Kobo can run apps now

(bandarlabs.github.io)

90 points | by thepoet 1 hour ago

9 comments

  • far_focus 3 minutes ago
    So cool. I have this exact model. Might try to build something
  • rglover 53 minutes ago
    Wow. This is rad, well done. I've been trying to find an alt OS for my Clara Colour and this looks great. Being able to author apps means I can finally add a way to review my highlights/quotes and search them with ease.

    Edit: damn, just saw the BW note. It looks like the Clara Colour would be blocked by Cobalt...

    • mkagenius 41 minutes ago
      I see a recent merge for Elips 2E support, hopefully color gets tested soon
  • conqrr 14 minutes ago
    Very cool and definitely useful. I'm not the audience but I'll say: I like my ereader to just have books that sync. That is all. It's my library room and peace time, the last thing I need is Claude to distract me.
  • GlenTheMachine 3 minutes ago
    I vote for Zotero integration!
  • pmkary 1 hour ago
    As a Kindle owner; I'm very jealous.
    • SpecialistK 28 minutes ago
      You can do a lot of the same things with a jailbroken Kindle and KindleForge.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4ZliC82RtA

    • baal80spam 58 minutes ago
      I'm not. I want my Kindle to do ONE job well, not turn into another multi-purpose device.
      • NewJazz 0 minutes ago
        [delayed]
      • speak_plainly 43 minutes ago
        I too would like my Kindle to do one single thing well. Sadly, we seem to be waiting for that future to arrive.
        • RankingMember 16 minutes ago
          I remember when my PaperWhite glitched while I was attempting to jailbreak it and got stuck with the screen inverted. It was great! I can't believe I have to jailbreak a reader to get that simple functionality for better in-the-dark reading. (epilogue: I let it run out of battery and the inversion was gone upon boot)
          • LiamPowell 8 minutes ago
            You don't need to jailbreak it. Swipe from the top and press the big button labelled "dark mode".
        • bigyabai 26 minutes ago
          Yeah, I was going to say. I only installed KOReader because my Kindle Touch has lackluster ereader functionality.
      • utopiah 52 minutes ago
        It is totally different to be able to do something versus actually doing it.

        It is not because you can install and run apps that you have to.

      • adezxc 56 minutes ago
        the one job that it does well is show you ads lmao (in case you haven't jailbreaked your Kindle yet)
        • kelvinjps10 28 minutes ago
          Not to defend amazon but you can remove the ads by paying to remove them, they sell one model ad supported and another that doesn't have ads if you buy the ads supported you can remove it later.
      • toomuchtodo 29 minutes ago
        Your Kindle is an appliance you have little control over, the Kobo in this scope is a multitool. More choice is better than less choice as it relates to device ownership and control, imho.

        https://www.fulu.org/

        HN Search: enshittification - https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

  • jhack 16 minutes ago
    This is incredible and super useful. More reasons to use my e-reader around the house instead of my phone.
  • jasongi 52 minutes ago
    Amazing. Hopefully Kobo don't ruin this by locking it down.
  • sa-code 34 minutes ago
    Would this also work on a Tolino?
  • BoingBoomTschak 31 minutes ago
    Vibecoded, from what I see in the git log.
    • fluidcruft 2 minutes ago
      Was it the "AI Command Center" app that gave it away? That could actually be pretty cool. Read a book on the deck with the vibemill running in the background.
    • code-blooded 17 minutes ago
      I think so too. I wish all projects had a tag with amount of AI usage.

      It's not that vibe coding is bad on its own, but it makes me worried about project's future (ease come, easy go).

    • gadrev 15 minutes ago
      Yes. Also from looking for device compatibility:

      > Tested on one device: the Kobo Clara BW (N365, device code 391), firmware 4.45.23697. Every device write is gated on an exact match of framebuffer identity, geometry, device code, serial model prefix, firmware version and kernel release, so a different reader is refused rather than guessed at.

      I can't stop reading "gated" on LLM output lately.

      Anyways, I wish this worked on my Libra :<

    • Cyph0n 16 minutes ago
      Even the homepage copy is LLM output. Not necessarily a bad thing, but something to point out.

      > Charge a Kobo Clara BW (N365) and connect it over USB. Other models are refused, not guessed at.