# Kindle hacks, Easter Eggs, and keyboard shortcuts!



## KBoards Admin (Nov 27, 2007)

Igor Skochinsky has reverse engineered some hidden Kindle features. Among of those: a screenshot grabber, clock, fonts list, a picture viewer, Minesweeper game, and diagnostic commands.

And, intriguingly... some internal code that seems designed to unlock some location capability in Kindle - to show current location in google maps, find nearby restaurants, etc.

From this internal code, it seems that Amazon has some wide-ranging future plans for Kindle.

http://igorsk.blogspot.com/2007/12/hacking-kindle-part-3-root-shell-and.html



> Keyboard shortcuts
> 
> Various undocumented/underdocumented keyboard shortcuts. I italicized most interesting ones.
> 
> ...


----------



## Stacy (Jan 26, 2008)

Wow, those sure sound intriguing. There are so many more things to Kindle than just an electronic book. Soon, I'll have a Kindle-phone.


----------



## Celeste (Jan 21, 2008)

People are so quick to hack and discover. No one likes what is handed to them!


----------



## Guest (Feb 14, 2008)

I'm sure my sons would have a hay-day with this new tricks!


----------



## Avalon (Oct 28, 2008)

Wow, GPS?  That does sound intriguing.  If you're still here, thanks for posting.  Off to play with Kindle browsing . . .

Update:  Alt 1 from the Kindle Web Browser takes me to Google Maps, but doesn't find my position.  The others also take you to the Google Map subset specified (i.e., Restaurants, etc), but so far none of them have your location.

You can then enter your location and find the various items, though.  But, this is definitely still under construction.


----------



## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Celeste said:


> People are so quick to hack and discover. No one likes what is handed to them!


I think it's more just curiosity. It's a rare device-electrical or mechanical-that survives more than a month or so at my house without being taken apart or at least opened to see what's inside.


----------



## Patrizia (Oct 29, 2008)

I admit I would trade all of this for some DECENT FOLDERS!   I have stopped downloading much anymore.. I have 36 pages of various.. well ...stuff


----------



## ScottBooks (Oct 28, 2008)

Avalon...

My Kindle shows me where I'm at once. After that, I could be hundreds of miles from there and it still shows the same location. (If you reboot it then it finds your current location the next time it's asked). I don't know why that is.

    I've found that it's an excellent ebook reader though.


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

O.K.  36 pages clearly means you have a problem!  

Here's an excerpt from the e-mail I sent to amazon re: the Kindle.  Just for information.  The reply I got actually seemed to indicate that they'd read it and maybe even thought the ideas about the screensavers wasn't bad.  We'll see what happens.

Excerpt begins:
I had an idea about screen-savers.  A comment I've seen on the various chat boards is that people would like to be able to have the front or back cover art.  Many books do have a cover image as part of their file.  Would it be possible to tie those images to the books for the screen saver?  For instance, if I'm reading book A, and put the Kindle to sleep, the screen saver picture to come up would be that book's cover.  When I get back to it, I'm instantly reminded of what I was reading much the way I am when I pick up a paper book I'm reading. The random selection of pictures would come up if the Kindle was put to sleep from the home page, or from a newspaper or something that didn't have a dedicated cover image. 

Another complaint (really too strong a word but I don't know what else to use) I've heard is that although the title is shown on the home screen, sometimes a person wants to see the covers to remind yourself of what the books are about when it's time to choose the next thing you're going to read.  To answer that, would it be possible that the home screen list might look more like the Kindle Store page when showing a list of books:  a thumbnail of the cover with the name and title and/or perhaps a sentence describing the genre or some other identifying info.  As sorting is available now this would produce probably way to many home screen pages but with a folder option it might be more practical.

Related to both the above thoughts, it would be ideal to have a 'synopsis' button that provided an instant link to the cover/jacket blurb on a book selected on the home screen or open on the Kindle.  Maybe one of the options from the menu when a book is open.  Sometimes, even when I'm a ways into a book, especially if it's been a while since I've had a chance to read on it, I'll frequently look at the blurb to remind myself what's what.

For the record, I don't care about color, though more shades of gray would make the images sharper.  I don't mind the white color of the physical machine but black or gray would maybe look snappier.  On the other hand, I would not want to pay more for other colors, like you have to with refrigerators!  The scroll wheel is way cool -- don't change it!  I would suggest a somewhat smaller 'next page' button on the right which would leave room for a 'previous page' button there as well, with perhaps a space between them so folks don't need to worry about where to grasp the machine to avoid page turns.

I guess the only other little quibble I have is that the hole for a hard reset should be more accessible.  And, on that topic, there are some folks who like to change out their SD cards and greater accessibility to that would be better for them.  For me it's moot at this point. 

Excerpt Ended.

I included a request for a customizable folder system as well.

Thoughts on my thoughts?  (Be kind)

Ann


----------



## hazeldazel (Oct 30, 2008)

great letter!  Those are all great ideas - most of which could be implemented with a software update.  *fingers crossed*


----------



## Sailor (Nov 1, 2008)

I did get some of them to work...looks like there is room for lots of growth ahead.


----------



## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Has anyone tried the Minesweeper?


----------



## Shizu (Oct 27, 2008)

Patrizia said:


> I admit I would trade all of this for some DECENT FOLDERS!  I have stopped downloading much anymore.. I have 36 pages of various.. well ...stuff


I need folders too. I have 40 pages of various... stuff too. LOL


----------



## Yollo (Nov 10, 2008)

Angela said:


> Has anyone tried the Minesweeper?


Not gonna lie, I'm actually quite excited about Minesweeper. I LOVE that game. Can somebody try it out so I can hear how it is?


----------



## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

Angela said:


> Has anyone tried the Minesweeper?


Yep. I played one game. It is slow and the user interface is a pain. As you use the keys to move around the board, the screen flashes now and again. I'll stick to my Nintendo DS and my iPhone for games.


----------



## Yollo (Nov 10, 2008)

darn. that's kind of depressing. Then again, I could really care less what the Kindle can/cannot do when its primarily functioning as a book reader. And as long as it does that well, (and I hear it does!) I can't possibly complain.


----------



## Angela (Nov 2, 2008)

Kimblee said:


> darn. that's kind of depressing. Then again, I could really care less what the Kindle can/cannot do when its primarily functioning as a book reader. And as long as it does that well, (and I hear it does!) I can't possibly complain.


I am with you Kimblee. I have my computer and Wii for games. That was not the reason for the Kindle purchase!


----------



## Geeky Girl Karin (Nov 7, 2008)

Patrizia said:


> I admit I would trade all of this for some DECENT FOLDERS!


Amen to that!


----------



## Guest (Nov 14, 2008)

You forgot about that other game on the Kindle. *Visit Kindle Store* You look at books, one click and they magically appear on you Home page.


----------



## Geeky Girl Karin (Nov 7, 2008)

LuckyRainbow said:


> You forgot about that other game on the Kindle. *Visit Kindle Store* You look at books, one click and they magically appear on you Home page.


True! (But an expensive game you have to pay to play!)


----------



## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

Angela said:


> Has anyone tried the Minesweeper?


I wished the game was Sudoku rather than Minesweeper.


----------



## Sailor (Nov 1, 2008)

Vegas_Asian said:


> I wished the game was Sudoku rather than Minesweeper.


Me too...the mine sweep was so dull.


----------



## Yollo (Nov 10, 2008)

Not me. Minesweeper is my favorite basic game. So much fun.


----------

