PRSCustomizer: A useful companion for your Sony PRS-505 Reader
PRSCustomizer: A useful companion for your Sony PRS-505 Reader |
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 Download V1.04 PRSCustomizer is free, but tips are appreciated!
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with these optional features:
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Installation:
Simply unzip the archive into a folder of your choice.
Using PRSCustomizer:
On PRSCustomizer's screen you'll see:
Personalization
Your Reader is valuable. Wouldn't it be great if some kind
person had the information to return it to you should you
inadvertently misplace it? PRSCustomizer allows you to
personalize your Reader by "branding" the About Screen
with your name, telephone number and email address.
Firmware Selection
Through use of Igorsk's Universal Flasher (included),
PRSCustomizer allows you to choose the Reader firmware
which best suits your needs. Currently two firmware
versions are supported: 1.1 and 1.2
Localization
Localization allows the PRS-505 Reader to display menus and prompts in your
native language. With firmware 1.1 you have the ability to localize your reader
using 12 different languages.
Iconsets
Everybody's different. The menu icons supplied by Sony do the job,
but you might prefer a different look. PRSCustomizer allows you
to choose between four different iconsets or to load your own,
created using a graphical editor such as Photoshop or Gimp.
To use your own iconset modify or replace the file
prsfiles/user_icons.png and select "User-supplied" from the
icon dropdown menu.
Click below to see screenshots of the iconsets
(Currently, changing iconsets is not available for firmware version 1.3)
Fonts
PRSCustomizer comes with two different fontsets: the standard
Sony fontset and a Unicode font set. Additionally, you can load
your own fontsets by dropping them into folder prsfiles/font.3 and
selecting "User-supplied" from the font selection menu. Creating fonts
is beyond the scope of PRSCustomizer, for guidance look to Valloric's
Font Guide available at Mobileread.com
Be aware that font creation is a rather arcane art, and bad fonts can brick your reader.
When you've chosen all your options, press the Customize button.
At that point, the folder "sdcard" will be populated with the necessary files to customize your 505.
Now copy the contents of the folder sdcard to the root of a blank SD card. Be sure not to copy the
folder, just its contents.
Insert the card into your Reader and Igorsk's Universal Flasher will start.
To flash your Reader, choose option #5, then option #6. After a
reboot,you should have a customized PRS505.
You may choose to back up your firmware, using option #3 before flashing your
Reader. If you do, two images cramfs.Fsk.img and cramfs.Rootfs.img will be
created in a /tmp directory in your Reader's main memory. Connect your
Reader to a PC and drag this folder from the Reader to the PC for safekeeping.
Changing Firmware
Firmware comes in the form of img files that are transferred
and "flashed" into your Reader's memory. The process is simple:
obtain the desired firmware version (it will be named new_opt.img)
and place it on the sd card with the other PRSCustomizer files.
Insert the card into your Reader and Igorsk's Universal Flasher
will start. Choose option #4, then option #6. When your Reader reboots
it will be using the new firmware. Please note that firmware 1.3
is not yet supported by PRSCustomizer.
Currently, firmware can be downloaded:
V1.1
V1.2
V1.3
Recovering from errors
In the PRS 505, Sony has produced a very robust device. It's actually
very hard to cause the device to become unresponsive, otherwise
known as a "brick." However, when making complex changes to your
Reader inadvertent errors on your part may cause it to become
stuck on the "Reader starting up..." screen. Recovery is usually
simple.
Recovering a brick
1. You're stuck at "Reader starting up..."
2. Use a a paperclip to press the reset button on the back of the Reader
3. Quickly slide the power toggle.
4. When the Reader reboots, immmediately connect it to your PC via usb cable.
After a minute or so, the usb connection message should appear; now
you can use the US/Canadian Sony Updater to reflash your Reader.
Customized Logo
Did you know you could change your Reader's logo? (The black bar at the top
of the screen that says "Reader.") You'll need access to a graphics editor, such
as Photoshop or Gimp. In the directory prsfiles, you'll see two files:
logo.png and kBookAssets.png. The logo.png file is a 210x70 file. Add your
personalization details to this file, and paste it into the upper left corner
of the kBookAssets.png file, covering the large text "Reader." Once you're done,
you can select the "Replace logo" checkbox. After you flash and reboot, you should
have a customized logo.
Credits
PRSCustomizer wouldn't be possible without the help from backend programs
and code. Specifically Igorsk's Universal Flasher
and Porkupan's
localization javascript
and Universal Flasher PRS-505 support. Additionally, Corwin provided shell scripts
for the Flasher and Shade wrote the original version of the javascript clock display.
Valloric created the font creation guide and hosts a topic
devoted to the subject at
Mobileread.com. Iconset2 was created by maggotb0y, iconset3 by diabloNL and
iconset4 by surquizu.
Thanks to all these folks for their efforts.
This is free software, (c) 2008 by Jeff Elkins, licensed under GPL V2. Use it at your own
risk.
Be aware that Sony has not sanctioned this software and modifying your Reader may void its
warranty.
Get support via prscustomizer(at)gmail.com or at Mobileread.com
