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Reverse Engineer Finds Kindle's Hidden Features

Posted by Zonk on from the under-the-hood dept.

bensafrickingenius writes "CNET's Crave site has an interesting article on Amazon's Kindle eBook reader, and the extensive reverse-engineering that fans of the device have accomplished. The site specifically points out the work of Igor Skochinsky at the Reversing Everything website. His work on the Kindle's Root Shell has revealed some fascinating goodies: 'Among the ones uncovered and described on his blog are a basic photo viewer, a minesweeper game, and most interesting, location technology that uses the Kindle's CDMA networking to pinpoint its position. There also are some basic location-based services that call up a Google Maps view to show where you are and nearby gas stations and restaurants.'"

12 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Flagged. by headkase · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...location technology that uses the Kindle's CDMA networking to pinpoint its position...

    Ok, that's it I'm never buying my "Catcher in the Rye" through Kindle... (Apologies to Mel Gibson).

    --
    Shh.
    1. Re:Flagged. by Dun+Malg · · Score: 2, Funny

      Whoosh!

      --
      If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
  2. Saver? by ZuluZero · · Score: 4, Funny

    What, no "Don't Panic" screen saver? Who writes these product requirements anyway?

  3. What the Yertle? by Facetious · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yertle the Turtle? Granted, my knowledge of Seuss has been waning since the first grade, but I don't remember the good Dr. at any of our underground resistance meetings.

    --
    Let us not become the evil that we deplore.
  4. Re:Your Kindle is watching you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    "Sir, it appears that headkase is holding his underground resistance meetings in the restroom."

  5. instide there is a real printed book by peter303 · · Score: 4, Funny

    With an impressive servo-mechanism to turn the pages and push them real close to the screen class.

  6. They're watching you! by foo+fighter · · Score: 3, Funny
    OMG, Amazon is tracking Kindle users' physical locations via GPS!

    It seems there is a location capability (GPS?) in the CDMA module. I cannot check it as I'm not in USA but the following shortcuts are programmed inside the browser.
    Alt-1 show current location in google maps
    Alt-2 find gas station nearby
    Alt-3 find restaurants nearby
    Alt-4 request department of homeland security respond to current location to investigate suspicious brown-skinned person
    Alt-5 find custom keyword nearby
    Alt-D dump debug info to the log and toggle highlight default item
    Alt-Z toggle zone drawing and show log
    --
    obviously no deficiencies vs. no obvious deficiencies
    1. Re:They're watching you! by SQLGuru · · Score: 2, Funny

      OMG, Amazon is tracking Kindle users' physical locations via GPS! Yep, all four of them!

      Layne
  7. Re:eBook readers are all wrong by ubuwalker31 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Okay, I's like to explain what makes ebook readers so bad and what needs to be done to fix them.
    <p>
    Thanks to that first sentence, I read the rest of your insightful comment with a really freakin annoying Jar Jar Binks voice.
    <p>
    Thanks

    PS
    Meesa gonna upmod yousa comment, since Isa hava mod points...

  8. Re:Why bother with the Crave article at all? by glop · · Score: 1, Funny

    Exactly. And Slashdot relies on people like you to write insightful comments that add something to the news however old and repeated it may be ;-)

  9. Re:eBook readers are all wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Old Slashdot Proverb read: Opinion with no paragraphs not worth reading.

  10. How do you become a Reverse Engineer? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Whats the name of this guy? Is he always driving in reverse? Walking in reverse? How, what and why would one become a Reverse Engineer?