Kobo future firmware feature request thread

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by HolyAura

Yes, but what I mean is it having a function that allows me to set a reminder for myself, for example, having a message pop up saying 'feed the cat' or something like that. Though if Kobo has a reminder to charge the battery they should be able to have a Reminder function too.

Um, no. One measures the battery level and tells you when it reaches a certain level. A hardcoded function based purely on reading hardware.

For a random reminder, you need to have a way to input he reminder to be shown and when. And having just one is pretty pointless. You would need another reminder to set it before starting reading. To make it at all useful, you need to implement a full calendar/todo list which including adding the reminders and storing them. And probably getting them from somewhere such as Google calendar.

Honestly, stick to the device as a reader and use on of the many general purpose devices out there for your calendar. Maybe turn their alarm volume up.

If the idea was to have a simple interruption after reading for a certain amount of time, similar to the apps that prompt you to get up from the computer, that is a different matter. That is just a simple timer with a fixed, "Maybe you should do something else for a while" message.

And what sort of cats do you have? I've never met one that didn't make sure you knew it was feeding time. And keep telling you

[HolyAura]

Originally Posted by davidfor

If the idea was to have a simple interruption after reading for a certain amount of time, similar to the apps that prompt you to get up from the computer, that is a different matter. That is just a simple timer with a fixed, "Maybe you should do something else for a while" message.

Hmmmm yes maybe that is a better idea.

Originally Posted by davidfor

And what sort of cats do you have? I've never met one that didn't make sure you knew it was feeding time. And keep telling you

HAHA Just an example, maybe not the best example to choose after all

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HolyAura

It would be nice if Kobo had a Reminder function or something like that to remind me when to stop reading.. I keep losing track of time while I'm reading and forget to do something.

Cell phone, kitchen timer, Alexa or Google, alarm clock, etc.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by winsomnia

I'm not sure which firmware I'm using, but I know I haven't updated my firmware in at least a couple/three years on my Kobo Aura.

When my battery is down to 10%, there is a window that pops up reminding me to recharge. I'm quite certain of this because it happened yesterday.

That's a low battery warning. Nothing to do with a timer. It's in all firmware versions.

[Claudio75]

I would like to see in kobo the same free-hand writing functionality present in sony PRS-T1. With this feature you can draw on the book (making cricle, arrow, etc...) in the same way you do it with paper books. It is very usefull is you use the reader for studing.

[vjjustin]

After the latest update one of the improvements is ghosting doesnt occur anymore. Earlier ghosting was apparent in many places (after book menu or dictionary lookup shown, or after waking device from sleep). So, kobo has a complete refresh (or full refresh) after each of these activities (in case of sleep-wake and dictionary lookup, refresh happens during next page turn and in case of menu it happens immediately).

As I said earlier (and others have commented before) the ghosting is almost completely absent now and the full refresh (which is an eye sore and a disturbance) is unnecessary now. It will be great if kobo removed/disabled this full refresh (at least as an option).

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by vjjustin

After the latest update one of the improvements is ghosting doesnt occur anymore. Earlier ghosting was apparent in many places (after book menu or dictionary lookup shown, or after waking device from sleep). So, kobo has a complete refresh (or full refresh) after each of these activities (in case of sleep-wake and dictionary lookup, refresh happens during next page turn and in case of menu it happens immediately).

As I said earlier (and others have commented before) the ghosting is almost completely absent now and the full refresh (which is an eye sore and a disturbance) is unnecessary now. It will be great if kobo removed/disabled this full refresh (at least as an option). Can someone create a feature request, please?

I have to disagree. Ghosting is still present, especially on the older devices. I frequently notice the ghosting after using the dictionary lookup, especially towards the end of a long chapter. I want a way to cleanup the screen rather than waiting for the chapter break.

And why are you asking for someone else to create the feature request? If you think this is important, contact Kobo and tell them. Just like everyone else who sees a bug or wants a change made.

Just in case you don't know, this forum is not an official Kobo support channel. There used to be some Kobo employees here as members, but, it was never in any official capacity. I don't know if there are any here now.

[vjjustin]

I removed that last sentence if that makes your mind at ease. Also, if this thread isn't useful anymore may be time to close it?

Why do we even have a 'feature request' thread if we are to reply with 'why are you asking for features here' on every request? Food for thought.

Any idea what the kobo feature request thread is? I found this page but I didn't find any option to go to issue/feature requests.

Also, I just realised the older readers might have ghosting still present. But still I believe it can be added as an option.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by vjjustin

I removed that last sentence if that makes your mind at ease.

The only reason I objected to the statement was because you seemed to think it was someone else's responsibility to report your ideas.

Also, if this thread isn't useful anymore may be time to close it?

Why do we even have a 'feature request' thread if we are to reply with 'why are you asking for features here' on every request? Food for thought.

Honestly, it was probably never useful. But it gave people a place to discuss ideas. Far to frequently the answer was, "But you can already do that". Other times, people express their opinion and sometimes one party changes their mind. But, as with anything, to actually get anything done, you need to talk to the people who can actually do something.

Any idea what the kobo feature request thread is? I found this page but I didn't find any option to go to issue/feature requests.

Go to the store. There is a feedback link on the right-hand side of each page. One of the options in that covers it.

Also, I just realised the older readers might have ghosting still present. But still I believe it can be added as an option.

Yes, it could be an option. But, every time you add an option you have to do work. You have to work out what to do, what the option actually is (What do you call it? Is it on by default? Where does it go?), write the code, test the code, write the support documentation, answer the support calls and a lot of other things. It takes time and money. And that time and money being spent means that it isn't going to something else. Where it is spent depends on priorities

Don't let me dissuade you from making the request. I strongly encourage everyone to make suggestions to Kobo for things they think will improve the devices. The only way that Kobo will know what you really want is if you tell them. It doesn't matter much what I or anyone else here thinks, if you can express your idea to Kobo well enough, they might adopt it.

[compurandom]

Originally Posted by vjjustin

if this thread isn't useful anymore may be time to close it?

I think this thread is great! It collects all thse noise of people asking for features the kobo already has in one place instead of polluting all the other threads here.

And every now and then, I read these and think "Interesting...didn't know it could do that"

[akorx]

It could be very nice to add a secondary check box on each option of the developers mode (when we use "devmodeon") in order to activate or not a button in the top bar when we read a book.

I think in particular to options that are frequently changed (day mode / night mode, etc) because that is not very practical to have to navigate to the developer's page each time to choose the good setting (InvertScreen is really a good example : twice a day and sometime more).

It could be something like this :
Option / Activate / Icon on top bar
InvertScreen [] []
BookSpecificStats [] []
Screenshots [] []

Sorry for my bad english.

[geek1011]

Originally Posted by akorx

It could be very nice to add a secondary check box on each option of the developers mode (when we use "devmodeon") in order to activate or not a button in the top bar when we read a book.

I think in particular to options that are frequently changed (day mode / night mode, etc) because that is not very practical to have to navigate to the developer's page each time to choose the good setting (InvertScreen is really a good example : twice a day and sometime more).

It could be something like this :
Option / Activate / Icon on top bar
InvertScreen [] []
BookSpecificStats [] []
Screenshots [] []

Sorry for my bad english.

I don't guarantee I'll be able to do this (it's certainly possible, but if it takes longer than a few hours, it's not worth it to me), but with the new reading UI, it might be possible for me to use LD_PRELOAD to intercept the menu widget and insert buttons into it which call custom functions. Note that even if this works, I probably won't be able to add stuff to the main status bar, although I might be able to add stuff to the top-left menu drop-down.

[akorx]

Originally Posted by geek1011

I don't guarantee I'll be able to do this (it's certainly possible, but if it takes longer than a few hours, it's not worth it to me), but with the new reading UI, it might be possible for me to use LD_PRELOAD to intercept the menu widget and insert buttons into it which call custom functions. Note that even if this works, I probably won't be able to add stuff to the main status bar, although I might be able to add stuff to the top-left menu drop-down.

I understand, but at least a shortcut to invertscreen seems to be essential, no ? because when we really change often this setting in a same day...

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by akorx

I understand, but at least a shortcut to invertscreen seems to be essential, no ? because when we really change often this setting in a same day...

Why do you need to change this several times a day? I always get the impression that this is something people turn on and leave on.

The same goes for the other options you mentioned. Adding the "BookSpecificStats" option to the config file adds an entry to the menu for the book in the library. That should be a set-and-forget. And screenshots, again, are you really taking that many screen shots that you need it in the icon bar? I can understand an option to turn the capability on and off so that you can easily free up the power button. Adding the option to somewhere like the Beta features should be enough.

[John F]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Why do you need to change this several times a day? I always get the impression that this is something people turn on and leave on.

...

I would be under the impression it is used at least twice a day (by people who use it). It is often referred to as "night mode", so you turn it on at night, and off in the morning (so at least twice a day, I'm not sure if that qualifies as several).*

What I would like are profiles for this purpose: one profile for night mode with light set at 7%, and one profile for day mode with lighting set at 30% (user configurable). The profiles would have to be quickly accessible.

* at least, that is how I use it