Toothache detox
Jun. 4th, 2012 09:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoThe antibiotic seems to have helped considerably. Gary is almost his normal self this evening. The endodontist looked at the tooth and said it was OK just finish the round of anti-biotic and see how things were then.
Printing issues at work still not fixed. Guess we need an antibiotic there too.
Still struggling with vague information about the Literati ereader. I have a better understanding of the technical setup now, but still no confidence in getting it to upgrade. I've found any number of people who say "Oh yeah, I got mine upgraded but I don't remember how," which is tantalizingly useless. Having killed one by trying to follow the recommended upgrade procedure, I'm thrice cautious about repeating it again.
Two of them give a specific length for the upgrade file, KoboRoot.tgz. The file downloaded from the Kobo website is not that length. However, when you run it through gzip to unzip it, then it matches the length being specified. Of course then it isn't a .tgz but a .tar file. I've found one place where someone instructed you to rename the .tar file to .tgz and use it that way. Bizarre, nonstandard behavior.
In any case, examining the content of the upgrade file, it becomes obvious that the Literati is running Linux. The file contains replacements for existing files on the root disk, and possibly some additions. It contains a lot of stuff that seems irrelevant, such as dozens of different keyboard maps for devices that have no role here. Apparently there are three "partitions" or "virtual drives". One is the actual root device from which the software runs, one is a data storage that contains an SQL database and some configuration files, and one is a restore device that contains a copy of the operating software that is restored onto the root device when a factory reset takes place. This last would be a great fallback except that when an update fails disastrously, the device won't boot at all. And when it won't boot, you can't invoke a factory reset through the settings menu. There should be some hardware trigger, like holding down certain keys while turning on the power, to trigger the needed reset, but it remains undocumented and so far no one has revealed it to me. My Kobo WiFi has such a trick: hold down the "menu" button while turning on the power.
I've found suggested hacks for allowing telnet, ftp, and ssh into the device, all of which are installed by making a custom KoboRoot.tgz file and installing it. In normal configuration, you get USB access to the data partition, and to the SD card if one is inserted, but not to the system root partition. One hacker says that there is a mini-SD inside the device, but getting it open to examine the contents directly (or replace them) is not easy.
Oh, and in the process of hunting this stuff down, I discovered that the regular Kobo WiFi I have contains an Easter egg. A sequence of five unlikely key and menu selections brings up a pair of casino card games: blackjack and draw poker. Obviously they have room to spare in that system partition.
Printing issues at work still not fixed. Guess we need an antibiotic there too.
Still struggling with vague information about the Literati ereader. I have a better understanding of the technical setup now, but still no confidence in getting it to upgrade. I've found any number of people who say "Oh yeah, I got mine upgraded but I don't remember how," which is tantalizingly useless. Having killed one by trying to follow the recommended upgrade procedure, I'm thrice cautious about repeating it again.
Two of them give a specific length for the upgrade file, KoboRoot.tgz. The file downloaded from the Kobo website is not that length. However, when you run it through gzip to unzip it, then it matches the length being specified. Of course then it isn't a .tgz but a .tar file. I've found one place where someone instructed you to rename the .tar file to .tgz and use it that way. Bizarre, nonstandard behavior.
In any case, examining the content of the upgrade file, it becomes obvious that the Literati is running Linux. The file contains replacements for existing files on the root disk, and possibly some additions. It contains a lot of stuff that seems irrelevant, such as dozens of different keyboard maps for devices that have no role here. Apparently there are three "partitions" or "virtual drives". One is the actual root device from which the software runs, one is a data storage that contains an SQL database and some configuration files, and one is a restore device that contains a copy of the operating software that is restored onto the root device when a factory reset takes place. This last would be a great fallback except that when an update fails disastrously, the device won't boot at all. And when it won't boot, you can't invoke a factory reset through the settings menu. There should be some hardware trigger, like holding down certain keys while turning on the power, to trigger the needed reset, but it remains undocumented and so far no one has revealed it to me. My Kobo WiFi has such a trick: hold down the "menu" button while turning on the power.
I've found suggested hacks for allowing telnet, ftp, and ssh into the device, all of which are installed by making a custom KoboRoot.tgz file and installing it. In normal configuration, you get USB access to the data partition, and to the SD card if one is inserted, but not to the system root partition. One hacker says that there is a mini-SD inside the device, but getting it open to examine the contents directly (or replace them) is not easy.
Oh, and in the process of hunting this stuff down, I discovered that the regular Kobo WiFi I have contains an Easter egg. A sequence of five unlikely key and menu selections brings up a pair of casino card games: blackjack and draw poker. Obviously they have room to spare in that system partition.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-05 10:59 am (UTC)