Amazon kindle pc reader for linux mac os#
Amazon kindle pc reader for linux software#
Amazon kindle pc reader for linux code#

Marc reports that Amazon provides all of their modified software packages as well as their kernel source which was invaluable when it came time to find what changes were necessary to get the software working on the Kindle.

Amazon kindle pc reader for linux code#

All these readers are running Linux, and the manufacturers have been pretty good with releasing their code under the terms of the GPL. Luckily we don’t have to start from scratch. This should make it relatively easy to create a common operating system that can be installed on most readers, though for the time being the focus is on the 4th and 5th generation Kindle devices as they are so popular and widely available for testing and development. The end result is that while the software and attached content marketplace is different, most of the readers are internally almost identical. They all use very similar electronic paper panels as well, largely due to the fact that there’s very little competition in that space. Every major reader uses a Freescale i.MX6 chip, which Marc theorizes is because it includes a built-in electronic paper controller. The Amazon Kindle is unsurprisingly the most common model by a rather wide margin, with the rest of the market being made up of the Nook from Barnes and Noble and various models of the Kobo reader.Īs it turns out, these devices are all exceptionally similar internally. Marc started his talk with a rundown of the types of electronic readers currently on the market and their hardware specifications. Not only would this keep the likes of Amazon or Barnes and Noble out of our reading habits, but turn these cheap readers into more capable devices in the bargain.

Marc believes the goal should be to completely replace the operating system on these devices with a free software alternative that still retains the ability to open electronic book formats. During his talk “ Liberate Your E-book Reader with fread.ink!”, he gave examples such as Amazon’s infamous remote deletion of 1984 off of users’ Kindles as a perfect example of the sort of control these companies exert on our personal devices. That’s precisely the thinking that got Marc Juul interested in the possibility of bringing a FOSS operating system to e-reader devices. What’s the point of running all FOSS software at home on your desktop if you’re carrying a proprietary mobile device around? We increasingly depend on mobile computing devices, and more often than not those are locked down hard with not only a closed proprietary operating system but also a “Walled Garden” style content delivery system. Sound advice if you’re looking for software freedom, but it’s a bit quaint to limit such thinking to the desktop in 2018.

Amazon kindle pc reader for linux mac os#

In most cases that took the form of advising you to move your Windows or Mac OS computer over to a more open operating system such as GNU/Linux. Replacing proprietary software with FOSS alternatives is a way to put control back into the hands of the user, so naturally many of the talks pushed the idea. Hackers aren’t big fans of being monitored by faceless corporate overlords or being told what they can and cannot do on the hardware they purchased. Free and open source software (FOSS) was a recurring theme during many of the talks during the HOPE XII conference, which should probably come as no surprise.