Xteink’s tiny e-readers are getting access to free books through Libby
Xteink’s tiny e-readers are getting access to free books through Libby
Xteink 的迷你电子阅读器现可通过 Libby 获取免费电子书
The CrossPoint Reader firmware is getting plug-ins that add support for ebooks from Libby, Kobo, and other sources. CrossPoint Reader 固件现已推出插件，增加了对来自 Libby、Kobo 及其他来源电子书的支持。
One of the big tradeoffs with Xteink’s pocket-friendly e-readers is a lack of easy access to ebooks. On a Kindle or Kobo you can download tens of thousands of titles through each device’s respective online bookstores, but with Xteink’s devices you have to source DRM-free ebooks on your own. That’s about to change, as the developers of CrossPoint Reader, a free alternative firmware for the X3, X4, and X4 Pro, are introducing support for third-party plug-ins that will expand the e-readers’ capabilities. One of the first from the community will give the devices access to DRM-protected ebooks borrowed through OverDrive’s Libby library app, or purchased through bookstores like Kobo’s. Xteink 便携式电子阅读器的一大短板是获取电子书不够便捷。在 Kindle 或 Kobo 上，你可以通过各自的在线书店下载数以万计的书籍，但使用 Xteink 设备时，你必须自行寻找无 DRM（数字版权管理）保护的电子书。这种情况即将改变：CrossPoint Reader（一款针对 X3、X4 和 X4 Pro 的免费替代固件）的开发者正在引入对第三方插件的支持，这将扩展这些阅读器的功能。社区推出的首批插件之一，将使这些设备能够访问通过 OverDrive 的 Libby 图书馆应用程序借阅的，或从 Kobo 等书店购买的受 DRM 保护的电子书。
The new functionality is still in beta, but while the team behind CrossPoint Reader provided me with custom firmware I’ve been testing on the X4 Pro for the past few days, it’s now available to anyone who wants to try it. Getting ebooks from Libby onto the tiny e-readers isn’t as streamlined as using its mobile app or as simple as Kobo’s native OverDrive support, but it’s much easier than I expected. If you’re already comfortable with wirelessly transferring files to your tiny e-reader, loading ebooks from Libby isn’t much harder. 这项新功能目前仍处于测试阶段。虽然 CrossPoint Reader 团队为我提供了自定义固件，让我在过去几天里在 X4 Pro 上进行了测试，但现在任何想要尝试的用户都可以使用它。将 Libby 的电子书导入这些迷你阅读器，虽然不像使用手机 App 那样流畅，也不如 Kobo 原生的 OverDrive 支持那样简单，但比我预期的要容易得多。如果你已经习惯了将文件无线传输到你的迷你阅读器，那么从 Libby 加载电子书并不比这难多少。
The first step is saying good riddance to the frustrating stock firmware on Xteink’s devices and installing the free CrossPoint Reader alternative. The easiest approach is to connect your e-reader to your computer with its USB-C cable, power it on, and then flash the new firmware directly through a browser using the CrossPoint Reader website that lets you select your specific device and which version of the firmware you want. 第一步是告别 Xteink 设备上令人沮丧的原厂固件，安装免费的 CrossPoint Reader 替代固件。最简单的方法是用 USB-C 线将阅读器连接到电脑，开机，然后通过 CrossPoint Reader 网站直接在浏览器中刷入新固件，该网站允许你选择特定的设备型号和所需的固件版本。
You then need to download and install CrossPoint Reader’s new Plugin Store, which is available here. Installation is as simple as unziping a few files onto your e-reader’s microSD card, which will put a new Plugins section on the e-reader’s homescreen. It’s currently populated with a few different tools you can download, but the important one to install is the “Protected Content” plug-in. It runs through CrossPoint Reader’s built-in web server (which is probably much easier to use than you think) and allows Xteink’s devices to access ebooks protected by the Adobe Digital Editions DRM. 接下来，你需要下载并安装 CrossPoint Reader 的新插件商店（点击此处获取）。安装过程非常简单，只需将几个文件解压到阅读器的 microSD 卡中，阅读器主屏幕上就会出现一个新的“插件”部分。目前里面已经有一些可供下载的工具，但最重要的是安装“受保护内容”（Protected Content）插件。它通过 CrossPoint Reader 内置的 Web 服务器运行（这可能比你想象的要容易使用得多），并允许 Xteink 设备访问受 Adobe Digital Editions DRM 保护的电子书。
To get it all working you’ll need a free ByteBooks account (or you can convert an older Adobe Digital Editions account you haven’t touched in years) so you can login and authorize your e-reader to open DRM-protected ebooks. You’ll also need access to Libby itself on another device, which requires a library card to sign in. For several reasons, including the fact that Xteink’s devices use low-power ESP-32 processors, you’re not able to search or download ebooks from Libby directly on the e-readers themselves. 要使这一切正常工作，你需要一个免费的 ByteBooks 账户（或者你可以转换一个多年未用的旧 Adobe Digital Editions 账户），以便登录并授权你的阅读器打开受 DRM 保护的电子书。你还需要在另一台设备上访问 Libby，这需要借书证才能登录。由于包括 Xteink 设备使用低功耗 ESP-32 处理器在内的多种原因，你无法直接在阅读器上搜索或下载 Libby 的电子书。
Once you borrow a book the Libby apps will let you download it as a protected EPUB file. What you’re actually downloading first is a tiny ACSM file that an authorized reading app uses to access the DRM-protected ebook file. The new “Protected Content” plug-in running through the CrossPoint Reader web server processes an ACSM file moved to the microSD card, downloads a copy of the book, and copies the EPUB file to your e-reader, where you can read it for as long as the loan allows. 借书后，Libby 应用会让你将其下载为受保护的 EPUB 文件。你实际上首先下载的是一个微小的 ACSM 文件，授权阅读应用会使用该文件来访问受 DRM 保护的电子书文件。通过 CrossPoint Reader Web 服务器运行的新“受保护内容”插件会处理移动到 microSD 卡上的 ACSM 文件，下载书籍副本，并将 EPUB 文件复制到你的阅读器中，你可以在借阅期限内阅读它。
The process is similar for ebooks purchased from stores like Kobo’s that use the EPUB format with ADE. (Amazon doesn’t.) When logged into Kobo’s website (not the desktop app) you can download an ACSM file for a book you’ve purchased, copy it to your Xteink device, and then process it with the plug-in to access the ebook you can actually read. 对于从 Kobo 等使用 ADE（Adobe Digital Editions）格式 EPUB 的商店购买的电子书，过程也是类似的。（亚马逊不使用此格式。）登录 Kobo 网站（而非桌面应用）后，你可以下载已购书籍的 ACSM 文件，将其复制到 Xteink 设备，然后通过插件进行处理，即可访问并阅读该电子书。
If you want to simplify the Libby process, you can instead download and install an app called Common Stacks (available for Android, Windows, and macOS, with iOS support coming soon) that’s designed to provide access to multiple free ebook libraries, including ones you host yourself. The app includes full access to Libby and can both download and send ebook files directly to Xteink’s e-readers with just a couple of clicks. Common Stacks also relies on CrossPoint Reader’s web server functionality running in the back end, but getting borrowed books onto the X4 Pro was as easy as borrowing library books on my Kobo is. 如果你想简化 Libby 的操作流程，可以下载并安装名为 Common Stacks 的应用程序（适用于 Android、Windows 和 macOS，iOS 版本即将推出），该应用旨在提供对多个免费电子书库的访问，包括你自己托管的电子书库。该应用完全支持 Libby，只需点击几下即可下载并将电子书文件直接发送到 Xteink 电子阅读器。Common Stacks 同样依赖于后台运行的 CrossPoint Reader Web 服务器功能，但将借阅的书籍导入 X4 Pro 的过程，和我用 Kobo 借阅图书馆书籍一样简单。
While Libby and Common Stacks is one of the best ways to get free ebooks onto Xteink’s devices, you’ll want to be mindful that selection will vary from library to library, and you may occasionally have to wait to download a popular title depending on how many digital copies are available or are already loaned out. However, now that Xteink’s tiny e-readers finally have access to DRM-protected ebooks — whether borrowed or bought — they’re an even more tempting alternative to Kindles and Kobos. 虽然 Libby 和 Common Stacks 是将免费电子书导入 Xteink 设备的最佳方式之一，但你需要注意，不同图书馆的馆藏资源会有所不同。根据数字副本的数量或是否已被借出，你偶尔可能需要排队等待下载热门书籍。然而，既然 Xteink 的迷你电子阅读器终于可以访问受 DRM 保护的电子书（无论是借阅还是购买），它们作为 Kindle 和 Kobo 的替代品，现在变得更具吸引力了。