# Note concerning Screensaver hack 0.6



## tnolan (Feb 28, 2010)

Just a small note letting everyone know that if they still have the screensaver hack version 0.6, as I did, it must be uninstalled before you can install the 2.5.4 update to k2i kindles. I tried to do the manual update of 2.5.4 over this version of the screensaver and it would not install. When I uninstalled ver. 0.6, the 2.5.4 update installed perfectly, then I installed ss hack version 0.9, which hopefully will allow updates over it.


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## Tom Diego (Jun 30, 2010)

I have the 3.6 font hack and the 0.9 screen saver hack and I installed 2.5.4 on my K2i last night with no problem.  The hacks still work and there was no interference with the installation.


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## NiLuJe (Jun 23, 2010)

I can't make any promises if you have an outdated version of the hacks, but with the latest (ie ss 0.9 / fonts 3.6), it works fine with the hacks installed & active.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

I have the 0.6 screensaver hack (which I thought was the most up to date) and my K2i and DXi both updated to v2.5.4 and then v2.5.6 without any problems.

I already removed the original hacks for v2.5 and updated them to 0.6. Do I need to update to 0.9 now?


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## NiLuJe (Jun 23, 2010)

If you don't have any issues and the update went fine, it's not strictly necessary, it was mostly minor fixes . (You can check the original MR thread for the detailed changelog, to see if something you care about was fixed/updated).


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

NiLuJe said:


> If you don't have any issues and the update went fine, it's not strictly necessary, it was mostly minor fixes . (You can check the original MR thread for the detailed changelog, to see if something you care about was fixed/updated).


Thanks. I might update at some point when I have some time, but as long as it's not vital, I won't worry.


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## roderpol (Jun 15, 2010)

Anyone have a link for the 0.9 ssh? I believe I have 0.4 installed :/


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## NiLuJe (Jun 23, 2010)

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88004


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I just want to say thank you for creating a hack that doesn't require removing it before updating. I updated my Kindle to 2.5.6 today, didn't have to uninstall anything.


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## roderpol (Jun 15, 2010)

NiLuJe said:


> http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88004


Great, thanks!


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## 911jason (Aug 17, 2009)

luvmy4brats said:


> I just want to say thank you for creating a hack that doesn't require removing it before updating. I updated my Kindle to 2.5.6 today, didn't have to uninstall anything.


Agreed! I had to uninstall the .4 version of the SS hack, but didn't have to touch my font hack. Now I've installed the latest SS hack and look forward to the next firmware update being completely seamless! Thanks NiLuJe! =)

P.S. Love the ability to make the images appear in random order with your latest SS hack, that is SO COOL!


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## NiLuJe (Jun 23, 2010)

It'll probably be a bit more chaotic on the fonts side of things if the 3.x update is backported to the K2/DX, what with the new font selections and all that... But hopefully we'll have time to be prepared .


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## Tom Diego (Jun 30, 2010)

NiLuJe,

It appears that Amazon may be using a new technology for the new font choices:



> *New Proprietary Screen Technology - Faster Page Turns, New and Improved Fonts*
> Kindle's new, high-contrast display is further optimized with Amazon's proprietary waveform and font technology to make pages turn faster and fonts sharper. Waveform is a series of electronic pulses that move black and white electronic ink particles to achieve a final gray level for an image or text. We have tuned Kindle's waveform and controller mechanism to make page turning 20% faster. This waveform tuning, combined with new hand-built, custom fonts and font-hinting, make words and letters more crisp, clear, and natural-looking. Font hints are instructions, written as code, that control points on a font character's line and improve legibility at small font sizes where few pixels are available. Hinting is a mix of aesthetic judgments and complicated technical strategies. We've designed our *proprietary *font-hinting to optimize specifically for the special characteristics of electronic ink.


Do you think that this will make it easier or harder to design custom fonts? Do you think that Amazon will open this up to developers to design custom fonts or keep it proprietary?


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## Pushka (Oct 30, 2009)

Poor thing, NiLuJe just got us all up to speed with the 2.5 hacks and now has to start over again


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## NiLuJe (Jun 23, 2010)

That's the source of my previous comment. .

Time will tell, but I somehow doubt that they'll have a completely new font rasterizer coded from scratch... Maybe a patched-up FreeType with a tweaked smooth module tailored for e-ink, but still FT + TT fonts, with real TT hinting instructions for the default fonts. (Now that FT's TT bytecode interpreter isn't covered by patents anymore). And even if it is somehow a 'new' proprietary system, we don't particularly care about the backend in our case, we just switch the fonts, which will probably still be TrueType/Type1 or OpenType TTF/OpenType Type1. As for the hinting instructions, we can always embed basic hinting instructions, or use those provided by the font's author, it's not something 'new' .

If it even gets backported to the previous models and/or we can hack the k3, that is...

Anyyyyyway, we'll see when it gets here .


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