eReader Questions

[mustang5o]

One of the big things I wanted the HP for was to use as an ereader. My son reads a lot. I've already got a collection of mobi and epub I want to put on the TP. On my Android tablet I can easily just copy the mobi files into the Kindle apps directory and it will see the books. I can't seem to find where to put them on the TP. I found a .kindle something directory but the app doesn't see the books. I also downloaded pReader which said you can just put the files anywhere on the data drive or something like that. I can't get pReader to find the books either. Please help.

While I'm at it, is there a good, free file manager app for this thing.

Thanks

[jhoff80]

Free file manager = Internalz Pro from Preware.

Unfortunately, the Kindle app can't read books from external sources. Some work has been done into tricking the app into loading the books, but it's not supported right now.

And the Kindle (and Kindle apps) don't read epub anyway. There is pReader in the Catalog, but I'm not sure how well that works. I was disappointed in a very early version, but haven't used it in over a year.

[ncinerate]

Here's what -I- did to get all the files showing up properly in preader.

First, I downloaded internalz, the file explorer for touchpad (from preware).
Second, I downloaded the preader alpha native.
Third, I rebooted the touchpad and put it into USB mode.
Fourth, I copied all my ebook files directly to the touchpad (I put a folder there called EBOOKS and tossed em in.
Fifth, I loaded up preader, hit add book, navigated to media/internal/EBOOKS, and hit ok
Sixth, Profit!

I'm not sure you need to install internalz to do this, but I wanted the ability to move files/delete files etc without a pc. All I know is this process worked and so I'm repeating it verbatim so you can get your ebook reading on .

[mustang5o]

OK I'm new to the world of WebOS so bare with me please. What is preware and how do I get it (and then internalz)? Where did you get pReader alpha native? I just downloaded one from the HP app store.

I figured I should be able to just open pReader and find this files but so far not working. Once I figure out these other steps you mentioned I'll try this. I would definitely want internalz either way.

Thanks for the help.

[ncinerate]

No worries, we all start somewhere.

First you need to put the touchpad into developer mode. This is pretty simple, just type:

webos20090606

That'll bring up a little icon for developer mode. Click on it and turn it ON.

Next, you'll need webos quick install:

http://forums.precentral.net/canuck-...-v4-2-3-a.html

Download that program. It's a java .jar file, so if you don't already have java you will need to install the java runtime environment to run that file. You can download java here:

Download Free Java Software

Now, run plug your touchpad into your COMPUTER with the usb cable, and open up webos quick install. DO NOT PUT THE TOUCHPAD INTO MASS STORAGE USB MODE, just leave it charging and on normally.

Webos quick install will likely need to install a novacom driver to be able to talk to your touchpad, let it do so.

Now your touchpad is ready for homebrew. First things first, you want to install the preware application. On your -COMPUTER- in the webos quick install window, click on the little globe icon on the right. That will bring up a list of applications you can install. Select PREWARE from that list and install it.

Now you can close webos quick install, pick up your touchpad. Go to your downloads folder on the touchpad (click the arrow, swipe to the left past your applications). Now open preware on the touchpad.

Now you're ready to patch and modify in earnest. Preware lets you do all the downloading and handling of your various homebrew right on the touchpad. Search for Internalz and install it + any required packages. The touchpad may ask to reboot, feel free to let it do so. Now search preware for preader. Install the alpha.

You've just gotten started, but that'll at least get you as far as book reading. From there, I suggest you start installing lots of fun patches to make the touchpad amazing. Go into preware and select patches. My personal "top" list is:

ad blocker
advanced reset options
faster card animations hyper version
increase touch sensitivity and smoothness 10
muffle system logging
quiet powered messages
remove dropped packet logging
unset cfq io scheduler
unthrottle download manager
private browsing

You can get fancier as well - for instance, I suggest you use preware to install the Govna application and Uberkernel (search preware for both of these things). Once installed, go into govna, select profile, go into advanced settings with the ondemand profile choosen, and change the CPU frequency to 1512. Tada, you've just overclocked your touchpad. Enjoy it .

[mustang5o]

Thanks for the step by step. I had to work today and haven't had a chance to play with it. One more question on this...where do I type "webos20090606"?

[shoichikun808]

on the home screen(no cards open) look for the "Just Type" bar and type in webos20090606. It should show a program called "Developer Mode" and open that.

[fueradeljuego]

I've done all the preware stuff, what I can't figure out is how to install the preader app. It is not available on the preware list, so I had it emailed to me by attachment. But when I try to download it from the TP, I get something about a MIME error. How the heck do I install Preader???

[govotsos]

The best place for pReader questions is at the official pReader thread here: http://forums.precentral.net/webos-h...a-release.html There you will also find a link to the latest version in the first post. Since you've got preware installed now, all you need to do is tap on the link then tap on the pReader .ipk file. When you do this preware will open with the link pre-filled. Just tap the install button & you're good to go.

[pavvento]

Originally Posted by ncinerate

Here's what -I- did to get all the files showing up properly in preader.

First, I downloaded internalz, the file explorer for touchpad (from preware).
Second, I downloaded the preader alpha native.
Third, I rebooted the touchpad and put it into USB mode.
Fourth, I copied all my ebook files directly to the touchpad (I put a folder there called EBOOKS and tossed em in.
Fifth, I loaded up preader, hit add book, navigated to media/internal/EBOOKS, and hit ok
Sixth, Profit!

I'm not sure you need to install internalz to do this, but I wanted the ability to move files/delete files etc without a pc. All I know is this process worked and so I'm repeating it verbatim so you can get your ebook reading on .

Great post! I've only purchased books on my Nook but I read that pReader can read some of these files. How do i go about finding them to transfer to my TouchPad?

thanks!

[govotsos]

Originally Posted by pavvento

Great post! I've only purchased books on my Nook but I read that pReader can read some of these files. How do i go about finding them to transfer to my TouchPad?

thanks!

Right now, the only nook books pReader supports are ones in the eReader format. These are files with a .pdb extension. The only way to download your nook books in eReader format is to use nook reader for Mac or one of the original versions of B&N eReader for PC (NOT nook reader for PC. Once you've downloaded the files, they'll be in the library directory on your computer. Just copy them to your TouchPad using USB mode or by the cloud using your free Box.net account that came with your TouchPad.

Support for B&N ePub DRM format (what you download with current versions of nook for PC) is coming soon. The developer is working hard to squash bugs & update features, but his "free" time is more limited than before since he started a new job at Intel.

If you have any more questions or issues about pReader, please post them in the official pReader thread as there's more likelihood of getting an answer & that's the only place the developer looks.

The official pReader native support thread is here: http://forums.precentral.net/webos-homebrew-apps/274511-preader-native-alpha-release.html

[ChaosFreak]

Originally Posted by fueradeljuego

I've done all the preware stuff, what I can't figure out is how to install the preader app. It is not available on the preware list, so I had it emailed to me by attachment. But when I try to download it from the TP, I get something about a MIME error. How the heck do I install Preader???

You can install it easily from the PC using the WebOS Quick Install app. Just download the pReader install file to your PC, start up the WebOS Quick Install app, click the button with a plus sign, choose the pReader install file and click "Install".

[Wgaich]

Okay, I type "WEBOS20090606." Then I try to submit w/o using a password, but I get a message that I have to put in a password.

Help....

thanks.