InkBox: a new open-source OS and eBook reader based on Qt5

[grapenose]

Trying to put image on Kobo Glo N613.
Downloaded image from here http://23.163.0.39/bundles/inkbox/native/
Used balenaetcher to load the image onto card but when validating I get an error message Check archive is not corrupted.
When I installed the SD card it failed to load.
Tried again by downloading a second image but same result.
Used Rufus to load the image, no error message but when I installed the SD card it tried to load with the screen showing Ink Box loading but it then failed with the a Type 3 error message .
Any advice would be welcome

[NiMa]

I successfully compiled Xcas for KoBox on Quill OS; if enough people are interested, I will consider making it a bundle available for download. Even OpenGL works!

Bit of an oddity to see a CAS on an eReader

Anyways, feel free to let me know if you are interested in running it on yours as well...

[davidhouse]

it's months later...
but I did get Inkbox working on my N613 Kobo Glo, the expendable.
1st try I didn't get a good SD with Etcher. I was reminded of my "Coaster-Days" making many useless boot CD of Linux. The CDs were only good for drinks coasters.
2nd Try I used Mint Linux writer with success to make a 32gb sd. Hooray for me.
I am not 100% done -- I don't see the ereader on my linux destop and I don't see the internal SD on the Kobo Glo to transfer books.

[NiMa]

Title says it all.

With the recent Libra Colour being locked down at bootloader stage and us not being able to hack it even after days of trying, we see no real point to continue Quill OS development as it is likely that newer devices will not be more kind than the current ones when it comes to software hacking.

Why maintain an OS if you know the hardware it runs on is just slowly going to get obsolete?

I have fond memories of first booting Quill (then InkBox) off a Kobo Mini I got from Kijiji back in 2021. I was 15, didn't need to care about school too much and the pandemic somewhat helped. I would often wake up at 5 a.m. to do some programming before my Zoom classes would start at 9.

Life has sadly caught up with me over the years and it's not as easy anymore to get the motivation I need to work on this project. And the Libra Colour might be the final nail in the coffin for Quill OS.

As a desperate cry for help, if anyone has some background in embedded Linux/U-Boot stuff and would like to help, feel free to chime in by joining our Discord or Matrix servers.

Thanks to everyone that has come across the project over the years (a quarter-million views for a thread is pretty impressive for me) and that tested it on their device. I hope it will get a chance to be alive again one day.

[elinkser]

Well, whatever you decide, I will continue to appreciate the xorg-on-chroot instructions you gave - I still use it!

[bricked_claraHD]

Turns out i tried doing it for my own device but bricked it beforehand haha
I had some issues lately with my e-reader which would often need a hard factory reset to work despite no hacks whatsoever on it. It would get locked on the last book read cover's with a *sleeping* on top of the screen.
So, instead of turning it off (with a hard reset), i decided to skip steps and directly flash Quill on it.

It seems that wasn't a good idea and i bricked my device. Long pressing on the button won't change a thing, neither unplugging the battery or the screen... Maybe i need to flash the old OS on it to be able to factory reset ? But i can't find that OS anyways

Now despite of this event, I created an account on this forum solely to reply to your argument:

With the recent Libra Colour being locked down at bootloader stage and us not being able to hack it even after days of trying, we see no real point to continue Quill OS development as it is likely that newer devices will not be more kind than the current ones when it comes to software hacking.

Similar projects as yours, such as Libreboot, are still in development today, despite only supporting much older hardware. Libreboot's last update, in June 2024, added support for laptops from 2011.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by bricked_claraHD

It seems that wasn't a good idea and i bricked my device. Long pressing on the button won't change a thing, neither unplugging the battery or the screen... Maybe i need to flash the old OS on it to be able to factory reset ? But i can't find that OS anyways

For what it may be worth, you can ask for a firmware image for the Clara HD in the Kobo µSD Card Image Requests thread stickied at the top of this forum.

Edit: PMmed you the link.

[bricked_claraHD]

Update:

Thx to DNSB I flashed the Kobo OS on the SD card. Hard reset the Kobo. Flashed Quill OS on the SD card. Booted.

It works !

[DNSB]

Great to hear that it all worked out for you!

[Anghirrim]

Originally Posted by NiMa

Title says it all.

With the recent Libra Colour being locked down at bootloader stage and us not being able to hack it even after days of trying, we see no real point to continue Quill OS development as it is likely that newer devices will not be more kind than the current ones when it comes to software hacking.

Why maintain an OS if you know the hardware it runs on is just slowly going to get obsolete?

I have fond memories of first booting Quill (then InkBox) off a Kobo Mini I got from Kijiji back in 2021. I was 15, didn't need to care about school too much and the pandemic somewhat helped. I would often wake up at 5 a.m. to do some programming before my Zoom classes would start at 9.

Life has sadly caught up with me over the years and it's not as easy anymore to get the motivation I need to work on this project. And the Libra Colour might be the final nail in the coffin for Quill OS.

As a desperate cry for help, if anyone has some background in embedded Linux/U-Boot stuff and would like to help, feel free to chime in by joining our Discord or Matrix servers.

Thanks to everyone that has come across the project over the years (a quarter-million views for a thread is pretty impressive for me) and that tested it on their device. I hope it will get a chance to be alive again one day.

Hey,

First of all, thank you very much for keeping the development scene of our devices alive. This is such a great thing to see our old devices living their life with your help!

What would it take to maintain or even port InkBox to new devices?

I have long ago sold my old devices that could have run inkbox, but still have a Forma that i'd love to be ported.

Thanks,

Anghirrim

[pazos]

Originally Posted by NiMa

With the recent Libra Colour being locked down at bootloader stage and us not being able to hack it even after days of trying, we see no real point to continue Quill OS development as it is likely that newer devices will not be more kind than the current ones when it comes to software hacking.

Why maintain an OS if you know the hardware it runs on is just slowly going to get obsolete?

I think you're being too pessimistic about the future of 3rd party addons on kobo.

There's no evidence whatsoever of kobo locking down the system to prevent 3rd party apps. Hell, kobo devices were not and are not meant to be secure by any metric. The are meant to be consumer commodities, who cares about it's security.

Rakuten as a company might care about their servers being hacked as everybody else. And should prevent their devices to be remotely exploited and its users data leaked. But there's no incentive for them to lockdown the userspace until Adobe requests it.

And, AFAIK, QuillOS is mostly a runtime, that would still work over stock bootloader and kernel. If you do some kernel patching to enable usb-host et al that's all that we will miss. The 99'9% of what the runtime provides would still be viable for those interested.

I think QuillOS is a pretty nice and fun project. It does provides a really awesome user experience for anybody that wants to run or port any app to their kobos. It's also an example on Qt platform abstraction.

Feel free to do whatever you want with your project, of course , but do not jump from the boat just yet, at least for this reason.

Try to have fun while we're waiting for the lockdown. If that happens I'm sure many will jump with you. I'm one of those

[elinkser]

Originally Posted by pazos

And, AFAIK, QuillOS is mostly a runtime, that would still work over stock bootloader and kernel. If you do some kernel patching to enable usb-host et al that's all that we will miss. The 99'9% of what the runtime provides would still be viable for those interested.

As only an outside observer (Inkbox/Quill not compatible with my rev of Clara HD), it seemed they poured many person-hours into the kernel/system programming side (encryption, signing, updating, plus app packaging, all things I have little clue about), so I can imagine the reaction seeing some of that taken away, though hanging on in old devices.

But I like your point about the continued value of the runtime. Having messed around with xorg on chroot, I saw how providing a rich and varied desktop environment can allow easy porting of many many more apps and easier development path than Qt, but...they are largely not Kobo-ready without someone fixing them up first!
Quill as a prepackaged dual boot option sounds fun, but NiMa sounded like he also has less time available, Szybet sounds pissed off, etc...

Originally Posted by pazos

I think QuillOS is a pretty nice and fun project. It does provides a really awesome user experience for anybody that wants to run or port any app to their kobos. It's also an example on Qt platform abstraction.

Qt platform abstraction
Is that how devs say "Qt avoidance"?

[elinkser]

Originally Posted by Anghirrim

I have long ago sold my old devices that could have run inkbox, but still have a Forma that i'd love to be ported.

Thanks,

Anghirrim

As long as Koreader/Plato support your Forma I think it will keep.

[Anghirrim]

Originally Posted by elinkser

As long as Koreader/Plato support your Forma I think it will keep.

What do you mean exactly?

[elinkser]

Originally Posted by Anghirrim

What do you mean exactly?

Your comment "keeping the development scene of our devices alive" - Koreader/Plato continuing to be developed, continuing to support devices, therefore keeping the development scene of our devices alive?