How can I install Kobo Desktop on Ubuntu?

I bought a Kobo eBook reader and would now like to set it up with Kobo desktop. How do I install this software on Ubuntu, though? The homepage doesn't seem to offer any Linux version.

Solution 1:

Edit:

It looks like the .deb file has been taken down. I haven't been able to find another copy so far.

Original post:

Overview

The Kobo desktop client is still in development but you can install an older beta version by following the steps outlined in this post.

Please note that this Kobo desktop build is not officially supported and outdated compared to the ones released for Windows and Mac OS X. It worked fine with my Kobo mini but your experience may vary.

Dependencies

Before proceeding to install Kobo desktop you will first have to manually install a number of dependencies:

sudo apt-get install libjpeg62:i386 libpng3:i386 libzip1:i386 libicu44:i386 libzip1:i386

Depending on your Ubuntu version you might find that one or more of these dependencies aren't available in the repositories. In that case you will have to manually grab the packages from launchpad.

On Ubuntu 12.04 LTS for instance I had to download the following packages manually:

• libicu44:i386

• libzip1:i386

Ater downloading the packages install them either by double-clicking on them (this will launch the Software Center / gdebi) or through the CLI:

cd Downloads
sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Installation

Next, we will download and install kobo-desktop:

wget http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2183775/kobo-desktop.deb
sudo dkpg -i "$HOME/kobo-desktop.deb"

A Kobo Desktop launcher should now appear in the dash. Clicking it will launch the application :

Additional notes

Kobo Desktop is great for setting your eReader up initially and managing your Kobo store purchases. For any advanced eBook management I would advise you to take a look at Calibre, a fantastic open-source eBook library management application that is fully compatible with all current Kobo eReaders.

Sources

• mobileread.com thread concerning Kobo desktop for Linux, created and maintained by Kobo developers
• the actual post where the Linux build was released
• posts concerning dependency issues and resolving them: 1, 2