This is cool, thanks for sharing. I recently compiled Rust / Slint on a LicheeRV Nano, which is RISC-V 64bit musl[1]. It's a little portable audio player I'm working on, the compile process is done via custom Cross docker image.
Currently I'm evaluating Battery Pal[2], because the TP4057 Module was not stable enough to power USB-C to 3.5mm Adapters reliably. So far it seems to work as expected.
Is there a list somewhere of jailbreak-able kindles? I've been thinking of getting one to toy with for a while, but I don't want to accidentally get one that is more heavily locked down, or that we cant run our own code on for some reason
All can be jailbroken except the newest software updated ones.
Here is the list detailing exactly the software versions supported and device support. This website will have everything you need.
I am working on a self-hosted library server for jailbroken kindle and opted for using pure Rust for the KUAL app to sync books and annotations with the server.
It's just running `cargo build --release --target armv7-unknown-linux-musleabihf` with a .cargo/config.toml:
This is awesome! How reliable are kindle jailbreaks/avoiding updates, etc?
Have opted for other devices like the xteink (or a boox in the future) due to what seemed like a relatively small ecosystem around “aftermarket” kindle modifications.
The kindle would be a great option if it could be reliably jailbroken and loaded with custom software
Depending on your firmware version, most jailbreak guides will have you either create an empty directory with the same name as the OTA firmware file (causing any OTA downloads to fail) or install an extension called `renameotabin` which renames the binaries responsible for performing the update, rendering them inaccessible.
Worth noting that kobo devices are not locked down at all and run linux. They’re very easy to build for.
This is a great point. Back when I was checking I think I was underwhelmed by the customization ecosystem for kobos but now I’m not sure what was stopping me/made me reconsider.
Upon further inspection there is also the Pine Note!
This looks cool, and one of the first posts I've seen on HN in a few months where I genuinely wanted to try it.
Tangential, how does slint fare compared to Druid/egui(?)
Tangential reply, but Druid has been abandoned. The spirit lives on as Xilem, but that doesn't have much traction either. It's very... exploratory in nature.
I'm partial to iced, which to me is the best GUI library in Rust by far. The Discord is super active if you have questions.
This is cool, thanks for sharing. I recently compiled Rust / Slint on a LicheeRV Nano, which is RISC-V 64bit musl[1]. It's a little portable audio player I'm working on, the compile process is done via custom Cross docker image.
Currently I'm evaluating Battery Pal[2], because the TP4057 Module was not stable enough to power USB-C to 3.5mm Adapters reliably. So far it seems to work as expected.
1: https://github.com/nanowave-player/nanowave-ui
2: https://pnlabs.ca/batterypal/
Is there a list somewhere of jailbreak-able kindles? I've been thinking of getting one to toy with for a while, but I don't want to accidentally get one that is more heavily locked down, or that we cant run our own code on for some reason
All can be jailbroken except the newest software updated ones.
Here is the list detailing exactly the software versions supported and device support. This website will have everything you need.
(https://kindlemodding.org/kindle-models.html)
There is also the discord which is very popular.
(https://discord.com/invite/wDbbZTF5QF)
Perfect, thank you <3
I am working on a self-hosted library server for jailbroken kindle and opted for using pure Rust for the KUAL app to sync books and annotations with the server.
It's just running `cargo build --release --target armv7-unknown-linux-musleabihf` with a .cargo/config.toml:
``` [target.armv7-unknown-linux-musleabihf] linker = "rust-lld" rustflags = ["-C", "link-self-contained=yes"]. ```
the downside is I can't use any c-deps. :)
Great article. Hacking old kindles is fun! I encourage everyone to give it a try. The retro feel of eink makes it special for me.
I wrote about my experience in cross compiling zig on an old kindle some time ago.
https://samkhawase.com/blog/zig-kindle-gdb/
This is awesome! How reliable are kindle jailbreaks/avoiding updates, etc?
Have opted for other devices like the xteink (or a boox in the future) due to what seemed like a relatively small ecosystem around “aftermarket” kindle modifications.
The kindle would be a great option if it could be reliably jailbroken and loaded with custom software
Depending on your firmware version, most jailbreak guides will have you either create an empty directory with the same name as the OTA firmware file (causing any OTA downloads to fail) or install an extension called `renameotabin` which renames the binaries responsible for performing the update, rendering them inaccessible.
source: https://kindlemodding.org/jailbreaking/post-jailbreak/disabl...
Worth noting that kobo devices are not locked down at all and run linux. They’re very easy to build for.
This is a great point. Back when I was checking I think I was underwhelmed by the customization ecosystem for kobos but now I’m not sure what was stopping me/made me reconsider.
Upon further inspection there is also the Pine Note!
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46283016
https://pine64.org/devices/pinenote/
It’s quite pricey but certainly more straightforward in its offering.
Kobo is the cheaper and has a color option and is likely slightly less hackable.
[EDIT] Ah, I think this is what I found:
https://github.com/Quill-OS/quill
Kobo’s switch to secure boot made things harder for Quill which seemed to be the only custom OS.
One of my biggest regrets is not jailbreaking my kindle before it auto updated last year
the code: https://github.com/sverrejb/slint-kindle-backend
This looks cool, and one of the first posts I've seen on HN in a few months where I genuinely wanted to try it.
Tangential, how does slint fare compared to Druid/egui(?)
Tangential reply, but Druid has been abandoned. The spirit lives on as Xilem, but that doesn't have much traction either. It's very... exploratory in nature.
I'm partial to iced, which to me is the best GUI library in Rust by far. The Discord is super active if you have questions.
https://iced.rs/
Slint is backed by a company that sponsors its development, in model similar to Qt.
I'm curious as well. My understanding is one notable differencse, exemplified here, is that Slint can work on embedded devices / no-std.
zig as a cross-compile backend for rust is so good.
Good work! I guess you need to leave it plugged in?
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