03-12-2021, 08:22 AM | #1 |
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InkBox: a new open-source OS and eBook reader based on Qt5
InkBox OS is a GPLv3-licensed eBook reader for Kobo devices, based on Qt 5.15.2 (with this) and Alpine Linux. It can run on nine officially supported devices:
InkBox is currently considered stable and is at version 2.0. Flash instructions here: https://github.com/Kobo-InkBox/inkbo...install-inkbox Downloadable SD card images are available here: https://inkbox.ddns.net/downloads.html And source code is there: https://github.com/Kobo-InkBox/ Here is a video if you want to see how it looks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyWu_pHwqNg Donations are welcome, as I and Szybet have probably spent more than 3000 hours working on this: PayPal: https://paypal.me/inkboxos LiberaPay: https://liberapay.com/tux-linux/ Old post archived below. Spoiler:
Last edited by NiMa; 01-08-2024 at 03:58 PM. |
03-12-2021, 10:06 AM | #2 |
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I can confirm that flashing with balenaEtcher worked. Edit: Some pictures of InkBox running, as well as the update screen. Please ignore the lights Also if any moderators think these images are too large, please feel free to resize them. I have no idea how. Last edited by Elektron; 03-12-2021 at 12:05 PM. |
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03-14-2021, 02:22 PM | #3 |
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Released v0.1.1
This version introduces a new "Recent books" feature, which permits you to access the last books you opened quickier than going in the Open dialog box.
To use this feature, you'll have to check the "Disable authors quote" option in Settings. Link: https://pkgs.kobox.fermino.me/bundle.../update/0.1.1/ Source code links were updated as well, they're now in their respective Update bundles. I'm working on the .adds packages, they should be there soon. For Mini users: I also got a new kernel with a minimal initrd working, so I'm going to start designing a new recovery/diags partition which would be booted into if the user pressed the power button in the first 3 seconds of boot. From there, you could do a complete wipe of the SD, reset to defaults or restore the "factory" state of InkBox. Last edited by NiMa; 03-14-2021 at 05:03 PM. |
03-14-2021, 11:37 PM | #4 |
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Released addon package
Ok, so here it is: https://pkgs.kobox.fermino.me/bundle...x/nickel/base/
These are "base" packages, they'll get periodically updated if critical changes have to occur. Otherwise, each new update will be in the updates folder (https://pkgs.kobox.fermino.me/bundle.../nickel/update) and will only replace things that have to be replaced. This does *not* apply to native InkBox/Alpine users. I hope you all enjoy it and can give some feedback if you want, it would be really nice! Last edited by NiMa; 03-14-2021 at 11:43 PM. |
03-24-2021, 11:55 PM | #5 |
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Released 1.0
Here it is. New recovery partition, reset features, security enforcement policy, etc.
Here is a (long, sorry) video: https://youtu.be/fZ6z_-jO5UY You can take a look at the changelog for more details: Code:
- Improved general security - Switched to g_mass_storage for USB storage - Added diagnostics mode - Added icons - Better handling of early splash screen printing - Better USB handling - Added new Noto Mono and Libertinus Serif fonts in Reader framework - Added OOBE setup - Added calendar app - Added battery status icon (C) Nicolas Mailloux, 2021. Licensed under GPL v3. I'll be working on porting this to the Glo HD, maybe the Glo too. Last edited by NiMa; 03-25-2021 at 08:18 AM. |
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03-28-2021, 07:17 PM | #6 |
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Released 1.1
http://pkgs.kobox.fermino.me/bundles...ve/update/1.1/
I'll let the changelog speak for myself: Code:
- ePUB initial support - Improved general UI/UX - Always show menubar option - Drastic improvement on page turn speeds for larger books (C) Nicolas Mailloux, 2021. Licensed under GPL v3. Last edited by NiMa; 03-28-2021 at 07:42 PM. |
04-02-2021, 01:35 AM | #7 |
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Released 1.2
I've released v1.2.
I also set up a GitHub mirror if you find Gitea too slow: https://github.com/Kobo-InkBox/inkbox I still don't get why (almost) no one even posted a thought about this in this thread, but anyways... There goes the changelog: Code:
- Added "Reset" option in Settings - Improved general UI/UX - Improved page turns - Added new Crimson Pro font - Added brightness controls in Home - Added battery state indicator in Home |
04-02-2021, 01:55 AM | #8 |
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04-04-2021, 12:35 PM | #9 |
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I've repurposed my old and broken Glo HD by installing MediaWiki on it, so now InkBox/KoBox have their own wiki! The Glo HD is natively running Alpine 3.13.4, and although it is somewhat slow, it's usable.
EDIT from the future: the Wiki has moved to an Alpine LXC container, because the Kobo's MMC was becoming quite erratic in read/writes, so I backed up all I could before a disaster would happen and transferred it there. It's live there: https://inkbox.ddns.net/wiki Please be patient for the loading times, I'll look into enabling OPCache but it will probably still suffer from the hardware it is running from. Also, please don't brute-force it or anything, I don't know if this thing can catch fire but I hope not Last edited by NiMa; 03-05-2022 at 02:58 PM. |
04-05-2021, 04:30 PM | #10 |
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I downloaded the addons bundle and took a peek. I have a few questions: Is it possible to install InkBox without having to install KFMon too? I prefer to use NickelMenu to launch things, so I really have no use for it. Finally, how much of it is absolutely needed to be copied over along with the InkBox folder? Would just the InkBox folder be good enough? What's the absolute minimum for the program to work alongside nickel? I ask mainly because of storage considerations. Thanks and good work on figuring out how to install a proper distro on these things!
Last edited by rtiangha; 04-05-2021 at 04:33 PM. |
04-05-2021, 05:53 PM | #11 | |
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Quote:
I'm about to release v1.3 on both OS and add-on form, so stay tuned for that if you like it! |
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04-05-2021, 06:31 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
But I'm also pretty happy with how my stock Kobo works at the moment, and too cowardly to install a BETA operating system on it until some other people have given it a try and weighed in. |
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04-05-2021, 07:27 PM | #13 | |
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Quote:
If at some point you are wiling to test with your Clara HD, it would be awesome. I'd like to port InkBox OS to as much devices as possible. |
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04-05-2021, 09:01 PM | #14 | |
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Quote:
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04-05-2021, 09:13 PM | #15 | |
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Quote:
Actually I use it for quick testing as the InkBox OS uses squashfs bundles that are not trivial to modify unless I repack the whole update into a new package. If you have to wait, I suggest you wait until 1.3 is released, as there will be a *big* leap forward from 0.1.1 to 1.3 in the add-on packages. |
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