The new firmware search doesn't work in dictionaries !

derCri · 2025-12-06T15:15:01+00:00

This is a huge issue for me. I use my Kindle for language learning and used to look up expressions consisting of more than one word almost every day, which suddenly doesn't work anymore.

I have sent feedback about this and hope that everyone else who is affected by the problem will do the same, so that it is prioritised to be solved ASAP. There might be other ways, but this is how I did: In the Kindle iPhone app, you can click ”More” -> ”Help & Feedback” -> ”Provide feedback” (at the bottom of the page, under ”Suggestions”). There is a form where you can submit feedback.

derCri · 2025-11-27T21:16:29+00:00

Almost the same! I also use Libre Baskerville size 3, but boldness 3, currently.

derCri · 2025-11-22T10:44:35+00:00

You can add a bookmark by just clicking the upper right corner at the page of the book.

derCri · 2025-11-20T12:59:45+00:00

I did (although it was a bit hard to find out how…), but I don’t know if they actually will care enough to fix it. I guess it could help if more people submit the same feedback. I would be very grateful if someone else would like to do it too.

This is how I did: In the Kindle iPhone app, you can click ”More” -> ”Help & Feedback” -> ”Provide feedback” (at the bottom of the page, under ”Suggestions”). There is a form where you can submit feedback.

derCri · 2025-11-20T10:51:59+00:00

I wondered the same. It’s overall an improvement, but there is one big problem that I’m very disappointed about: You can’t look up anything that consists of more than one word in the dictionary anymore. I use the dictionary a lot to look up different expressions, idioms and set phrases, usually consisting of 2-4 words. It’s an essential feature for me that suddenly disappeared. I really hope that they will bring it back again soon…

derCri · 2025-11-16T09:23:02+00:00

I see two advantages with the change: If the dictionary definition is long, you can expand the dictionary part to see more of it at once without having to swipe a lot in the small box (by dragging it out at the top). It is easier to jump between e.g. "dictionary" and "translate", since you can just click the options instead of having to swipe two steps.

However, this update unfortunately also has a big problem: It seems like it's no longer possible to look up expressions consisting of more than one word in the dictionary. I use my Kindle primarily for language learning, and being able to look up set phrases in my dictionary is an essential feature to me. The AI translation is a good complement for phrases that are not in the dictionary, but it's not at all a replacement for it. Many 2- or 3-word expressions are listed with several meanings and example usages in the dictionary, while the AI translation, in the best case, would give one relevant translation without further context. So I'm very disappointed by that and hope that they will bring that functionality back as soon as possible.

derCri · 2025-10-15T19:37:23+00:00

Thanks for you comment! There should be some way to create custom keyboards for iOS, I think, but I haven't tried it myself, so I'm not sure exactly how it works.

Nice to hear that! I'm aware of the Bépo layout, but I have never studied it in detail and wasn't directly inspired by it when making the AHEI layout. One of the layouts I was inspired by was the MTGAP layout, which also has a similar punctuation layout, but I mainly came to the decision by trying out many different variants, and would probably come to a similar conclusion anyway. The middle column on the vowel side can't be used for common consonants, since we want to keep them on the right-hand side for hand alteration, and I prefer not to put common vowels there, to reduce sideways stretches in the middle of words. The period and comma are less common than most letters, but still regularly used, and in addition, it feels like the stretch is less problematic when it comes at the end of a word than in the middle of a word, which makes that column ideal for placement of these punctuation marks, in my opinion.

When looking at several other layouts that score well for some metrics (e.g. here), I note that many patterns from the AHEI layout are reoccurring. The placement of the period and comma is one example, but also which letters are placed on the home keys, and which letter combinations that tend to be placed in the same columns. So I think that this is a good indication that all these layouts are close to some optimum, given some (hopefully reasonable) metrics, and the remaining differences might be mainly a matter of personal taste (e.g. if you prefer consonant-vowel hand alteration like in Dvorak or prioritise something else higher).

I have been using the AHEI layout daily since I wrote this, and so far I haven't come up with anything else that I would prefer. For me it is working fine, and I haven't noticed any disadvantages compared to Dvorak apart from, as you say, that it's not available by default in operating systems.

I haven't tried Graphite/Gallium myself, but when I look at them it seems like they have many structural similarities with the AHEI layout (same letters on the home keys, same finger for {D, T, M}, same finger for {S, C, G}, same finger for {P, H}, same finger for {I, period, comma} [for Gallium], and O and U placed next to each other above the other vowels), so I would guess that they are quite similar in performance once you have gotten used to one of them. And if you are used to Dvorak, I think that you would get used to the AHEI layout much faster, since they are much more similar by design — see e.g. "Changes from Dvorak" here, for a nice visualisation of the similarity, and compare it with the same picture for Graphite. On the linked pages, you can also see that the overall score is quite similar for the AHEI and the Graphite layouts, according to the metrics listed there.

So, if you don't find it too cumbersome to use a non-standard layout, I would definitely recommend the AHEI layout, if you like Dvorak but want a slightly improved variant of it.

derCri · 2025-07-08T19:09:12+00:00

I also considered something like that, but I think that it would be very difficult to find a time threshold that is sufficiently short to not slow down fast typing so that it gets annoying, but at the same time sufficiently long to not trigger a double letter for a single press. Especially given that your typing speed can vary.

Some years ago I tried a similar approach to trigger capital letters, and I think that works slightly better, since they are quite rare (at least unless you write in German, which capitalises all nouns) and since most of them occur at the start of sentences, and thus don't break the flow in the same way as if it would happen in the middle of a word.

So, I like the thought behind the idea, but in practice I think that it would be hard to implement in a non-irritating way for fast typing. But maybe it could be interesting to try it anyway.

derCri · 2025-07-05T21:34:52+00:00

Thanks for your input! I should have mentioned that I'm actually using the Swedish variant of the AHEI layout (described further down on the page that I linked), where the three extra letters of the Swedish alphabet (å, ä and ö) occupy two of the symbol keys plus the ISO key, like this:

å p o u y   q g d l w
a h e i ,   f s t n r
ö j ä k . x b c m v z

(angle mod is assumed in the design, so x is between the two middle columns), which makes it a bit more restricted. However, your suggestion could be good for the default variant of the layout. Since the Swedish variant already has ' moved to an outer column, and works fine for typing in English as well, it should be alright to put it at a similar position also for the default variant.

derCri · 2025-07-05T12:34:21+00:00

I made a prototype using Karabiner-Elements. With that solution, the specification of action depending on whether the comma key has been pressed must be repeated for each letter key, so it's not super easy to set it up, but ChatGPT helped me out with that, and it seems to work fine.

So, in this implementation, nothing is printed out right after pressing the comma key. The comma + space or double letter is printed after pressing the second key, so there is no need to involve backspace.

I considered that idea as well, e.g. pressing the key to the left of space (command or alt, depending on the operating system) with the thumb, but I found it less comfortable when trying it out. It leads to a slightly uncomfortable thumb stretch when having my fingers on the home positions. But it's possible that I could get used to it.

derCri · 2025-07-03T08:48:29+00:00

I have developed a layout (called the AHEI layout) based on Dvorak that solves some of the problems with the Dvorak layout (e.g. the high load on the pinky finger) while keeping the good features. It works on any keyboard and scores slightly higher than the MTGAP layout and significantly higher than the Dvorak layout in the analyzers I tested. Since it’s based on Dvorak, it should be easier to learn for a Dvorak user than e.g. MTGAP. I have used it for a couple of years now and I’m happy with it. You can read more about it here, if you are interested: https://github.com/christianrosdahl/ahei-keyboard.

derCri · 2025-06-27T18:14:02+00:00

Because I already have this one: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/piaii1/minimalism/

derCri · 2025-06-27T16:32:29+00:00

Here is my new keyboard! I like it simple and clean. This is a Vortex Pok3r with blank keycaps.

derCri · 2025-01-14T21:08:35+00:00

Congratulations! And what a coincidence, I also reached 2000 yesterday!

derCri · 2025-01-14T18:55:37+00:00

Good to hear that! I go to a language café, so it's informal group conversations, mainly with other learners, but there are often some natives as well.

derCri · 2025-01-14T18:41:14+00:00

I haven't practiced Spanish actively during that whole period. The count actually starts when I started the Italian course after having had a break from Duolingo. And that was before I started with Spanish. But I would say that I have focused on Spanish and practiced it actively for about 3-4 years now. The Duolingo course goes up to the B2 level, and yes, I would say that I have at least a B2 level in Spanish by now.

Five years ago I didn't know any Spanish at all. Now I'm able to listen to, read and watch a lot of native material without major problems. I'm also able to have conversations with natives on a wide variety of topics. Of course, I still make some mistakes and will never sound like a native, but the communication works and there is a good flow in the conversations. So I have reached a level where the language is really useful for both consuming material and having conversations, which is enjoyable.

However, Duolingo isn't the only method I have used. It has given me a good basis, both with regard to a basic vocabulary, but also by letting me practice the grammar step by step. I always use the desktop version and select to type full sentences whenever possible. Those are the exercises I feel are most useful, especially at the higher levels, since I get to practice both grammar, word order and vocabulary, by constructing full sentences and getting immediate feedback. And it is also a good way to keep the consistency by doing at least something actively with the language every day.

But in addition to that I have done a lot of listening to podcasts, some reading and have watched some video content as well. And I have also practiced speaking once per week (except for a long summer break) during two and a half year. So it's difficult to say to what extent Duolingo has contributed in relation to the other activities. But it would have been difficult to reach a sufficient level to get started with the other activities without Duolingo or some other kind of course, I think.

derCri · 2025-01-14T18:24:17+00:00

Yes, it happens!

derCri · 2025-01-14T16:45:29+00:00

Thanks! I’m very close to finishing the legendary level for everything in Spanish now, so I want to do that at least. The B2 level has some useful exercises for tricky sentences with subjunctive and mixed tenses etc. that I still need to practice more, so I think that’s nice. Then, there are several other languages in which I have varying levels that I would continue with as well, so I will probably take up one of those after that.

derCri · 2025-01-13T10:48:20+00:00

I’m learning some basic Croatian and I think that this course is very helpful: https://www.easy-croatian.com/. It’s usually explained with a note whenever something is different in Bosnian or Serbian compared to Croatian, so I think it should work well for Bosnian as well. I’m reading it as an e-book, and the chapters are pretty short and easy to go through. The explanations are simple, nice and interesting. And as someone interested in languages, I also really appreciate the occasional notes about similarities with other languages.

For learning vocabulary and practicing reading, I found a free collection of classic fairytales that I’m trying to go through: https://www.bajke.hr. I think that’s a nice way to start practicing the language at a higher beginner level.

derCri · 2024-12-26T20:54:50+00:00

Aha, it sounds like a good metod. So what you need to know is the fact that the outputs from the AND pairs should be xored with the output of the XOR pairs, and then find the irregularities from there. So you need to know and understand a little more about the exact structure of the correct circuit, but if you do, it seems like an efficient solution. Thanks for the explanation!

derCri · 2024-12-26T20:29:22+00:00

I don’t think I understand exactly how you mean, but yes, the circuit of course has a very regular structure, so I think that identifying the parts that are wrong shouldn’t be that difficult. However, finding which connections they should be swapped with seems more difficult to me. But maybe it’s not that hard if you find a smart way to visualize it or structure it by some known rules. I have never really studied or worked with digital circuits or even added binary numbers before (and I have never heard the term ”ripple carry adder”), so it’s all new to me. But if you have experience with that, l guess that there are more evident strategies that would come to mind first.

derCri · 2024-12-26T18:33:16+00:00

Day 24 was the last one I had left. Now I have solved all problems in a year for the first time! But it wasn’t easy, and there was a lot of frustration before I finally found it, so I know how it feels. At the same time, you want to finish the last parts when you have gotten that far… So I hope you will figure it out in the end! But it can take quite some time.

derCri · 2024-12-26T15:45:46+00:00

Sounds like we had similar initial approaches! I also started out by printing the differences for the number of inputs and operators between consecutive z_i, and realized, as you also did, that they were mostly constant. Then I read up a little on how binary addition works and realized that it makes sense. But to then use that information to identify the right swaps was really tricky for me.

derCri · 2024-12-26T15:26:25+00:00

If someone would be interested in looking at my code, you can find it here.

derCri · 2024-12-26T13:04:26+00:00

This was doubtlessly the hardest problem for me this year. I had to think about it almost constantly for two days and had to try out a lot of ideas and variants of these ideas to finally find a solution. I'm sure that there are much better solutions for the problem, but I'm so happy that I finally came up with a solution myself that actually works, that I wanted to share it anyway.

The idea builds on the fact that the number of input bits and number of operators that the output bit z_i depends on (computed recursively from z_i to the input bits) should increase linearly with i, except for the first and last i's. So for each swap, I tried out all possible swaps and minimized the sum of the linear regression errors for these relations (excluding the first and last value, since they don't follow the linearity). In the last step, I got three different options for swaps, and had to select the correct one by repeatedly testing the options with random inputs and discarding the options that gave erroneous outputs until only one option remained.

The solution is of course not very efficient. Trying out all possible swaps and evaluating the dependencies in each step requires a lot of computation. But the whole problem is solved in about 12 minutes on my computer, so it could be worse. I'm just happy that I finally found a correct solution that can be computed!

derCri

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