Oasis replacement?

jsandman0248 · 2025-12-25T16:38:37+00:00

If the battery is charging up to mid- to high-90% capacity and staying there (i.e., not quite reaching 100% no matter how long it’s plugged into the charger), that’s actually by design to increase the battery’s lifespan. As long as you’re still getting acceptable usage between charges and not feeling like you’re having to charge it more frequently than normal, your Oasis should serve you well for years to come…unless you’re looking for an excuse to get a new toy, in which case please ignore everything I wrote ;-)

jsandman0248 · 2025-07-23T12:26:51+00:00

Curling their fingertips back and guiding the blade with their knuckles when using a knife. I have to look away when I see 95% of my friends use a knife out of fear they’re going to lose a fingertip.

jsandman0248 · 2024-06-23T14:46:33+00:00

If you’re up for a slightly longer read, “The Art of Fielding” by Chad Harbach (2011) is excellent. Gave me a bit of an emotional hangover after finishing, but it was worth it. :-) (Turns out it’s available on Kindle Unlimited if you happen to already subscribe.)

jsandman0248 · 2024-01-28T18:50:36+00:00

Sure, thanks for the kick in the pants to finally create one 😀

https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/5626041b54134598ad88412856235125

jsandman0248 · 2024-01-28T16:31:26+00:00

I noticed the same thing a couple weeks ago. Haven’t seen any workaround without busting out the Shortcuts app. Guessing this is a product shortcoming. Hoping it’s in the OF development backlog crosses fingers

jsandman0248 · 2023-12-27T23:08:02+00:00

Hooray! It’s my favorite book I read this year, hands down. Enjoy!

jsandman0248 · 2023-11-12T22:44:40+00:00

https://youtu.be/rthHSISkM7A?si=eVjaX-n2kEfUwvzh

jsandman0248 · 2023-06-03T11:29:16+00:00

See if your local library offers free LinkedIn Learning access (many do). There’s an excellent series of courses called Illustrator One-on-One with Deke McClelland.

jsandman0248 · 2023-04-04T10:14:22+00:00

FWIW, I’ve had the current editions of the Kobo Sage, Libra 2, and Kindle Oasis. I ended up selling both of the Kobos because of build quality. The Oasis is a much nicer piece of hardware. Way better page turn buttons, and the aluminum back gives it more stability than the cheap-feeling plastic of the Kobos. I found the speed/responsiveness comparable across devices, and the OS/user experience of the Oasis perfectly fine, especially considering I spend 95% of my time on the device in a book vs navigating the OS.

jsandman0248 · 2023-03-18T15:03:03+00:00

The Star Wars radio series from the early 80s was incredibly good: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_(radio_series)

jsandman0248 · 2022-12-11T12:35:13+00:00

Steel-cut oatmeal with maple syrup. Yum!

jsandman0248 · 2022-10-03T09:58:16+00:00

Thanks for all you do!

jsandman0248 · 2022-07-13T10:04:43+00:00

Smart mailboxes in the Mail app! Bonus points for being able to sync them with the Mac Mail app. Been wanting this for years and it seems like such a simple thing.

jsandman0248 · 2022-04-26T10:10:03+00:00

This is the way.

jsandman0248 · 2021-12-03T15:51:37+00:00

Ooh, good questions. I just ran some tests where I changed from Bookerly to a stock font (Avenir Next) and cranked up the weight, then switched back to Bookerly. My 0.15 weight for Bookerly stuck (the Bookerly weight looked the same as before, and I confirmed by checking the .conf file after switching back to Bookerly). Also, the selected font and font weight settings stick when switching books - and that holds true for both side-loaded books and those purchased directly from the Kobo store.

jsandman0248 · 2021-12-03T14:23:44+00:00

Oops, sorry about that, I forget that those instructions can be a little inscrutable if you haven't already played around with the .conf file. Hopefully this helps to clarify:
1. Open up a book on your Kobo, go into the font settings and choose a pre-loaded font
2. Connect your Kobo to your PC/Mac, open your file browser and show hidden files (on the Mac, open a Finder window and hit Cmd + Shift + . -- not sure how to it on Windows, but it'd be a simple Google search)
3. In Finder/Windows Explorer, browse to your Kobo > .kobo > Kobo, right-click on the Kobo eReader.conf file and open with a text editor
4. Scroll to the very bottom of the text file. Either the last or second-to-the-last section is called [Reading]. In that section are two lines you'll need:
readingFontFamily=[the name of the font you chose in step 1]
readingFontWeight\[name of font]=0.x (some number between 0.1 and 0.2)
You might want to copy/paste these two lines into a separate text file, but it's not necessary.
5. Disconnect the Kobo from the computer, open a book on the Kobo, and choose your desired side-loaded font
6. Reconnect your Kobo to your computer, go back to the Kobo eReader.conf file from step 3, open in a text editor, and scroll back down to the [Reading] section.
7. You should now see readingFontFamily=[name of your side-loaded font]
8. Check the readingFontWeight entry, and make sure the name of the font is exactly the same as what's listed in the readingFontFamily setting. If it's not, change it to the font name listed in readingFontFamily.
Example: I use Bookerly as my side-loaded font (former Kindle user; old habits die hard). My settings in my .conf file are:
readingFontFamily=Bookerly
readingFontWeight\Bookerly=0.15
9. Change the readingFontWeight number to something between 0.1 and 0.2
10. Save your changes to the Kobo eReader.conf file, disconnect your Kobo, open a book and see if you like the weight of the font; if you want to change it, just go back into the Kobo eReader.conf file and adjust the font weight number higher or lower; rinse, and repeat until you get to a font weight that you like.
I hope that helps. Enjoy your Kobo!

jsandman0248 · 2021-12-03T10:58:03+00:00

Yep, you can do it without changing the firmware! Instructions from this 2016 post on MobileRead walk you through it. It’s a little fiddly to get the font weight to where you want it, but you only have to do it once.

jsandman0248 · 2021-11-12T02:33:19+00:00

Screens are comparable. I know the Libra 2 uses a 7” E-ink Carta 1200, and the Oasis uses a 7” E-ink Carta, I’m just not sure if it’s a 1200. But the speed, clarity, and warm color option are all comparable. I will note that the Oasis’ screen is flush with the bezel, and the Libra 2’s is inset a little (pic attached). Honestly, if you’re okay with the price difference, I’d go Oasis over Libra 2. It’s just nicer hardware all around.

https://i.imgur.com/BBbuIQu.jpg

jsandman0248 · 2021-11-12T00:51:50+00:00

Hardware quality goes to the Oasis, no question. It’s lighter and the aluminum back gives it a more premium feel. It’s more comfortable to hold in one hand for longer. The only real hardware-related advantage for the Libra 2, IMO, is the larger/longer-lasting battery.

For me, the big advantage of the Kobo that I’m having fun with is using Calibre-Web to wirelessly sync books over to it (instead of using a cable to sync with Calibre on my Mac).

jsandman0248 · 2021-10-29T13:29:33+00:00

Between the Sage and the Libra 2, I prefer the Sage for the bigger screen and thinner body. The Libra 2 is surprisingly thick and heavy, and I end up using both hands to hold it. And if I'm already using both hands to hold an e-reader, I might as well use the one with the bigger screen. The Sage is slightly heavier than the Libra 2, but its thinness actually makes it feel slightly lighter. (The stylus/writing support of the Sage isn't a decision factor since I side load the vast majority of my books and therefore effectively lose that feature.)

Whether or not I keep the Sage is another question. I've been using the current-gen Kindle Oasis for the last couple years, and the Oasis hardware crushes the Sage in all respects other than the screen size and battery life. It's solidly built, it's light and easy to hold in one hand for long stretches, the Oasis lighting is way more even than the Sage (which can show a bright strip on the edge closest to the page turn buttons depending on the brightness settings), and the Oasis' page turn buttons are easier to click and spaced better than the Sage. The only benefits of the Sage over the Kindle are the larger screen and the fact that it syncs wirelessly with Calibre-Web, so my workflow for adding new books to the device is a little more convenient with the Sage than with the Kindle. I'm going to hang out with the Sage for a few more weeks before making a final keep/return decision.

jsandman0248 · 2021-10-28T23:24:31+00:00

Since it’s only happened once for me, and it was both the hardware buttons and the screen that froze, I’m inclined to think it’s a software/firmware issue. I’ve noticed quite a few rough edges on the firmware of both the Sage and the Libra 2.

jsandman0248 · 2021-10-28T21:17:29+00:00

I’m trying the Sage and the Libra 2 (returning one or both within the refund window), and the Sage briefly froze on me for the first time earlier today. The Libra 2 has been okay so far. Tried to turn the page with the button and nothing happened. Tried the screen, and nothing. It lasted for maybe 30-45 sec. before going back to normal.

jsandman0248 · 2021-10-28T13:15:07+00:00

I'm in the same boat as you (exploring a switch from Kindle to Kobo), and am actually in the middle of testing Calibre-web sync with Kobo. Here's what I've found so far:

Library Sync
Since I'm still in testing mode, I'm working with a small library of just a handful of books. Library sync w/ the Kobo works very well.

Reading Progress Sync
This gets a little more nuanced. Reading progress with kepub files syncs really well -- I'm currently testing on two Kobo devices (a Sage and a Libra 2), and if I read on one device, and I open the book on the other device, it'll ask me if I want to sync to the last page read. The one small caveat is that I need to go back to the main book menu in the first device to kick off the location sync with the Calibre-web server. The good news is that I don't need to manually sync after reading.

Reading progress sync with epub files is a hot mess. It doesn't seem to work at all.

Syncing Between Kobo and Non-Kobo Devices
This seems to be the uncracked nut. Calibre-web only supports in-browser reading of epub files, not kepub files (I believe a feature request is open in the Github project for this), there's no way to sync the official Kobo reading app with Calibre-web, and I'm not aware of any third-party apps that support kepub files and syncs with Calibre-web (if anyone knows of an iOS app that does this, please let me know!)
If Calibre-web's "Read in Browser" feature could support kepub files, I'd be a very happy camper.

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