can it be launched on startup like default library. I hate to see Nook Launcher .

Renate NST said:
Well, you can try my Library (see signature).
I've never used CoolReader (or seen the manifest out of it) so I can't say how it will work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
But, is there any app which will present the library in the form of bookshelves?
Also, is there s NoRefresh version of NST Root 1.2.1 ?

shriramks said:
Thanks! But...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does that mean that it works with CoolReader?
I guess that you could make my library the default home screen,
but then how would you launch all the neat apps on your Nook?
Hint: A long touch on a book in my Library brings up the full metadata.

It works
Selection of the book from the library prompts me for the option of reading, i.e, cool reader or the native B&N reader. Not sure how exactly to make Cool Reader the default option.
Have a lot of books on the device, so, it is a bit tedious to keep scrolling down the list. Hence the interest in shelves. B&N Library has shelves, but manual addition everytime i download a book is a pain.
Also, any other settings available on your library app apart from the metadata on long press?

Renate NST said:
Does that mean that it works with CoolReader?
I guess that you could make my library the default home screen,
but then how would you launch all the neat apps on your Nook?
Hint: A long touch on a book in my Library brings up the full metadata.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, by putting coolreader in /system/app, When I choose a book from library, A pop up shows me which reader will be used.
Can you show me the way to make your library the default home screen ? I really love its features :fingers-crossed::fingers-crossed:
PS:// I removed a lot of apps from /system/app, put FBreaderJ and CoolReader in, now my nook seems enhanced ( boot faster..). The battery seems better ( It lost 2%/day in idle mode)

Whenever multiple apps could handle an intent but no app has been specified as default, a "picker" window pops up.
It lists all the possibilities and at the very bottom there is a checkbox.
The checkbox has text in white which says, "Use this app as default app in the future" (or something).
Of course you can't read the white text.
Just click the box, then carefully select which app to use in the future.
To undo what you selected can be difficult because you will never see that dialog again if you check the checkbox.
There are tools to fix that, non-B&N Settings.apk or you can edit /data/system/packages.xml

Uhm It seems that we are misunderstanding. I read all your posts about alternative library app.One of them mentioned that if I want to use your Library app, I have to remove default Home, Shop and Library of my Nook. I did then when my nook started, It showed a launcher with your Library Icon.
Can you modify your app that when my nook start, it will be run at the same time and disable the HOME button ( used to get back to launcher)?

If you modified your "n" button it should go to whatever you selected as the default app for home.
Apparently that is the default launcher.
My question remains, if you make Library the default home, how will you get to your browser, email, etc?
Right now Library does not handle the home intent.

Renate NST said:
If you modified your "n" button it should go to whatever you selected as the default app for home.
Apparently that is the default launcher.
My question remains, if you make Library the default home, how will you get to your browser, email, etc?
Right now Library does not handle the home intent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not making it the default home. Configuring the physical button for switching pages as a shortcut to the library.
Also,are anyone having problems with connecting to the wi-fi?

Renate NST said:
If you modified your "n" button it should go to whatever you selected as the default app for home.
Apparently that is the default launcher.
My question remains, if you make Library the default home, how will you get to your browser, email, etc?
Right now Library does not handle the home intent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I do not use my Nook for email, browser, I have an ipad for those tasks. I love the nook because I can focus on just reading. The combination of your library and coolreader makes my nook perfect.
Not making it the default home. Configuring the physical button for switching pages as a shortcut to the library.
Also,are anyone having problems with connecting to the wi-fi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which firmware are you using ? 1.0 or 1.1. I heard that 1.1.2 comes with Wifi bug fix.
Btw, Today I upgraded into 1.2.1. The reader renders text much better than 1.1.2's one howerver, the battery is a pain. I lost 4% in just one hour even in sleeping mode @@ Does any one know why ? ( I removed all unnecessary apps like phone.apk, telephony...)

I agree with you.
Without putting my finger on it the text or page turns or something is better in 1.2.1
They redid the EpdController (which handles eInk modes) in 1.2+
The Nook Touch has always had an intermittent problem with not sleeping.
I have even caught it with the screen's IR touch sensors still running in sleep.
Lore and legend says never to use the power button to put your Nook to sleep.
Let it time out on the screen saver.
I'll see about doing something on that Home issue.
Right now my Nook is not booting up and I have to hook up the console to see why.

Renate NST said:
I agree with you.
Without putting my finger on it the text or page turns or something is better in 1.2.1
They redid the EpdController (which handles eInk modes) in 1.2+
The Nook Touch has always had an intermittent problem with not sleeping.
I have even caught it with the screen's IR touch sensors still running in sleep.
Lore and legend says never to use the power button to put your Nook to sleep.
Let it time out on the screen saver.
I'll see about doing something on that Home issue.
Right now my Nook is not booting up and I have to hook up the console to see why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I replace 1.1.2 reader with 1.2.1's one, can it work?
PS:// Can't wait to see your works. :victory::victory:

A question. Your app reads files present in sdcard\my files\books.
Any way to broaden the file structure?
Thanks!

I'm trying to figure out what to do with Library.apk
Currently it only handles epub files.
It could handle any kind of file but the problem is extracting metadata.
If it's not extracting metadata you might as well be just using a file manager.
Extracting metadata out of epubs is pretty simple.
Extracting metadata out of pdfs can be difficult.
There is a nice (computer-type) library that can do this though.
The Nook Reader also handles pdfs.
I have lots of technical references in pdf but they are better accessed from a file manager.
Another topic I wanted to raise elsewhere:
Are people happy with their pdf reading capability/apps?
Are there problems with opening some pdfs or formatting?
Are the pan/zoom/orientation options sufficient?

I'm working (a bit) on a ground-up rewrite of the Reader.
It's still lacking a lot of features, but it also doesn't have all the B&N cruft in it.
Right now it has portrait/landscape of PDFs with overscan (to get rid of the paper margins).
Even this small step makes reading easier.
I've got about 200+ PDFs on my Nook, one that is 3700 pages long.

Renate NST said:
I'm working (a bit) on a ground-up rewrite of the Reader.
It's still lacking a lot of features, but it also doesn't have all the B&N cruft in it.
Right now it has portrait/landscape of PDFs with overscan (to get rid of the paper margins).
Even this small step makes reading easier.
I've got about 200+ PDFs on my Nook, one that is 3700 pages long.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love and use Library.apk and I hate to be critical about such good free software but on my nook sometimes the app doesn't capture the same title and author (or even getting the author) as does Calibre and the standard nook Library. Also, sometimes the author sorting is by first name, sometimes by last name even on the same page. I'm using the 1.9 version.

The problem is always the lack of good metadata.
Even figuring out how to split a name is not easy.
Jethro Tull should be filed under J for the band or under T for the historical person?
Gabriel García Márquez, is his last name García Márquez or Márquez?
This is the way it is supposed to be filled in:
Code:
<dc:creator opf:file-as="Alcott, Louisa May">Louisa May Alcott</dc:creator>
If you can paste me the metadata that causes problems, I'd be grateful.
@mergen3107 Yes, I've noticed a lot of those problems.
The footnote one is the most annoying to me right now.
The current state of things is that I use my reader for PDFs and still use the stock reader for epubs.

Renate NST said:
The problem is always the lack of good metadata.
Even figuring out how to split a name is not easy.
Jethro Tull should be filed under J for the band or under T for the historical person?
Gabriel García Márquez, is his last name García Márquez or Márquez?
This is the way it is supposed to be filled in:
Code:
<dc:creator opf:file-as="Alcott, Louisa May">Louisa May Alcott</dc:creator>
If you can paste me the metadata that causes problems, I'd be grateful.
@mergen3107 Yes, I've noticed a lot of those problems.
The footnote one is the most annoying to me right now.
The current state of things is that I use my reader for PDFs and still use the stock reader for epubs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is a link to examples some (of many) problem files: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20746013/Problems.zip
They all look ok in Calibre and in the stock Lilbrary app.

Turn your old NST into an electric sign

While looking for something completely different, I stumbled across this and thought some people might find it interesting:
Turn an old eReader into an Information Screen (Nook STR) – Terence Eden’s Blog
shkspr.mobi

I wouldn't fixed NST to a wall and think that I have read here about app used here to do that job. Either someone is gonna fix TLS issue or maybe if we assume using NST as display it could be possible to use home Wi-Fi router or mobile phone as secure server or part of VPN that will negotiate TLS issue for NST. I always doubted slightly that NST can offer full internet browser experience but something in line of htttp web grab in reader mode might be good enough for some application. News (RSS), weather and I believe that maybe EPG TV guide are not impossible to accomplish. Only question about this remains will NST embedded HTML browser will be good for the job of showing the grab from web pages or is Opera in reader mode better for such job. Time to look up for a good web grabber...

SJT75 said:
I wouldn't fixed NST to a wall and think that I have read here about app used here to do that job. Either someone is gonna fix TLS issue or maybe if we assume using NST as display it could be possible to use home Wi-Fi router or mobile phone as secure server or part of VPN that will negotiate TLS issue for NST. I always doubted slightly that NST can offer full internet browser experience but something in line of htttp web grab in reader mode might be good enough for some application. News (RSS), weather and I believe that maybe EPG TV guide are not impossible to accomplish. Only question about this remains will NST embedded HTML browser will be good for the job of showing the grab from web pages or is Opera in reader mode better for such job. Time to look up for a good web grabber...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Curl can often bypass SSL checks and grab web content. It runs on the NST. I've used it in a few of my apps. Whether the data it gets can be used by the app the blogger mentions is something else.

@nmyshkin that is nice idea! And seems exactly in line of what I wrote. I do not know is curl accessible from Android layer. I pondered the same thought more in line of trying to use port of Lynx to Android I have seen someone did although who knows is that possible to do on this version of Android?

I've written a status app (that I never use).
It polls two different servers for JSON info and displays it using regular Android graphics stuff.
It uses Retrofit for polling.

And one more! (although this one uses a Sony PRS-T1)
Reusing my ebook reader – Fluffyelephant

Hmm, you got me thinking about this stuff.
There's the whole let the Nook poll some data service and display it on a web browser sort of thing.
I don't really need or want that.
I was thinking more of like as a status output device for a headless Raspberry Pi.
No, not as a terminal, more like status for a solar/home/whatever system.
The Nook doesn't poll anything, it just sits there waiting for text or graphics.
But here's the part I like, you don't use any WiFi.
You just plug your Nook into the Raspberry Pi.
Of course it has adb.
You can get adb for Raspberry Pi: sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb
Now you can set up port forwarding:
Code:
[email protected]:~ $ adb forward tcp:6666 tcp:6666
Then all you need is something on the RPi to connect to port 6666 and spit out stuff.
On the Nook you need an app to serve port 6666 and do display stuff.
I've already made a clock as proof of concept and it works fine.
You could just use text fields or compose a whole graphic frame on the RPi and send that over.
Heck, if you send whole frames you wouldn't even need to run the Android subsytem.
I could probably get that working on a Kobo.
A very sophisticated example follows.
It allows you to individually update separate fields.
These could be in tables with borders or labels or whatever.
Edit: Okay, a better screenshot.
You know, the thing I like about this is that the NST is the server.
It's a bit like running X11, but much more lightweight.
And if you want you can still run this over WiFi instead of ADB forwarding.

This electric sign app is really close to something I'm looking for. What I'd like to do is, instead of a screenshot of a URI, to take a screenshot of what I've got open in the device.
I'd like to use this with Google Calendar, and Opera Mini surprisingly seems to work with the HTML version. I think Opera Mini keeps the calendar updating with AJAX or something, so all I'd need an app like this to do would be to, when it's running, take a screenshot of what's on the screen right before sleeping and set that as wallpaper, then wake every X minutes, screencap what's there and go back to sleep with that as the new wallpaper. The end result should be an always-on, low power Google Calendar.
EDIT: For anyone looking later, I was wrong. Opera Mini does not keep updating Google Calendar, you have to refresh it manually, which makes this slightly more complicated...

jptiger said:
This electric sign app is really close to something I'm looking for. What I'd like to do is, instead of a screenshot of a URI, to take a screenshot of what I've got open in the device.
I'd like to use this with Google Calendar, and Opera Mini surprisingly seems to work with the HTML version. I think Opera Mini keeps the calendar updating with AJAX or something, so all I'd need an app like this to do would be to, when it's running, take a screenshot of what's on the screen right before sleeping and set that as wallpaper, then wake every X minutes, screencap what's there and go back to sleep with that as the new wallpaper. The end result should be an always-on, low power Google Calendar.
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Somewhere on the site there is a discussion of a setup that copies the current screen into a screensaver folder so that, for example, a map remains visible when the device sleeps. Search for it.
Edit: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/q-fridge-calendar.3057759/#post-59527882
Edit: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...uestion-o-noob-friendly.2941262/post-57216860

Eh, I'm not fond of browser-based anything,
For plain HTML stuff you could throw something together with Webkit instead.
For the adventurous you could use the Google Calendar API

Renate said:
Eh, I'm not fond of browser-based anything,
For plain HTML stuff you could throw something together with Webkit instead.
For the adventurous you could use the Google Calendar API
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Click to collapse
I tend to agree with you. As I already wrote above something akin to Pocket/ReadItLater and similar might be accomplished using simple web grab I presume and offline HTML browser. I have thought that it looks odd that beside "hidden" (and sadly for us practically unusable) browser NST have another HTML viewer. Reason for that might be it was intended to be used for B&N "browsing" through their shop that they periodically download to NST or maybe for presentation of e-book material of older type that was for all intents and purposes just web archived HTML page or perhaps for viewing magazines purchased through B&N.
In essence even epub use elements of CSS/HTML but that is another story. Maybe it could be possible to make some poor man Pocket like offline browser if we somehow find the way to cobble together parts of some RSS, bookmarks syncing, e-mail listing, forum/blog viewer and approach that me or nmyshkin proposed here. In my opinion hardest part if some web grab is possible would be to render it in usable form for this device. That mean turning of ads, flash/video, loading pictures only on demand (or better in on/off way) and show only text information. Now what "browser" is suitable for this is yet to determine. I know that very old Opera could turn off animation an pictures but as I remember it did that in such way that it didn't download them at all to save bandwidth. Maybe it could be somehow set to load web archives in such manner? Think about it as giving an command that some web page be "printed as epub". It might be to large task to accomplish. Pocket worked if I remember right in such way that selected page was sent to dedicated server which did the trimming part for user and allowing him/her to download that content on other device to be read later on. Here I think that if we could sync for example one of bookmark folders from a computer with NST and achieve web grab of those links in usable form we might have something. It is a matter for the debate isn't Opera mobile and style management already wrote on here in forum same or even better. Problem would be that page reformat/rendering would be tasked to NST itself and I am not sure if it is up to the task or am I capable to cobble such thing alone for that matter. Something flashed in my mind didn't Calibre had some news reader? If it does then I am inventing the wheel here. Still it would be nice to be able to have some even limited ability to open a link to a news story from RSS feed or a forum/blog we follow or e-mail listing etc.
For Calendar I hope that some kind of dedicated app combining Calendar, planner and to do list can be found to already exist for this device.

Did anyone inspected this option? https://greycoder.com/a-list-of-text-only-new-sites/ It might be interesting

SJT75 said:
Did anyone inspected this option? https://greycoder.com/a-list-of-text-only-new-sites/ It might be interesting
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Thanks for these! The ersatz Google News is amazing in that even the external links are text-only! It makes my Google News app obsolete! Great with Opera Mini. Many, many things to look at there

nmyshkin said:
Thanks for these! The ersatz Google News is amazing in that even the external links are text-only! It makes my Google News app obsolete! Great with Opera Mini. Many, many things to look at there
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I am glad that I have contributed with something useful. As have already guessed from mine posts in this thread I have contemplated heavily about what could be more useful for NST some text-only browser akin to old trusty Lynx or some rewrite/redefinition of working Opera. One thing lead to another and at first I thought to maybe open and disclosed source for firefox readability extension/addon ported for working version of Opera somehow is a way to go but as I always check all aspects of mine quirky ideas I stumbled upon this. It is poor man solution but as I remembered that you follow NPR and they have text mode only site felt obliged to mention it here.

In line with nmyshkin's idea of using curl if some information display akin to the one linked in the first post is needed does something like cron from Linux can be run on NST?

"Print as epub" exist as web form. Here is the result of that one. https://dotepub.com/ I tried to use online form there and results were mediocre but as I understand they also offer their API to developers etc. That I presume might draw attention from someone on xda.

In defense of the intended idea for using NST as info screen arguably touch technology it uses is best for those screens. Mine guess is that its deemed as such because it is most easily scalable from the currently available techniques. This also raise the question why B&N did not already made readers of much larger format like A4 paper size screen. Is the display cost really that high and prohibitive? On the other news rumors have spread that they have partnered with Lenovo not only for the new generation of tablets but also for new e-readers. Has anyone find some leek about possible specifications?

SJT75 said:
... rumors have spread ...
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Say, what? After my buying a Poke3?
Edit: See https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no...ovo-barnes-noble/1139012795?ean=9780594080503
1200 x 800 for a 10" = 144 DPI, not drop dead impressive.

I agree. Cheap bastards! I can't say is that 149DPI good for LCD screen but is sub par for e-reader. They obviously targeted minimum resolution comparable to low resolution printing and hope to get away with it. Considered that I expressed criticism to level of development of current color e-ink technology being bellow resolution of NST by about 60% you can bet I find this to little question is does it comes to late for B&N. Still I am more interested about e-ink display device that rumor say is also planned but nothing is revealed so far.
Renate said:
Say, what? After my buying a Poke3?
Edit: See https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no...ovo-barnes-noble/1139012795?ean=9780594080503
1200 x 800 for a 10" = 144 DPI, not drop dead impressive
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Click to collapse

Nothing to report that is mine work now still in the spirit of this thread I want to post few links with things people did with e-ink screens that might be done with NST also.
1. Raspberry Pi powered news scrapper - something Renate might like as she as I understood work on something similar
https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/comments/ksgomp
2. Weather display that I believe was made using software already mentioned somewhere on forum
https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/lcyos9
3. Something completely different! Device made as platform to enable development many things e-ink made. Link shows RSS implementation.
4. In the old days when e-readers were unobtainable on my location I was in desperation contemplating the idea to convert available photo frames to a e-reader. This is as you guess the other way around.
https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/comments/liadda
5. Someone developed site for games for e-ink screen as I understood browser only
https://e-ink.club/index.php There is in my opinion plenty of room for some sort of games on e-ink and this is not comprehensive list but it is nice someone started a dedicated page/project for that.