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Linux - Laptop and Netbook Having a problem installing or configuring Linux on your laptop? Need help running Linux on your netbook? This forum is for you. This forum is for any topics relating to Linux and either traditional laptops or netbooks (such as the Asus EEE PC, Everex CloudBook or MSI Wind).

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Old 07-06-2018, 04:26 PM   #1
grumpyskeptic
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A pdf reader for a Kobo Mini running Debian, or perhaps install Ubuntu touch instead?


I have a Kobo Mini that I installed a version of Debian on by following the instructions here https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=222123

I have a lot of academic pdfs that I want to read on it, but I found out that the default reader, FBreader, does not read pdfs. Another problem is that the text on menus and various icons are too small, sometimes too tiny to read, as the screen is only about five inches diagonal on the Mini.

I bought the Kobo Mini two or three years ago to read pdfs, but neither the built in Kobo operating system or the Debian set-up allows me to do this, so it has been sitting on a shelf unused.

1) How would I go about installing (in Debian) a reader that can read pdfs?

2) How can I increase the default text size on menus, and also the size of icons, so that it is a bit more useable?

3) Would it be feasible to replace the Debian by Ubuntu Touch instead? I find the technical details of Linux rather baffling and difficult.

4) If I took my "Debian" memory chip from the Kobo Mini and put it in a larger version of a Kobo, would it work?

5) Are there any other cheap tablets or laptops that I can use solely for reading pdfs? Amazon Fire tablets, for example, seem to be stuffed full of gimmick software (such as Alexa) and may also not be able to read pdfs either, although I don't know if that is true or not. In any case, I have the as yet unused Kobo Mini.

I was disgusted when I bought the Kobo and found that all I had done was buy an expensive ticket to an online bookshop that I did not want to use.

Thanks.

Edit: I'd also consider any other open-source operating system, not just Ubuntu Touch.

I would welcome suggestions about any particular old hardware models that are now cheaply available on ebay etc and which can have their proprietary OS replaced.

Last edited by grumpyskeptic; 07-06-2018 at 04:55 PM.
 
Old 07-11-2018, 09:43 AM   #2
TB0ne
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grumpyskeptic View Post
I have a Kobo Mini that I installed a version of Debian on by following the instructions here https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=222123

I have a lot of academic pdfs that I want to read on it, but I found out that the default reader, FBreader, does not read pdfs. Another problem is that the text on menus and various icons are too small, sometimes too tiny to read, as the screen is only about five inches diagonal on the Mini.
Not surprising, given the hardware. FBreader is for ebooks (such as EPUB and the like), but depending on the GUI you're running, any Debian-friendly PDF reader (Okular for KDE for example), should work. Don't know the limitations of your hardware, though.
Quote:
I bought the Kobo Mini two or three years ago to read pdfs, but neither the built in Kobo operating system or the Debian set-up allows me to do this, so it has been sitting on a shelf unused.

1) How would I go about installing (in Debian) a reader that can read pdfs?
Choose one of the many supported: https://wiki.debian.org/PDF#PDF_Viewers_.2F_Readers Should be able to install with dkpg/apt-get as you would any other package in Debian. And the link you provided even mentions Okular as a PDF viewer.
Quote:
2) How can I increase the default text size on menus, and also the size of icons, so that it is a bit more useable?
Unsure, since that's definitely a custom image. Would be a good question for the thread link you posted.
Quote:
3) Would it be feasible to replace the Debian by Ubuntu Touch instead? I find the technical details of Linux rather baffling and difficult.
If a standard Linux install is difficult, doing such a thing on a table is doubly so. It probably wouldn't be easier for you, and the net result will just get you back to where you are now: Linux running on your Kobo.
Quote:
4) If I took my "Debian" memory chip from the Kobo Mini and put it in a larger version of a Kobo, would it work?
Easiest way to know is to try it.
Quote:
5) Are there any other cheap tablets or laptops that I can use solely for reading pdfs? Amazon Fire tablets, for example, seem to be stuffed full of gimmick software (such as Alexa) and may also not be able to read pdfs either, although I don't know if that is true or not. In any case, I have the as yet unused Kobo Mini.

I was disgusted when I bought the Kobo and found that all I had done was buy an expensive ticket to an online bookshop that I did not want to use.
By default, ANY device like the Kobo reader will easily read PDF's...Kindle, Nook, and Kobo all will, and there's even a tutorial on the Kobo site that tells you how to read PDF's, via drag-n-drop or on SD card:
https://www.kobo.com/help/en-US/arti...kobo%20wi%20fi

I've had a Kobo and it was able to read PDF's with no problems, but gifted it to my niece when I got a different travel-setup. Personally, if you are dead set on a tablet, I'd go one of two routes:
  • Leave the tablet with the default OS and use it as is. By far the easiest thing to do, and for the most part, it gets you what you're after.
  • Get a Microsoft Surface Pro, which WILL easily run any version of Linux you can think of, full blown with a pretty easy installation, including any PDF reader you'd like.
When I had a tablet I left it be; my time was worth more than any benefits I could get from shoving Linux on it. Since mine was Android, it supported easy file transfer between Linux, memory card support, etc. And I used it for what it was, which was portable entertainment. Not really geared to be serious productivity tools, so for reading books and doing crossword puzzles, it was exactly what I wanted.
 
Old 07-11-2018, 10:52 AM   #3
DavidMcCann
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grumpyskeptic View Post
I have a lot of academic pdfs that I want to read on it, but I found out that the default reader, FBreader, does not read pdfs. Another problem is that the text on menus and various icons are too small, sometimes too tiny to read, as the screen is only about five inches diagonal on the Mini.
Reading PDFs on a 5 inch screen? Rather you than me!

If you are going to get another device, I'd go for a second-hand laptop and install a small, friendly version of Linux. With a proper computer, it's easier to make notes whilst you're reading. Salix allows you to do a basic installation: Linux, GUI, browser, and package manger. Then you can add a PDF viewer and that's it. This is a much older computer than anything you're likely to buy and it has over 100 pdfs — papers, theses, books — and the default reader works fine.
 
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Old 07-19-2018, 05:16 AM   #4
Ronaldosam
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download the adobe reader

download the adobe reader
 
  


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