Kobo eReader and Linux Problems (WAS: Re: Debian 7 Wheezy Stable Relelased)
On Thu, 09 May 2013, Siard wrote:
> Patrick Bartek:
> > Siard:
> > > I've got a Kobo Glo. When connected via USB, the 'Connect'
> > > interface immediately shows up, also with Linux. Looks like they
> > > did already fix it.
> >
> > I have the Touch model, purchased last year, and even with the
> > latest software--updated yesterday to 2.5.1--it doesn't with Linux,
> > but does with Windows and OSX. With Linux, the 'Connect' interface
> > flashes for less than a second like it always has, then
> > disappears. Even 'lsusb' from the command line doesn't list it.
> > This is a known and persistent problem. Consider yourself
> > fortunate that yours works.
>
> Yet, googling around, I haven't yet seen usb problems reported with
> the Kobo Touch and Linux. E.g., this is what I find at
> www.darkcoding.net/misc/kobo-ereader-touch-on-ubuntu-linux/ :
I did most of my investigating on the Kobo forums. Although, as I
remember, I got plenty of "hits" with simple Yahoo searches.
> It's a USB device.
>
> 1. Plug it in to your Ubuntu machine (or probably any modern Linux
> distro). It shows up as a USB storage device.
> 2. Drag and drop books in any supported format onto it.
> 3. Unplug, switch on, read books.
It only got recognized as a USB device when I reset it to the initial
factory software, but the first upgrade stopped that. There have been
two upgrades since. Nothing has changed. And I've tried it on half a
dozen or more versions of Linux (Fedora 12, Debian Etch & Wheezy,
PCLinuxOS, Puppy, DSL, others) on 3 or so separate systems. Same
results. But is recognized perfectly with Windows as old as 2000 Pro on
a 12 year old Thinkpad, or an iMac as new as today.
> It's that simple. If you had a solid-state MP3 player (before your
> phone played them), this will feel familiar.
>
> The setup software is Win / Mac only, but you don't need it. When you
> start the device, it insists that you run the setup software. You
> don't have to. As far as I can tell, the setup does two things:
>
> * Forces you to create a kobobooks.com account. Lame.
> * Updates the software on the device.
Actually, I had read you don't have to create a Kobo account. Just
click out of it. But it will pester you to set one up every time you
boot.
Updates are automatic when you boot or sync. I've found no why to stop
it. You can delay it until the next boot, but not stop it.
> For this reason you might want to find a Windows or Mac machine at
> some point.
I have an old Thinkpad 240X with W2k I use. Cheaper than a Mac. ;-)
>
> Perhaps some udev problem? You could try a second distro to see if
> that works.
Been there. Done that. Same-Oh. Same-Oh
I'm beginning to think my Kobo has some hardware issues. Just today, I
was testing the microSD card option, and surprisingly, it worked.
Recognized the card and the several epub books I had copied onto it,
but as soon as I tried to access them or do anything like bring up the
"Setting" page, the reader reported the card had been removed and to
reinsert. Nothing of the sort was done. Bad SD card reader? If so,
I've got a $97 + tax door stop. Well, it works fine with just the
internal memory. Enough to store something like a thousand books.
B
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