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the-grump 18 hours ago
For the unaware, there is an existing solution that integrates with Kobo's native software (Nickel).
It has been maintained for years, and it supports every Kobo AFAIK.
It's called NickelMenu, and it's great. I'm in the Kobo ecosystem because of NickelMenu and Plato.
One note if you're thinking about getting a kobo due its relative openness: consider getting a two-core device. I did not do my homework and got a Clara BW because I don't want the color display. Later I found out that color is the only one with the two-core CPU.
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thepoet 17 hours ago
Hey, author here. NickelMenu is terrific and Cobalt uses it to show the menu item in the default Kobo menu. It's just that Cobalt and NickelMenu are not the same in terms of project goals.
I created this as I could not find anything existing that gives the capabilities I wanted. I read several things downloaded over web apart from books on my Mac and phone, which I would prefer to do on an eInk display. Search papers on arxiv and read them offline later, Substack, even spending a lot of time on chess puzzles, monitor my Claude/Codex remotely, generate explainer audiobooks and listen to them on my bluetooth speaker etc.
The longer battery and the display makes some use cases really shine and I wanted to create apps for my own Kobo and potentially helpful for others as well.
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the-grump 17 hours ago
I admire and support your effort, but the title makes it sound like you couldn't run apps in the past.
Nickelmenu deserves a mention in the opening paragraph and a differentiation of what this new piece of software brings to the table.
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thepoet 16 hours ago
Thank you for the kind words. I will add a page to the project explaining the differentiation.
NickelMenu is a mature project and perfect at what it does, we just have different goals. NickelMenu is designed to extend Kobo's stock interface. Cobalt is designed to be an app platform like Android has for example. I wanted app creators to just write their app logic and not build things like a UI toolkit for their apps, app lifecycle and rendering support (framebuffer drawing, partial eInk refreshes, touch input handling etc.), bluetooth handling, sensor and more. Anything launched through NickelMenu like KOReader or Plato have to implement these on their own.
AFAIK NickelMenu command actions spawn arbitrary shell cmds that inherit root from Nickel, we avoid it by running apps as separate unprivileged processes with declared capabilities like network, storage, audio, fronlight etc.
I also wanted to provide ability to quickly build apps with the SDK and our simulator to test apps on before putting it on the real device, an app store to get new apps over the WiFi after the initial USB install.
This was more oriented on making my life easier, say I have an app idea that I want on my Kobo tomorrow and how quickly can I bring it live on the device. The 'you can run apps' I wrote was meant to signify anyone can now create apps using the SDK without bothering about the device specific bits and publish them and install it via Cobalt's app store. I hope this clarifies things.
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cassepipe 14 hours ago
Awesome
Time to start a F.A.Q section on the website. You could that comment almost verbatims for the question : "How is that different from NickelMenu"
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ololobus 17 hours ago
I haven’t had a chance to compare side by side, but people say that if you primarily read books/prose, the BW version is better because the screen is more crisp compared to the color version, which is still a bit blurry when you read books. That’s why I ordered BW. Did anyone compare these two side by side in real life for simple text?
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leokennis 2 hours ago
I own the Clara BW (C) and the Libra Colour (L).
The C is sharper but the L looks more like a real book/paper. I believe as an artifact of the colour screen and it’s called “screenshot effect”. In the end, once you use either for 10 minutes it becomes “the new normal”.
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johnhamlin 17 hours ago
It is maddeningly impossible to get an ereader with all three of these features: b&w screen for maximum crispness; physical buttons for reliable page turns; modern processor for speed.
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daakni 3 hours ago
Yeah thinking about an pocketbook era lite but apparently can feel a bit sluggish. Might have to unfortunately wait and hope for kobo to release something along the lines of a vision bw.
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phainopepla2 16 hours ago
Boox Go 7 - B&W version.
It runs Android. It's a Chinese company and comes with a bunch of pre-installed apps, but I just blocked its abilities to phone home and use Koreader. It's been great for me
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Kudos 3 hours ago
Boox have been GPL violators for over a decade.
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geokon 10 hours ago
I personally use a Moaan 7. Android and does everything i ask it (I just use FDroid apps though). But do bear in mind it doesnt seem to run apps in the background at all. Just whats onscreen. Battery life is extremely long (probably not unrelated)
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diiaann 6 hours ago
I rage quit the Boox because the page turn buttons were the same for both landscape and potrait, which meant that one direction was illogical. There were user patches but it just made me so annoyed that when a friend expressed interest in mine, I just gave it way. Maybe it's fixed now but so damn infuriating.
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kbutler 16 hours ago
Boox Go 7 BW?
https://goodereader.com/blog/product/onyx-boox-go-7-bw
"The Onyx Boox Go 7 is a dedicated e-book reader with a black and white e-paper display. This device has the same specifications and software as the Go 7 Color Gen 2, except that this model doesn’t have a Kaleido 3; instead, it uses the latest generation Carta 1300 e-paper panel, which increases responsiveness. The key selling points of this model are the physical page-turn buttons and Google Android 13, as well as full access to the Play Store. For those of you who want an e-reader that doesn’t lock you into a specific ecosystem, this deserves a look."
(slower by 2 minutes...)
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SietrixDev 16 hours ago
I'm happy with my Kobo Clara Colour. As far as the specs go, both are 300 PPI when displaying black and white. I took a picture of my screen from as close as my phone would allow - the lens was basically touching the e-reader [1]. My eyes can't really focus at this distance anyway, so I can't complain. I don't use the colour screen much, but seeing the book covers in colour is fun for me.
[1] https://imgur.com/a/cszqi0F
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jay_kyburz 11 hours ago
I'm having fun trying to fit those words into a story of my own.
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dotancohen 17 hours ago
I use a bw Boox device, a colleague has the colour version of the same device. The colour version does not show text more blurry, rather, the contrast is significantly lower. I personally prefer the bw device.
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pepperoni_pizza 16 hours ago
Yes. I had color Kobo, forgot it in the airport lounge, and bought BW one as a replacement. It is much better.
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II2II 14 hours ago
I have a Libra 2 and a Libra Colour. I generally don't notice a difference in crispness, though the effective resolution of the colour's screen is lower. There is a huge difference in the contrast, and you will probably want to use the frontlight even in a reasonably bright environment.
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mkozlows 15 hours ago
Yes, I replaced a B&W Sage with the Libra Colour, and used them for a bit side-by-side. Contrast (not sharpness) of B&W text is slightly worse with the color one, but not by so much that you'd notice it if you weren't comparing them next to each other. The resolution of actual color is worse, but obviously you can't get color at all on the B&W one, so hard to argue that this is a downgrade.
Unless you're a real contrast freak, I think most people would be slightly happier with the color than the B&W; but it's definitely not worth paying extra for.
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rbits 11 hours ago
I had a Kobo Libra 2. It broke and I replaced it with a Kobo Libra Colour. The biggest difference is that the Libra Colour is unusable without the backlight turned on, since the screen is so dark. The Libra 2 had a pretty white background without the backlight, whereas the Libra Colour has a grey background. I don't know if the Clara Colour also has a really dark screen or not.
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chocochunks 11 hours ago
It's the same, just a smaller 6" Kaleido 3 screen VS. 7". Personally I find the Libra Colour fine in a lot of conditions without the front light. Kaleido 3 is darker than BW screens but it's like bad newsprint vs. good newsprint.
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ironqcold 16 hours ago
I compared. On the color version, the text seems to have a slightly fine mesh or rippled texture. There's no huge difference, but I prefer the black-and-white version
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izacus 4 hours ago
> Did anyone compare these two side by side in real life for simple text?
Yes, I have - I have a Kobo Libra 2 (BW), Boox Go 7 II (Color - same screen as color Kobos) and Boox Note Air 3 (Color).
The issue isn't crispness really - when rendering B&W content the crispness is about the same. However, there's a massive issue with contrast - the Color screen background is very dark and they're basically unusable (for me) without driving them constantly at 80-100% backlight (even during the day). Even at 100% backlight, the page background is darker than the BW reader at like 30% backlight.
This makes the reader eat more battery while being less pleasant for text reading. Moreover, in dark mode (light text on black background) the color screens all show severe ghosting artifacts which don't appear as much on BW screens.
Having said that - reading comics and color books (e.g. programming books) looks great on the color screens. There's just something about that slightly less vibrant "papery" look that's very attractive.
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awakeasleep 18 hours ago
but also note that a color e-reader will have significantly worse contrast than a black and white model, which negates the usefulness of the device to people like me.
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hamdingers 18 hours ago
What does the two-core CPU get you? I'm very satisfied with my BW with KOReader, haven't noticed any shortcomings but I only read books on it.
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the-grump 18 hours ago
I encounter freezes mostly when I enable Bluetooth/wifi. Haven't tried on a multi-core kobo but I imagine the UI thread can keep running there.
When reading, agree on it being more than sufficient.
My recommendation is partially because the price can be identical when they have a sale. That was the case when I got a BW--it was the same price as the color.
I should also mention I run quite a few things on my kobo: boringtun to connect to my home network, a fetcher to sync my books and feeds, Plato and its article fetcher whenever I update my Wallabag articles. I'm beyond pleased with my reader experience. The extra processing power would just be icing on the cake.
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hamdingers 18 hours ago
Ah yeah, mine takes a while to connect to wifi too. I assumed that was just how it was, luckily I do it rarely.
I got the BW over the Color only because I had read the color screen wasn't as sharp, though I've never compared them side by side.
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the-grump 17 hours ago
Likewise. I'd had a Kobo Glo HD for more than 10 years and it was still going strong. I looked at the new color screens and they didn't look as clear to me, though it was a subtle difference. Only got the Clara BW because I wanted to use the BT remote.
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charles_f 18 hours ago
I do like my BW kobo, but it's on the slow side, even just when switching pages on the stock app ; and that's annoying. Sometimes because it's stuck it doesn't register the page change, and then it will highlight text instead. That's breaking the reading flow and I really hate that.
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bsammon 11 hours ago
Another didn't-do-my-homework mistake: Beware of buying one of the waterproofed models if you want to hack/mod your Kobo. On un-waterproofed models, the case is easily opened, and the main storage SD Card (IIRC - maybe it was a different kind of flash card) can be removed/replaced easily. On waterproof models, the SD Card is under the waterproofing layer, which would have to be cut through to remove the card.
My experience is over 2 years old, so I'm sure some details have changed.
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podgietaru 18 hours ago
Also NickelHook, which adds the native hooks into the Nickel application. I used it for intercepting http calls previously
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jihadjihad 17 hours ago
Is it bad that I was disappointed after reading this, hoping for a library that handles callbacks, called NickelBack?
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yokoprime 6 hours ago
i've used nickelmenu and it's always felt incredibly janky, especially maintaining the config, but also the way it integrates with the native side menu. you end up jamming so much stuff in there it's hilarious
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post-it 18 hours ago
I also have the Clara BW and haven't done any modding on it but it's been on my todo list. Would you be willing to briefly describe issues you've run into with it?
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the-grump 18 hours ago
0 issues using nickelmenu out of the box.
I recommend enabling ssh (native kobo feature) so it's easier to modify the config without needing to plug in, though obviously this is optional.
If you connect over SSH, I would recommend not touching system files. The new kobos don't have a removable SD card so if you corrupt the system files and it can't boot, you need to either do some PCB surgery or get a new mainboard.
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iib 14 hours ago
Is there any way to recover a "bricked" Clara color? I bricked mine while trying to install nickel and koreader. Haven't been able to recover it since.
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trencedamp 18 hours ago
Are there any writing apps? Any way to connect a Bluetooth keyboard? (Or USB)
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the-grump 18 hours ago
KOReader probably lets you edit text files but I only use my kobo to read. Have not tried connecting any external devices.
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TheCycoONE 15 hours ago
It does. I don't know about bluetooth but it doesn't work with a usb-c keyboard. At least on the Clara BW the experience is bad, as there is a subtantial delay after each keypress and any keys pressed during it are dropped.
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jjkaczor 16 hours ago
Apparently the "Sage" (which is what I have currently) has a quad-core, but Kobo discontinued it. Sigh, too bad - this was my favourite to-date (needs a power-cover though...).
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lh7777 15 hours ago
Off topic, but I don't understand Rakuten's current product strategy. They discontinued their two best devices: the 8" Sage and the 7" Libra 2. What's left are two unfortunately sized B&W readers (the tiny 6" Clara and giant 10" Elipsa) and a couple of color readers that no one should buy unless they absolutely NEED color (I've tried them, and the screens look terrible compared to the B&W versions).
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mkozlows 15 hours ago
I believe that this is your opinion, but my own opinion (having also tried them, and used multiple generations of B&W ones before this) is that the screens look just fine, and that the slight downgrade of contrast isn't a big deal at all.
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code-blooded 15 hours ago
I have Kobo Sage but it's not a great device.
Very bad battery life. Maybe 8hrs of reading with wifi off, BT off and only low screen backlight. I need to charge it daily or every other day at best.
Physical buttons are comically bad and often don't register presses.
Built-in book reading app is slow, lacks some critical features and hangs in many epub books. I replaced it with KOreader which finally made the device usable.
It's a great screen size though (9" would be even better).
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Marsymars 13 hours ago
> Very bad battery life. Maybe 8hrs of reading with wifi off, BT off and only low screen backlight. I need to charge it daily or every other day at best.
This seems like a wildly different experience than I have with it. I don't read 8 hours per day, but typically 1-2 hours per day, and charge it every 2-3 weeks.
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code-blooded 5 hours ago
Thanks! I'll look into why my battery is draining so fast.
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jay_kyburz 11 hours ago
i would return it, there is something wrong with your battery
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brailsafe 16 hours ago
This is something I've considered wanting, and I'm glad it exists, but after some thought it's absolutely not at all what I want my Kobo to do. Much like how I wouldn't bring headphones or a Bluetooth speaker with me on a hike, or a laptop with me camping, I don't even want the option of games or anything other than a good reading experience when I'm using my e-reader. I'd assume this is a redundant take, but I don't even know if my Kobo can produce sounds, and I'd like to keep it that way.
What's tricky is that although I don't want it to be an unconstrained app platform, I do want the ability to integrate with services that host my things to read. Karakeep, RSS, Google Play Books or Internet Archive, etc.. but I think that could be handled in a more narrow fashion.
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mattcasmith 15 hours ago
I agree. One of the things I love about my Kindle is that it’s a single-use device, functionally equivalent to holding a paperback in my hands. There’s nothing to distract me or tempt me away from reading. Apps would risk breaking that spell.
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TheFunkyMonk 12 hours ago
Yeah, the fact that my Kindle can't do anything other than read books is its best feature. Same with my Remarkable for focused writing.
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rbits 11 hours ago
Yup. I was tempted to even just install KOReader on my Kobo so I could sync progress with my phone, but I realised I would just get distracted tinkering with it and it's meant to be my distraction-free device.
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KaiserPro 4 hours ago
My wife bought a kobo as it allows her to use the local libraries ebook collection, rather than spending hundreds of pounds at amazon for the kindle.
It was starting to die and had screenglitches. After a bit of debug, it turns out that hacking the kobo is dirt simple. You open up the back, and replace the SD card. thats it.
There is a large community that have created toolchains and guides. there is of course a port of koreader (https://koreader.rocks/) which has a lua interface for making your own apps.
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yoavm 17 hours ago
FWIW, some Kobos can run PostmarketOS. I built this UI for my Clara -
https://www.github.com/bjesus/air . It runs Firefox, Syncthing, KOReader, and basically anything else you can run on Linux.
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nosioptar 13 hours ago
That's really cool. I've contemplated awesome for a tablet for similar reasons.
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yoavm 15 minutes ago
Yes - tiling window managers are really nice on a computer, but they're absolutely the best for small e-ink devices.
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wbxp99 18 hours ago
>These are photographs of the device, not simulator captures
Thanks for the clarification Claude
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xearl 14 hours ago
the copy on OP's pages is so full of claude-isms that it quickly became unbearable, for me. the claude-ism you quote above at least made me laugh.
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m463 17 hours ago
is claude the new sherlock?
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danilocesar 16 hours ago
"confubabulating.... You're definetely right"
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rglover 19 hours ago
Wow. This is rad, well done. I've been trying to find an alt OS for my Clara Colour and this looks great. Being able to author apps means I can
finally add a way to review my highlights/quotes and search them with ease.
Edit: damn, just saw the BW note. It looks like the Clara Colour would be blocked by Cobalt...
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the-grump 18 hours ago
You can already do that. Look into NickelMenu.
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thefunnyman 12 hours ago
Fwiw koreader can be installed very easily. Bit clunky to get used to but extremely powerful and worthwhile ime
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plutokras 5 hours ago
The SimpleUI plugin helps a lot with the clunkiness.
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mkagenius 19 hours ago
I see a recent merge for Elips 2E support, hopefully color gets tested soon
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Artgor 18 hours ago
Isn't the whole point of Kindle (or other ebook readers) being able to read books without distractions?
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AdmiralAsshat 18 hours ago
There's a contingent of enthusiasts who, once they find out a device runs Linux or
can run Linux, seems determined to expose a terminal on it. I don't know why someone needs to SSH into their toaster, but damned if they're not gonna do it, just because they can.
Me personally, I just want a reliable toaster.
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necovek 5 hours ago
As other noted, apart from us being on
HackerNews,
if my toaster does and/or can run Linux, I want to have full control over any software running in my home.
If a toaster needs to just be a good toaster, it sure as hell does not need a SoC than can run Linux, and I might give it the benefit of the doubt and consider its FW closely tied to HW.
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RattlesnakeJake 18 hours ago
I always assume it's more for the challenge and accomplishment than anything practical. The results are always neat, but rarely anything you'd actually use for general-purpose computing.
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MYEUHD 17 hours ago
Obviously you ssh into your toaster so you can host a website on it, or run DOOM
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9dev 15 hours ago
What worth is a toaster if it can't run DOOM? What worth is life if you never even find out??
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jauntywundrkind 17 hours ago
This isn't Normie News! I think you are on the wrong site!
The street finds its own use for things is the excitement that we don't know what is possible, and that we ought be free to try. The amazing suite of software here sure looks like self evident proof about how exciting it is when we can go further, to me. I love the LLM prompt sidekick; super neat as an ambient display.
It's really sad how HN is so vocally anti-hacker, is so conservative, shows up so regularly to declare alliance to anti-possibility, to anti-features. For some people, they don't only fail to be interested, they are expressly anti interested, the only thing they want is for everyone else to have to live as constrained and unexplorarive and unthoughtful as they are. I don't get it. Conservatism is a wicked disease, imo.
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Apocryphon 15 hours ago
I think the distaste is more against feature bloat. This sub-thread is reacting to dedicated e-readers succumbing to becoming full-fledged app-running devices. Is the refresh rate on an e-ink display even suitable for general computing?
Plus, isn't it fairly old hat to get root access on a Linux consumer device and then running whatever you want on it? Oh, it makes for a neat party trick you could make an Action Retro YouTube video out of. But perhaps people are just jaded since they've seen it done on a million types of devices by now. Maybe there are more interesting ways, and things, to hack.
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jauntywundrkind 13 hours ago
"Bloat" people strike me as similar to wikipedia "notability" concerned people. It's a whole realm of thinking focused on deleting. Which yeah, sometimes that's important too! That's a great way to assess architectures. But this feels like such a general field, of so much, and to be immediately putting up fences around what we will and will not consider: I'm not here for it. Worthless, anti-worth finding exercise. Just why?
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paxys 17 hours ago
No, the whole point is the e-ink screen. Kindle has had a web browser since the very first version, and people have managed to read books on it just fine without distractions.
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MathMonkeyMan 17 hours ago
I went through a whole design phase with ChatGPT on the idea of using an old Kobo as a low-distraction TV remote for my dad. The idea is that it would interface with a computer media server thing, be more legible than a traditional remote, and not be an app on his phone that would immediately send him into his phone.
Ended up being more involved than the benefit it would bring, especially considering that these media server programs know how to interface with the traditional remote over HDMI (if you have the right graphics card or a dongle) and show the selection UI on screen like a smart TV.
Anyway, my response is "you don't necessarily have to complicate your e-reader, instead you have the option of making it not an e-reader."
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NewJazz 18 hours ago
Some people came for the compact package containing an eink screen, a moderately powered application board, and a reasonable amount of battery and storage. For some, it may be the perfect thin client.
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BeetleB 17 hours ago
Even if you want it for just books, there are benefits to installing things like KOReader (way better ebook reader than the default). This allows you to sync with Calibre, etc.
Years ago, it was practically a hobby of mine to go to my local Goodwill, and find an extremely cheap old used Kobo and find someone to donate it to. Now I'm thinking of getting old Kobos just for the eink display so I can run simple apps on it - while continuing to use my regular Kobo as an ereader.
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dotancohen 16 hours ago
Why use a Kobo for that? Nook and Boox devices run Android - I've run Ankidroid on both those devices.
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BeetleB 15 hours ago
I guess I could. I recall I was getting used Nooks as cheap as Kobos. Not sure about Boox.
(I'm talking $15 or less).
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nottorp 15 hours ago
You can read books on an iPad without distractions just fine. Just turn off all notifications...
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ashu1461 18 hours ago
In my personal experience, this can help in case the books are little technical and you have to switch to my laptop/mobile to get more information about the topic, which ends up consuming more time it should.
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unethical_ban 18 hours ago
That's what I want from my e-reader device too. Yet being able to turn a $140 e-ink tablet into a general purpose tool is really neat.
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Method5440 9 hours ago
This is excellent - I’ve been looking for a reliable way to get a manga reader onto my Kobo for a while now, specifically one that can directly connect to sources like MangaDex. The alternative I’ve settled on is to download to my PC, bundle with KCC into a cbz, upload to Dropbox and then download onto the device’s local storage. It takes far too long. I’ve been considering writing something myself but I’m not familiar with the device hardware or OS… this is definitely going to save me a ton of time. I don’t care if this was created with LLM assistance, I’m just happy to have a viable alternative in an approximately closed ecosystem.
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locusofself 16 hours ago
It would be very cool to have an Obsidian viewer or something.
On many occasions I have compiled notes, sometimes manually created sometimes LLM curated, and put them into a .epub file to send to my kindle so I can read as I am out walking.
It would be cool to skip a few steps there, and have "live" documents at the ready, particularly in markdown if possible, without having to sync/publish etc
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harhargange 5 hours ago
Having done all sorts of experiments with android in the past, i now prefer not touching my devices and getting into a rabbit hole. The optimisations never end and you get confused what you’re meant to do on your device. In this sense Apple does a good thing by locking down certain capabilities on the device that developers didn’t intend to.
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QwenGlazer9000 18 hours ago
For most of the use cases I would need an app for, koreader's plugin system works just fine for it. You'd be surprised the gems you can find for koreader.
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Method5440 9 hours ago
Read the porting document - do we think this would be a difficult port to the Libra Color? I’m reluctant to order a Clara BW in addition, but also not sure I know enough about the ecosystem to contribute a working port. Anyone interesting in teaming up to take a crack at it?
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thepoet 8 hours ago
I can help to port it for your device if you can help by testing it on your Color.
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msephton 6 hours ago
Cool, this is the Kobo model I have. I did install some homebrew on it in the past to get Koreader, but quickly realised I prefer the no frills integration of the official reader. I still use Koreader to read old magazines on an old Android tablet.
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bragr 16 hours ago
If someone made a Libby client for this, it would essentially be perfect for my uses.
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pmkary 19 hours ago
As a Kindle owner; I'm very jealous.
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adriaanm 13 minutes ago
I was too, so I used Claude to port Plato to my Paperwhite 3:
https://github.com/adriaanm/platoIt also has a cli to let you push docs over WiFi. Oh, and a HN reader. I have another repo with the user space I use, but need to clean that up before making it public.
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xandrius 14 hours ago
That's because you don't actually own the kindle.
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cs3f16 15 hours ago
I used KOReader for my Kindle and I never looked back. The software that Amazon ships is simply insulting. It's like when I installed Linux on my laptop instead of Windows. KOReader is a massive upgrade for any Kindle.
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MathMonkeyMan 17 hours ago
Give Rakuten your money!
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baal80spam 19 hours ago
I'm not. I want my Kindle to do ONE job well, not turn into another multi-purpose device.
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speak_plainly 19 hours ago
I too would like my Kindle to do one single thing well. Sadly, we seem to be waiting for that future to arrive.
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RankingMember 18 hours ago
I remember when my PaperWhite glitched while I was attempting to jailbreak it and got stuck with the screen inverted. It was great! I can't believe I have to jailbreak a reader to get that simple functionality for better in-the-dark reading. (epilogue: I let it run out of battery and the inversion was gone upon boot)
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LiamPowell 18 hours ago
You don't need to jailbreak it. Swipe from the top and press the big button labelled "dark mode".
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DoctorDabadedoo 14 hours ago
It is a somewhat newish feature, I think pre-2020 models don't have dark mode, afaik (and I have no idea how are old devices supported on kindle, I assume launch and forget, could be wrong though).
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necovek 5 hours ago
It seems Amazon has financial and legal incentive to keep older Kindles (it is so many of them still) updated to avoid them getting jailbroken and not having Kindle store at their fingertips :)
Not sure if they cut it off at some point, but they can surely keep updating 10 yo devices.
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bigyabai 18 hours ago
Yeah, I was going to say. I only installed KOReader because my Kindle Touch has lackluster ereader functionality.
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RattlesnakeJake 18 hours ago
I still miss the UI on my old Kindle Keyboard, which only showed the book list without an attempt at curation/upselling.
I can simulate it by staying on the "Library" tab, but it tends to forget halfway frequently.
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utopiah 19 hours ago
It is totally different to be able to do something versus actually doing it.
It is not because you can install and run apps that you have to.
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NewJazz 18 hours ago
That's what's great about open hardware. You still have the ability to do that. Even if the original vendor of the device tries to decide differently.
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pmkary 17 hours ago
I'm like yours, But there are things that makes me angry. I cannot for example read Farsi books. I cannot put a new e-pub into my kindle and I have to send it over the web; there are many things like these. And so I just want to have a nicer reader that I myself control.
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adezxc 19 hours ago
the one job that it does well is show you ads lmao (in case you haven't jailbreaked your Kindle yet)
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kelvinjps10 18 hours ago
Not to defend amazon but you can remove the ads by paying to remove them, they sell one model ad supported and another that doesn't have ads if you buy the ads supported you can remove it later.
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necovek 5 hours ago
Depends on what you consider "ads": I have always been paying for ad-free experience, but I regularly end up on the screen where there are ads for books I do not care about (they probably say that's just the store homepage, but I do my shopping on the laptop).
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poopbutt16 17 hours ago
So... don't use it, idk?
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rjrjrjrj 17 hours ago
Along with choice comes complexity. More things to break, security problems, distractions, etc. Purpose-built devices like the Kindle and Switch do one thing well; this looks like it does a lot more things but mostly poorly.
Everyone already has at least one multitool, the smartphone. Most also have a tablet and/or a laptop. While this project looks like a cool hack, I don't see much practical use for another multitool with a weak CPU, laggy screen, and poor input.
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nocchedure 15 hours ago
I suspect it won't be long before we have Anna's / Z-Library fully integrated
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piloto_ciego 6 hours ago
This rules. I want this so bad, I might install this when I get back from my cabin build-site and replace my smart phone with my kobo and a flip phone
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theokrueger 5 hours ago
As a flip phone enthusiast: you get much better mileage with just dumbing-down your current phone. Modern flip phones are riddled with the kind of headaches that don't actually benefit the minimalism aspect.
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far_focus 18 hours ago
So cool. I have this exact model. Might try to build something
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mawise 13 hours ago
Has anyone built a dedicated OPDS client for the Kobo?
I've experimented some with the Kobo ecosystem since I got my Clara BW, I've played with NickleMenu, Plato, and KOReader. KOReader has a built-in OPDS client, but KOReader is a bit heavyweight and it would be really nice to have a dedicated stand-alone client (especially one that supports credentialed OPDS feeds like calibre-web exposes)
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conqrr 18 hours ago
Very cool and definitely useful. I'm not the audience but I'll say: I like my ereader to just have books that sync. That is all. It's my library room and peace time, the last thing I need is Claude to distract me.
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VariousPrograms 17 hours ago
I am enjoying the recently trendy Xteink e-readers that can't do anything but read books. An app store and the internet would just make an e-reader feel like a "worse phone" to me.
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onemoresoop 9 hours ago
It can read books quite okay if it’s mostly text. With photos it’s sluggish. I personally like it but there are other better optionsnout there for a little extra $.
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5G_activated 17 hours ago
I find LLM copywriting revolting, especially Claude's and it is pretty obvious that it is Claude, and even though I might find the software interesting since I own a Clara 2E, it puts such a sour taste in my mouth that I don't want to touch this thing with a 10 foot pole.
If your software is mostly written by the slop machine, fine. I don't have to be upset about it unless I think about contributing and then notice the uncanny nature of the source code. But a website and a README is directly user facing and it is a major disservice, and in my opinion, lack of respect, to generate your website copy with an LLM.
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mortenjorck 17 hours ago
My reaction was perhaps not as strongly felt as yours, but I agree that it discourages me from reading further when it's obvious I'm reading slop rather than something a human considered.
"These are photographs of the device, not simulator captures" is the kind of total throwaway verbiage that a human would never even pause to consider writing because it "clarifies" something that in the totality of context is beyond obvious. It makes the writing more fatiguing to read, and creates a terrible first impression for a project.
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mastazi 8 hours ago
> A reboot returns to the stock Kobo reader.
so it's not something you can daily drive just yet? Is this because of technical issues that prevent it from surviving a reboot?
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saejox 14 hours ago
I still use my Kobo Glo. I must been working at least 10 years now. I have finished countless books on it.
I like that is a durable single use device. I wouldnt use it as general use computer at all.
Even my old kobo has experimental features like wifi and a web browser. They have been trying to break in to that market since forever.
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jcul 12 hours ago
I'm still using my kobo clara hd that I bought 8 years ago.
What a great device.
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arialdomartini 13 hours ago
I’ve got only 1 big complain about Kobo: there’s no way to control the tickness of the pencil when writing on PDFs, and the size is too tick to take notes. There’s for epub but not for PDF.
Suppprt told me they are not going to fix that.
Do you know of any alternative?
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hdra 4 hours ago
cool project. not familiar with such projects, but whats the constraints on making it run on other kobo models?
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quasarj 14 hours ago
I wish there was more interest in bringing new things like this to the ReMarkable 2. There are some projects, but they are not great, and mostly I just want to get a good book-reading experience. Maybe I should try it myself, or well, have Claude try.
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jhack 18 hours ago
This is incredible and super useful. More reasons to use my e-reader around the house instead of my phone.
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necovek 4 hours ago
Though also a reminder to not enter the same usage patterns or there is no point ;)
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satireguff 6 hours ago
This looks great. Wish I could use this on my PocketBook!
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platesmead 13 hours ago
I have a Kobo Clara. I'd one day like to mod this. Is there any indication that I need to avoid updates to prevent updates locking it down?
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GlenTheMachine 18 hours ago
I vote for Zotero integration!
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orsenthil 12 hours ago
This project inspires me to buy a Kobo. I am gravitating towards Kobo Libra color. Would that be a good choice ?
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jaimex2 9 hours ago
I have one and love it. I got the colour one as my kids are learning to read and illustrations are a big part.
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BoingBoomTschak 18 hours ago
Vibecoded, from what I see in the git log.
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gadrev 18 hours ago
Yes. Also from looking for device compatibility:
> Tested on one device: the Kobo Clara BW (N365, device code 391), firmware 4.45.23697. Every device write is gated on an exact match of framebuffer identity, geometry, device code, serial model prefix, firmware version and kernel release, so a different reader is refused rather than guessed at.
I can't stop reading "gated" on LLM output lately.
Anyways, I wish this worked on my Libra :<
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code-blooded 18 hours ago
I think so too. I wish all projects had a tag with amount of AI usage.
It's not that vibe coding is bad on its own, but it makes me worried about project's future (ease come, easy go).
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NewJazz 17 hours ago
This wasn't a flag?
Store-only by design: installing it proves delivery of an app the USB package never contained.
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emerongi 14 hours ago
Easy go where? It’s open source, fork it.
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code-blooded 14 hours ago
I can't and don't want to maintain all software I use. I need to be picky.
There's a big difference between putting money or time into a community of builders and learning in the process (myself or growing others) and maintaining a vibe coded project. That's why I want to know right away which projects are vibe coded so that I don't put any effort into them.
You're free to apply different criteria to software you use, but we're talking about having information to make an informed decision here.
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necovek 4 hours ago
I am actually hoping this is a future where it does become possible. At least on top of what is generally more-than-good-enough (Linux kernel, base GNU system with the compiler toolchain, basic desktop environment...).
So I'd like to have fully reproducible builts for a dozen or two apps I use seemlessly integrated into my laptop and phone update mechanisms. And yes, my smart TV, router, ereader and note-taking apps...
However, infinite forking also means harder to benefit from others' improvements.
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code-blooded 2 hours ago
I'd definitely be interested in moving towards such setup if I could reliably and easily accomplish it. There are already people who vibe code all the tools they need.
Personally, so far I got best results by carefully selecting a small number of apps and devices with good track record and community around them (think Emacs that's been around for decades, but also KOReader, Linux, AntennaPod on Android and many others) and supporting those in various ways. I might vibe code an extension or config for the apps, but then I still understand what it does and why.
AI is yet to change that. I use LLMs daily at work, but software maintenance remains problematic. Producing stable software in unstable times is actually what pays my bills.
Edit: And yes - if you fork, upstreaming is a problem. It's unfair for original software maintainer to need to review, test and integrate vibe coded code.
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fluidcruft 18 hours ago
Was it the "AI Command Center" app that gave it away? That could actually be pretty cool. Read a book on the deck with the vibemill running in the background.
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Cyph0n 18 hours ago
Even the homepage copy is LLM output. Not necessarily a bad thing, but something to point out.
> Charge a Kobo Clara BW (N365) and connect it over USB. Other models are refused, not guessed at.
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ashu1461 17 hours ago
Isn't everything vibecoded ?
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khalic 17 hours ago
Very cool project, will try to make it run on my device
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keyle 10 hours ago
I see terminal there, is there someone working in vim yet?
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dylandodds 18 hours ago
Just bought a kobo bw after reading this article
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onemoresoop 9 hours ago
Same here.
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erelong 18 hours ago
Noting again that postmarketos exists and works on some kobos (and potentially could be ported to more?)
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inatreecrown2 13 hours ago
Would it be possible to support the Anki app on this?
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onemoresoop 9 hours ago
You could probably even vibe code your own anki app for it. I just ordered a clara bw to play with.
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jasongi 19 hours ago
Amazing. Hopefully Kobo don't ruin this by locking it down.
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jaimex2 9 hours ago
Unlikely. Being open is why they are recommended over Amazon
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ee334y5rthsrth 17 hours ago
I need OTP for loging to ssh
and meshtastic
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sa-code 19 hours ago
Would this also work on a Tolino?
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oynqr 18 hours ago
The Tolino Shine 5 is the same hardware. You can even install the kobo firmware.
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mplewis 9 hours ago
Pretty insulting to not mention Koreader anywhere in your Claude-written marketing copy.
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bellowsgulch 18 hours ago
poob has it for you
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teddyh 17 hours ago
The only “Kobo” I know of is a game which was popular around 1993, a remake for X11/Unix of the old 1981 Bosconian arcade game. A recent active fork can still be installed on modern systems as “Kobo Deluxe”.
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luciana1u 17 hours ago
an e-reader running apps feels like putting a treadmill in a library. next thing you know it's nagging you with a notification badge for 'you haven't read in 3 days'.
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juleiie 17 hours ago
I don't know for who this is honestly
I mean I got a laptop, e ink laptop would be cool but this certainly isn't it and who needs a book with Claude code agent? You either read or you do what exactly with that linux pc on a book hardcover? Just grab your laptop like a normal civilized person
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facepalmz 15 hours ago
ButWhy.jpg
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lai7th_0 14 hours ago
does this only work on a kabo device? like im kind of understanding this to be kind oflike an opperating system. do you have it for kindle? or am i mistaken? Thanks!
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snov 16 hours ago
can it run Doom?
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cfferrys 7 hours ago
looks great!
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ricardobeat 15 hours ago
> Install it once over USB. Every app after that installs, updates and removes on the reader itself, over Wi-Fi. A reboot returns to the stock Kobo reader.
Jesus christ folks. Is it really a big effort to have a human proofread the first paragraph in your product launch?
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msephton 6 hours ago
Website copy seems to have been changed already. You're comment will remain forever.
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zuzululu 17 hours ago
now if something like this released for amazon kindle i would dust it off and start actually using the device again
