Been a long time since I posted here.
I don't use my Nook as much as I I could or I think I should. I think the main reason is that I haven't been using apps which sync across devices for fear of ruining the very good battery life.
What are some good apps which integrate with say Chrome? What things have you found useful? Do you toggle WiFi on and off? If so do you then need to hit sync or does that partial wakelock reciever for detecting that WiFi is on and off do that for you? Or will this app keep trying to sync even when there is no wifi?
I think if I start using something like ReaditLater again (tap button in chrome, sync and then read on Nook)... I'll probably use it more.
Also, pulling apps off Google Play and installing the apk was better for battery but I can't get the apk extractor websites to work anymore. Did anyone have a workaround for that?
One more thing, I have been using the latest Cyanogenmod and I notice it comes with PrivacyGuard. Now, the interersting thing about that is that PrivacyGuard now has options to block autostart, keep device awake and wake up device. So this could be useful to put in a ROM, or something like it, bearing in mind the nice battery life we get. Or, maybe have 2 modes - one with everything disabled for hikes, and another for use at home where a charger is handy and the auto sync is more useful.
Apologies, didn't search well enough:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1898358
(adbsync)
Yeah, Renate NST's adbsync program is definitely going to be your best (and really only) option that fits your description.
Thinking about it, there's probably more efficient ways to do it.
For example, Evernote, Unified Remote Full, Wiki Encyclopedia Offline. I don't think Pocket (formerly ReaditLater works anymore very unfortunately... that was my favorite thing)
But of course, getting these things working on the older Android now could be difficult. How do I get the apks from play these days now the various website extractors don't work?
And ways to automate adbsync. For example, have it as a schedule in the background along with adb connect to your Nook. But remember to give the Nook a static IP on the WiFi by assigning via MAC on the router.
If you save pages as .pdf and automate the sync that's good but browsing pages as pdf isn't great.
edit to avoid bump:
You can use it as a 2nd monitor.
Windows:
http://superuser.com/questions/62051/is-there-a-way-to-fake-a-dual-second-monitor
(then use VNC to access. My thread has a howto for install) (MaxiVista probably works to if you're prepared to pay or steal)
Also possible on other platforms. The key phrase to use when searching is "Extend desktop"
I don't know why I didn't think of this before but you can access Evernote through the web interface. Probably similar for OneNote too.
A browser I heard is good, possible better than Opera now is NakedBrowser and the apk is available from the authors website.
I found a way to get the apk is to find an old phone to install too and then use an apk extractor app. A desktop extractor would still be better
Edit again;
I'm still not using it like I feel I should. I think this is because it's just not as Easy to pick up and read. The problem with advanced is that I have to wake up the nook, turn on WiFi and then hit my sync script on the desktop. Because of this I only use it if I have a lot to read, like a full book. I envisioned using it for just reading lengthier forum posts and white papers.
A start I think is to disable the screen saver.
Next will be to put enabling WiFi and keep awake while charging, and then disable after a period if the user fails to cancel and it's unplugged.
If you know how to do either of these things please let me know.
edit avoid bump:
I can't install the tasker apk unfortunately... and they're not giving out licenses anymore without Play. Is there an similar alternative is now my search..
Would be really good to enable and disable adb wireless and wifi when plugged in.
Actually there's a fix for tasker asking for a .jar. So it should be possible tonautomate connecting to WiFi and adb WiFi. Just a matter of getting tasker license or something else. AutomateIT won't run.
jago25_98 said:
I'm still not using it like I feel I should. I think this is because it's just not as Easy to pick up and read. The problem with advanced is that I have to wake up the nook, turn on WiFi and then hit my sync script on the desktop. Because of this I only use it if I have a lot to read, like a full book. I envisioned using it for just reading lengthier forum posts and white papers.
A start I think is to disable the screen saver.
Next will be to put enabling WiFi and keep awake while charging, and then disable after a period if the user fails to cancel and it's unplugged.
If you know how to do either of these things please let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Nook is currently out of commission, but I know at one point I had Pocket running (while it was still called ReadItLater), so there might be an old apk floating around that works. Alternatively, you can setup Wallabag, which is the same thing but run on your own server. Between that and a feed reader, I had thousands of articles to pick from whenever I picked up my Nook. It was quite a delight.
Also, there are a couple of wifi saving tools that can be found in F-Droid. If I recall, I used one called Battery Fu to have my Nook connect, force a sync, then disconnect once every few hours. It worked quite well.
thanks FbYAx
I looked up wallabag but when I try to install every version back to 1.6 I get the message 'older SDK'. I guess you had an older version... but I don't know how far back i have to go.
i will have to start archiving and hosting apks that work
edit to try to be a bit more helpful for people who might be trying to do this same:
get android version (mine is 2.1. i think that is normal (kitkat)):
Code:
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release
change sdk apk version to see if it was developed without using newer sdk stuff (force it):
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/...on-and-targetsdkversion-specified-both-in-and
Related
Now that you've rooted your NookTouch what do you install onto it?
I've been trying out loads of apps and I've found plenty that work well but also quite a few that make a lot of sense on an eink ereader.
First the ones that I personally find very useful and match the NookTouch well:
1) ReaditLater: Let's say you're browsing on your laptop while eating your breakfast in the morning. You don't have time to read it now so you click a button in Firefox or whatever and that marks the page. You then hit sync on the Nook and you can then read that webpage on the Nook at work in your lunchhour or whatever. I've only checked out ReaditLater and it doesn't always sync all images properly and css styles... is there any alternatives... perhaps opensource?
2) RSS Readers. Subscribe to Slashdot, sync while at home and then read it on the move. Can anyone get the ability to read the more interesting comments?
3) VNC Viewer. Eyes go squiffey after reading for hours on the ipad or computer? Setup a quick link to this.
4) MapDroyd. No GPS but having a map with a long battery life might be more useful than a mobile phone. MapDroyd isn't that great without pinch to zoom but it works.
5) Kindle. Being able to read .mobi is obviously pretty handy.
6) OperaMobile, connecting to a Caliber server. Caliber organises books really easily and it has a server function so you can connect to your library on your computer.
7) Dropbox. A really handy way to share and sync files to the Nook. Can act as a library but unlike the Opera & Caliber example it can sync rather than only viewing live.
8) There's more than ebooks. Check out VU Viewer for comics. Various better PDF viewers. Try putting work documents on it. Try putting guitar tab notation on it. Anyone know how do we view music notation?
Things that are pretty essential after rooting:
Startup Auditor. After installing a load of stuff things can startup at boot and drain your battery. This prevents that.
n Button tweak. There's a thread on here somewhere, it's almost essential. Either that or use buttonSaviour
Some things that work well but just as good on a mobile phone:
- WiFi Analyser. You can see wifi strength in realtime.
- calculator. Handy if you don't have a phone with you
- unit converter. Convert metres to feet.
- currency exchange app. If you take the Nook on holiday a currency app is handy.
- encrypt your passwords in a file.
- backup your mobile phone contacts
- ssh tunnel for open wifi networks where you need to check your bank balance
Hope you find this useful!
-j
Jago:
What apps are you unable to block with Startup Auditor?
Does Startup Auditor stay loaded (as an app or as a background process) after startup or do you have to kill it manually?
Thanks in advance,
Sebastian Armas
Avid reader, Spanish Interactive Fiction Author
As far as I can see StartupAuditor doesn't load on startup or stay resident so I presume it edits startup scripts.
You have 2 options for each thing you want to kill - kill it now and not allow it to start again now and block it from starting up on startup as well.
Does anyone have any solid suggestion for this?
I used to use InstaFetch Lite which pulled articles from Instapaper however now it only pulls 10 articles (I have 700+ in there) and does not support folders. Instapaper itself has an app now however it is a paid app and I do not have a credit card (WHEN is google going to sell topup cards like apple does?? *sob*). I tried "Read Later" another instapaper app but it just hangs and does not sync properly.
I have used the export feature to export to various formats and read on the Nook. However the formatting is not good, you don't link to each article like you would from within the app, instead it's basically just a very big ebook.
So I thought I'd look at Pocket instead. The app is really well done and it's a solid product but it requires 2.2 and up. The Nook, at least mine, is 2.1 I think... is there another version of Android that I can put on here that will make Pocket app work?
Or does anyone have any other alternatives? Folders or tags and offline reading are what I need.
I was looking for something like this early - found nothing.
Will keep an eye on this thread tho...
Manual Install of Read It Later
Try searching on the internet for a "read it later" .apk file of the version before it became pocket, and install it manually. The older version is compatible, and runs fine on the nook.
- NewsRob, gReader, Instafetch and even syncing things like email only need intermittent connectivity so you can get your articles and then carry them elsewhere when offline. Need a better offline article sync app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1811873
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess evernote and a clipper firefox addon might do it but evernote screws with the battery so would need freeze & refreeze every time you want to use it...
any of these?
-Goodreads
-Mantano
-Speed Reader
-gReader
-Documents to Go (paid office docs app)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jago25_98 said:
I guess evernote and a clipper firefox addon might do it but evernote screws with the battery so would need freeze & refreeze every time you want to use it...
any of these?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gReader works great! But it's a rss reader and I am wanting something for reading articles that I saved FROM gReader (or wherever) to read at another time. I follow 100+ sites in gReader, I'm not sure how I would save and organize articles for reading later. Open to ideas though!
The rest of your list are just eReader apps which is not what I was looking for but in the interest of complete info:
Mantano worked GREAT when I tried it. I was so excited! Then the next day it crashed and despite a reboot, and a reinstall I can't import books into it now without it crashing so it's useless.
Documents 2 Go I can't try because I don't have a damn credit card so I can't use paid apps.
Goodreads installed...and I signed up for an account...but I can't figure out how to read books I already have on sd card.
Speed Reader is...weird. It shows ONE word at a time lol
----
The folks at Pocket suggested this service to me which lets you create custom epub files from your pocket items:
http://reading2ebook.com/pocket/choose
It's not ideal, as you can't mark the articles read one by one but at least it is a workaround that works.
From there I read it in either the native Nook ereading app or Cool Reader which is (so far) a eReader app that not only works on the Nook but also allows a person to make notes, highlight, share, etc in an easier way than the Nook's native app.
-----
I would still LOVE a solution if anyone has one. I am trying to figure out the read it later apk stuff in the meantime...
Instapaper's "Send to Kindle" function; buying w/o credit card
(Interested lurker speaking. I don't have a NST, but a rooted Sony PRS-T1, which is similar, but running Android 2.2. Please take what I say with a grain of salt.)
If you have a version of the Kindle app for Android running on your ereader, you could try experimenting with Instapaper's "Send to Kindle" function.
Personally, I am quite happy with InstaFetch Pro. If your only problem with buying it is the lack of a credit card, you could try finding another market that accepts the kind of payment you have. They also appear to sell licenses via PayPal directly from instafetch.com.
Instapaper + Calibre + Dropsync = Bliss
There is a Calibre recipe for Instapaper that I use and it works very well. I have it set up to pull my instapaper articles into an Epub file and then have it stored on my dropbox. I bought DropSync Pro and manually sync my Nook Simple Touch with that dropbox.
To save on battery, I only manually sync with dropbox - I suppose a person could schedule it for every morning or something.
The only downside is that I have to manually delete articles form my Instapaper account - if I don't do this regularly I get confused whether or not I've read the article. I suppose I could find an instapaper app for the NST to do this from my device if I wanted to.
Also, Instapaper has a great "save to epub" that you can do manually... if you're not too excited about setting up a Calibre instance running 24/7 on a machine...
spedinfargo said:
[...] To save on battery, I only manually sync with dropbox - I suppose a person could schedule it for every morning or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use Tasker to turn on wifi and sync at specific times. Dropsync Pro provides a plugin that can be called by Tasker. I set up a timed event to trigger at 6:00 AM every day, turn on wifi and wait for a connection. If connected, it will keep wifi on for 2 minutes and launch Dropsync to sync changes. It works very well on my 2 NST devices, using only minimal power for wifi during the actual sync.
I also set Tasker to only turn on wifi when needed by specific apps.
I think a major advantage of the Nook is being able to go for 2 or 3 weeks on a single charge, if correctly setup after rooting. That however, relies on being offline as WiFi drains the battery so fast. I tend to keep the Nook for offline things because of this and use a phone for online things.
Most of the apps I have are related to reading and reference. However, I've found a few that don't need connectivity that often and so makes most sense on the nook rather than a phone.
Here's my list of apps in order of unusualness:
- Google Authenticator; doesn't need connectivity and without QRcodes you can configure it manually. Bit of a pain to do but it works.
- "Simply Do"; simpler to use than evernote. lighter and won't screw the battery
- Opera Mobile; can browse local files offline. Just use "/" as the address to get started. I save webpages in myfiles, bookmarl my files and then read it later. I find this simpler than "Read it later" or whatever the latest thing is
- Photos for reference; can be useful to be able to see your photos this way; battery lasts longer than on the mobile phone. Can have photos of reference docs this way. You can save a QRcode of a Bitcoin address or private key. Probably scope here for more possibilities
- KeePassDroid; keep your passwords here
- AGP encryption; it can actually encrypt local files with your PGP key or use a passphrase so this too can
- NewsRob, gReader, Instafetch and even syncing things like email only need intermittent connectivity so you can get your articles and then carry them elsewhere when offline. Need a better offline article sync app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1811873
- Maps. I use MapDroyd with about 4gb of maps but it's a bit basic and only there in case my phone battery runs out. I wonder if there's a better alternative? Of course it's a bummer without GPS but that's how maps were in the old days right? edit: see Orux Maps
- "Calculations"; this app has a calulator but also remembers your unit conversion rates for you
Things I haven't yet tried:
- Dictionaries; which do you recommend?
- offline translation; I only know of dictionaries to look up individual words, nothing that works offline but can do sentances
Semi offline things:
- connect to a laptop VNC via USB networking to save screen power
edit:
Generally my focus here was offline apps or apps that don't need much syncing and so can save the battery the most. I figured games aren't essential so won't include. See rest of thread of these things.
Notes from replies ->
Reading & notes:
-Goodreads
-Mantano
-Instafetch
-Speed Reader
-Evernote (screws the battery but you can put a freeze & refreeze widget on your desktop with Titanium backup or App Quarantine)
-gReader
-Documents to Go (paid office docs app)
Syncing:
-DropSync
-k9mail
Photos:
-Quickpic
Maps:
-Orux Maps
Reference:
-Colordict (does translation and thesaurus)
jago25_98 said:
Things I haven't yet tried:
- Dictionaries; which do you recommend?
- offline translation; I only know of dictionaries to look up individual words, nothing that works offline but can do sentances
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try colordict, it really is useful and simple. And is compatible with many of 3rd party readers.
Yep, ColorDict is awesome.
I'm currently trying to optimize my rooted Nook (MinimalTouch) by disabling features that I don't use:
- I've started with a Barnes&Noble services. I've frozen them all (like ~10 of them). STR works perfect.
- Then I've frozen few Google apps - Talk, Calendar and Gmail. It happend that without them I can't use Search Market (downloading files not starting). Does anyone know which Google services I can remove in order to keep Market working?
It's really hard to keep track of what causes what in battery drain problems.
Some of the problems can be intermittent.
I seen to have less (no?) problems since disabling most of the B&N stuff and never installing any Google stuff.
I also disabled all the unnecessary receivers in the stock Reader.
I had seen problems in the past where the touch panel did not turn off in sleep mode.
In android 2.1 it is required to have google talk working in order to make market work.
NookSimpleTouch/Tapatalk 2
domi.nos said:
In android 2.1 it is required to have google talk working in order to make market work.
NookSimpleTouch/Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Indeed problem was with GTalk.
BTW: Does your Tapatalk2 works correctly on Nook? I can browse catalog of recommended forums (post, login etc. works) but I can't find my own forums (which I'm sure they support tapatalk). Is this normal?
Rafsen said:
Thanks! Indeed problem was with GTalk.
BTW: Does your Tapatalk2 works correctly on Nook? I can browse catalog of recommended forums (post, login etc. works) but I can't find my own forums (which I'm sure they support tapatalk). Is this normal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the colordict tip but its only a dictionary. can't do multiple words a t a time and have to click search on each word.
agreed that its best to avoid gapps if possible and find an alternative way to getting the .apks off market.
I didnt have much trouble with b and n apps? I disabled a few things but can't remember now. certainly phone.apk helped removing.
I'm with Renate here, I find that rooting and then sideloading the apps I want rather than having the market running seems to do my battery a lot of good.
Unlike Renate, I'm not able to simply write my own apps
I'm surprised that Amazon's appstore doesn't seem to be equally as much work for the battery as google's is, but it doesn't seem to be, even though many of the Amazon appstore-linked apps do check to be sure the appstore is available.
thank you guys alot. any recommendations for game
Rafsen said:
Thanks! Indeed problem was with GTalk.
BTW: Does your Tapatalk2 works correctly on Nook? I can browse catalog of recommended forums (post, login etc. works) but I can't find my own forums (which I'm sure they support tapatalk). Is this normal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, as a standard NST issue, it cannot search using default method. But I did it by setting Tapatalk on my phone, making a backup using titanium backup, or go backup, then just restore it on Nook. Searching is still a problem but it takes 3 minutes.
GT-I5700/Tapatalk 2
my apps
Evernote
Dropbox
Instafetch
K9 mail
Opera
Remote for iTunes
QuickPic
Mantano reader
Speed Reader
ezPDF Reader
IM+
Seesmic
DropSynch
Orux maps
Real Calc
Root explorer
mSecure
Goodreads
gReader Pro
airdroid
colordict
document to go
chess free
On my to do list for the Nook at the mo:
- finding lineart wallpapers that fit the screen... what is the screen res?
- finding a less animated launcher
- finding a way to share files without dismounting the sd card (checking out SwiFTP)
- an alterative to astro with working filenames (checking out estrong)
- wondering how to link a vncserver on windows to a separate desktop rather than simply sharing what is seen
jago25_98 said:
On my to do list for the Nook at the mo:
- finding lineart wallpapers that fit the screen... what is the screen res?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
600x800. Some grayscale images work very well (Ansel Adams photos, for example). Between Google image search and Deviant Art, you should find plenty of line art!
- finding a less animated launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use ADW EX with the animations turned down, but I rarely see my launcher, so it doesn't bother me much.
- finding a way to share files without dismounting the sd card (checking out SwiFTP)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SSH Droid works very well for both command line and SFTP access. I use it with WinSCP in SFTP mode.
- an alterative to astro with working filenames (checking out estrong)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ES File Explorer allows both root access, and direct access to networked (e.g. Dropbox) folders in the same interface, which is very handy. It suffers the "too colorful" experience on the NST that a lot of apps do, but it's definitely usable.
Ok, so I got an old Nook Simple Touch. In part because they can be had for such a cheap price on eBay these days and in part because they're among the few eInk based devices that run on Android and can actually be unlocked and more done with them than the manufacturers intended (I've used an old Kindle and man I hate how locked down and generally useless they are.) Actually, I was hoping I could do some neat stuff like setup daydream with weather info and a clock and all on it while the screen was "off" but I guess I forgot that this is a relatively new thing and it looks like it's based on a really really old Android version? Either way, I'm so used to CyanogenMod and its relatively near to AOSP nature that this thing is feeling horribly limiting and unpleasant to use for me.
Anyway, I've been searching around for various guides and such. I've found tools for rooting and putting the Google Market (yeesh, I forgot they used to call it "Market" ages ago.) It seems I needed to update the system to 1.1 for this (I had bootloops until I did, so clearly you have to have the right system version.) It seems there is a newer version or two beyond this though, but I didn't see root tools (I'm still hoping I can do more with this that might require root access to actually do.) Should I be updating beyond that? Namely, are there tools to actually root and all if I do?
Also, in the meantime, I'm running into troubles with the plain and simple fact that neither Google Market nor Amazon's app store installed by these tools work which may not be fixable. The thread on here says to add an account through Youtube first, then go to gmail and manually refresh over and over until it eventually crashes. After probably 15 minutes of this my hands were too tired to continue though. I just don't think it's supposed to take 15 minutes though. When I start the market it doesn't crash like that guide mentions either. Is there any other way to fix this? Is there any point? Obviously the market app is quite old, so perhaps it's simply never going to work? Is there some alternative way to find stuff that actually works on the NST? I thought to do F-Droid, but even it requires a newer SDK version apparently (I'm getting kind of curious what version of Android its base corresponds to. Does it predate 2.2? If so I may be in trouble since I don't think any of the stuff I was hoping I could put on there will go lower than 2.2.)
For this matter, is there a better way I can do stuff like loading apps? I was hoping to at least have a file manager to be able to use do stuff, but they didn't include one. I'll probably have to track down an apk. For now I'm having to actually use the network adb (I installed the version of the tools that was supposed to do adb over USB, but it doesn't even show up as an adb device at all for me to even so much as install a driver, so I guess it's not doing adb over USB as it should. The network method seems to work, though I'm not a big fan of leaving it wide open like that on principle really, yet remembering to manually change it on and off is a pain too.)
I realize this is a really old device and probably it is very limited what I can really do with it, but I was hoping I could at least squeeze a bit of use out of it. In particular, I'm going to need a much better reading app even if I use it for its intended purpose only. When I looked it up I had thought it was a close enough to stock Android that I'd be able to load up most apps I guess and I didn't think it would be so hard to even get anything on it.
Whew!
OK, let's start with basics. You didn't say how you rooted it but if you're working from 1.1 you probably are not getting the best out of the device. 1.21 is the final stock version. If you can get your NST back to stock, I would recommend doing so. Considering what you seem to have done already probably the easiest way to go is to use the NookManager route. Go here. Follow the instructions. There is info there for adding a Gapps package after rooting. But first get yourself back to 1.21 stock. Once that's done you can either use the Search Market tool from the Gapps package, or find apps on your computer and have them show up on the NST via the PlayStore, or side-load apps from the SD card or via ADB (default on that is WiFi with NookManager--you can install the ADB Konnect app and it works fine). There are plenty of alternate readers that run on the NST. I happen to like the stock reader very much, but to each his/her own.
When all that's done, everything depends on what your expectations are and what you want from your NST. There are a variety of kernals out there as well as USB host/audio mods. Although the Android system is old and the display limits what you can do, there are many apps that run well on the device and I personally get a lot of use out of mine, even more now that I have audio. Check out what I've done (second post) and look at what others have done (in the same thread).
There's a lot of good info in this forum on modifications, apps that run well (and don't) and many tips and tricks.
I think I have most of what I need with that actually, yes. I didn't realize from the guides I initially found that you could root or install third party components with a > 1.1 system version. With that stuff I do have a semi-working Google Market now and can actually install a lot more stuff than I thought. I see also my favorite reader app not only works, but apparently knows I'm running it on a device with an eInk screen and defaults to having eInk adaptations turned on.
Is there any way it can do anything like what I had sort of envisioned before btw? Eg on the screen "off" mode have some sort of thing that shows weather or news or something that updates every so often? (Nevermind the clock thing, that's probably a bad idea. I was just wondering about dedicating it to being sort of something like a clock with it plugged in all the time. Now I think maybe I can stop using my tablet for reading and use this instead.)
Nazo said:
Is there any way it can do anything like what I had sort of envisioned before btw? Eg on the screen "off" mode have some sort of thing that shows weather or news or something that updates every so often? (Nevermind the clock thing, that's probably a bad idea. I was just wondering about dedicating it to being sort of something like a clock with it plugged in all the time. Now I think maybe I can stop using my tablet for reading and use this instead.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you are having CM lockscreen widget withdrawal
Actually that seems like a job for Tasker. But it would be potentially messy. You'd need to:
1. Clear image in custom screensaver folder
2. Turn on wi-fi
3. Open weather/whatever app to update info
4. Take screenshot and save to custom screensaver folder
5. Close app
6. Turn off wi-fi
At that point when the Nook goes to sleep the info will be displayed on the lock screen. The question is whether Tasker can wake up the Nook and repeat this at desired intervals when you're not using it.
Also, have a look here for something along the same lines. Maybe you'll get an idea.
Ironically on my phone and tablet I keep it really simple. It's just that the eInk screen of the Nook can essentially be "always on" so to speak without draining the battery like mad (since it would only actually need to wake up every half hour or so for a frequent update schedule.)
But, all that said, it just doesn't sound like this is really worth all the effort. I guess I'm actually more used to newer versions of Android mostly rather than CyanogenMod specifically as they just have more power in what these things can do. With the Nook -- even unlocked and opened up -- it really sounds like the amount of time and effort required to even remotely approach such a thing is orders of magnitude higher. Well, that's fine. I had initially thought that I might maybe just use it as some sort of really neat "smart clock" type thing (at $35-ish on eBay you won't find many clocks that could come close to doing what an Android device could theoretically do) but in the end I don't think this is really all that realistic and definitely not worth the effort. On the other hand, now that I'm able to get more stuff actually running on it and open up its capabilities more I'm thinking I could maybe use this thing for something more akin to its original intended purpose: reading. From time to time I want my tablet to be able to do a bit more and I think this can do pretty well everything I care about beyond the basic reading stuff, so maybe I can stop carrying my tablet around all the time. (And for stuff like music I have a dedicated multimedia phone courtesy of eBay that's much better off really.)
Hi.
Is there any way to use the NST (rooted) as an external monitor, instead of the original monitor? (not duplicate or extend the display, but rather - replace it)
I'd want to use it with a PC and/or android phone.
Thanks,
Tal
That's a good question.
Err, if you mean as a general screen for another device, I don't think that's too practical.
If you mean an independent, secondary status screen for another device, ok.
Do you want to push graphic bits to the NST? That's not particulary efficient.
Do you want to push data to an app that will format it?
Do you want to push HTML to it?
Do you want to push over ADB? The USB gadget exists already.
You could use port forwarding to talk to an app on the NST.
You could use shell commands, just don't use any Java things or you have the load of Zygoting.
You could use WiFi, either through ADB or just through sockets.
You could use a USB HID gadget.
This would be in some ways the most elegant.
It would allow your non-rooted Android master device (or Windows box) to automatically identify and start its application.
NST does not have configfs or sys.usb.config, so it's not as simple to write your own USB gadget.
Still, it should be possible.
Hmm, I'll have to look into this.
Thanks for the answer.
Basically, what I was looking for is some way to read things on my NST instead of my computer - mainly things that are on my Instapaper account. If it would be possible to do basic email and word-processing - even better.
I purchased the device, having read how easy it is to root and all, and only when I got it and started actually doing, I realized that there are hardly any apps that work on it anymore (if I could just run Instapaper, Google Docs\Sheets, Chrome, it would be the perfect thing for me). So now I'm trying to come up with alternative ways to get the device to do pretty much what I want it to do.
I'm also open to other suggestions for how to use the NST for these purposes.
Screenstream from the Google play appstore will stream screen images from an Android device to a web browser, works on my note 8 to my nook glowlight plus. With a mouse and keyboard you might get what you need.
LaDjA said:
Thanks for the answer.
Basically, what I was looking for is some way to read things on my NST instead of my computer - mainly things that are on my Instapaper account. If it would be possible to do basic email and word-processing - even better.
I purchased the device, having read how easy it is to root and all, and only when I got it and started actually doing, I realized that there are hardly any apps that work on it anymore (if I could just run Instapaper, Google Docs\Sheets, Chrome, it would be the perfect thing for me). So now I'm trying to come up with alternative ways to get the device to do pretty much what I want it to do.
I'm also open to other suggestions for how to use the NST for these purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I have a similar question and perhaps @Renate NST can help me here?
I'm using my NST as a Standalone monitor to display a PHP page with some information about our house. Temperature etc values that I get from a raspberry. The PHP reloads itself every 60 seconds.
My problem at first was, that the screensaver at one point started. I have solved this with @Renate NST answer from a couple years ago.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=29113425#post29113425
dowloading settings.db etc...
So the screensaver doesn't fire, BUT at one point, and I haven't quite figured out yet, at what specific time that is, the internal browser just can't get the webside anymore by itself and displays the error message that the webside is not available. If I reload this webside, by clicking on the nook, manually, everything works fine again for some period.
My guess is, that there is some timeout for the WIFI or the general internet connections or that the internal timeout for websides might be to short.
I have not yet found a setting in the settings.db that suggests, I could change this behaivor.
Anyone an idea? That would help me alot because for the the NST is the best information screen that I could think of.
thx
btw: I have tried to integrate a simulated mouseclick via JS into the webside, but that didn't help.
fsg4u said:
... that I get from a raspberry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mmm, is it an RPi3 or RPi0W?
On the RPi, in /etc/network/interfaces
Code:
wireless-power off
(Which is really a stupid name, it means "automatic power management for WiFi".)
Renate NST said:
Mmm, is it an RPi3 or RPi0W?
On the RPi, in /etc/network/interfaces
Code:
wireless-power off
(Which is really a stupid name, it means "automatic power management for WiFi".)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey,
thx for the fast answer but I might have misscommunicated something.
The Rpi3 is my server and works like a charm, so I don't have to change anything there. If i connect with my phone or my laptop the display webside will just reload "forever" like it should.
But I want to use the NST with it's internal browser to display that webside continously during the day. So there must be something within the nook that is idling of the connections.
I thought it might be WIFI_SLEEP_POLICY_NEVER but I cannot find that value in the Nook settings.db.
btw. Can I safely remove the amazon appstore in the nook? I never use it and I cannot kill it with Relaunch
fsg4u said:
The Rpi3 is my server...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, in any case you could still do what I suggested.
The change to /etc/network/interfaces is deprecated on the latest Raspian.
To do a manual temporary change:
Code:
$ sudo iwconfig wlan0 power off
$ iwconfig wlan0
...
Power Management:off
fsg4u said:
btw. Can I safely remove the amazon appstore in the nook? I never use it and I cannot kill it with Relaunch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I believe a long-press on the app in ReLaunch will offer "uninstall" as an option. I think.
Renate NST said:
Well, in any case you could still do what I suggested.
The change to /etc/network/interfaces is deprecated on the latest Raspian.
To do a manual temporary change:
Code:
$ sudo iwconfig wlan0 power off
$ iwconfig wlan0
...
Power Management:off
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey renate,
thx for the advise. But what would that accomplish to the complete seperate NST System. The RPi is always on and always hast the internet conncetion without any problems whatsoever.
What I need to know would be how to keep the internet connection in the NST alive.
for example: There is an always on, while plugged option. If I connection the NST to a power source the internet connection stays alive, but I want exately this option also, when it'S not plugged in.
thx for your help
@fsg4u I understand what you're saying.
I'm just saying that the RPi's with the built in WiFi had such squirrelly problems with WiFi that when they first came out I gave up and used a separate USB WiFi adapter.
Disabling power management is a good idea.
Are you sure that you're losing WiFi while the Nook remains awake?
Have you set the screen_off_timeout for a sufficiently large number of milliseconds?
Does pinging the Nook constantly stop it from disconnecting?
Renate NST said:
@fsg4u I understand what you're saying.
I'm just saying that the RPi's with the built in WiFi had such squirrelly problems with WiFi that when they first came out I gave up and used a separate USB WiFi adapter.
Disabling power management is a good idea.
Are you sure that you're losing WiFi while the Nook remains awake?
Have you set the screen_off_timeout for a sufficiently large number of milliseconds?
Does pinging the Nook constantly stop it from disconnecting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Renate,
The RPi is not even connected via WIFI but via LAN, because the WIFI Interface just isn't fast enough.
No, I'm not sure that the WiFi connection gets lost, but's it's defintely something in the Nook that looses the connection. The constant pinging Idea sounds like a good shot. I'll defintely try that out.
So I have not tried out the pinging idea but after deinstalling Amazon Market (which i don't need) the problem vanished. Now the nook stays on and connected till the battery dies. Perfect. I have no clue why the Amazon market has an influence here, but I don't really care so much. thx for your help.