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Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

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Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#111

Post by Larrikin »

pidg wrote: post #10

I own a reMarkable 2. There is certainly enough to justify the cost, if you are a prolific note-taker. Conversely, I find it hard to justify the cost of an iPad, becuase I already have a phone and several laptops. I can't see a situation where a tablet would be more useful to me, so I've never bought one. Turns out different people have different needs, and the e-ink note-taking market caters to that. Most people wou…

My killer use case when I was a student was having a device I could take handwritten notes on, watch class videos on, and read my textbooks on. I then had one single device with a large screen for most of my needs. Trying to read notes on my phone was uncomfortable on the train but perfect on the iPad.

The real game changer was when I started taking the iPad to the gym and putting it on the elliptical and could do required reading or rewatch classes.

There was a positive reinforcement loop of wanting to run a certain amount but then also wanting to stay on long enough to finish a chapter and then once again figuring I should run just a little longer and get ahead in class.

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#112

Post by da_big_ghey »

alisonkisk wrote: post #67
pid_0 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this really necessary? Retard is not used to refer to people with mental disabilities. It is not a slur. Its a new social justice campaign to get mad about something when they ran out of things to complain about. Guess what, stupid, moron, idiot, etc used to refer to people with mental disabilities. Why aren't they campaigning to ban those words too?

What do you think "slur" means? All of these words are slurs, and they detract from discourse while adding nothing. No one's banning "words" here. They are discouraging misuse of language that drags down the quality of discourse.

I don't think it detracted from the discussion at all. Rather, I think that RicoElectrico's comment is helpful and that this sub-thread is not. It's not like retard is a clinical diagnosis any more, so there are no "retards" out there to offend, anyway.

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#113

Post by reaperducer »

2038AD wrote: post #82
darkwater wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Guess what, stupid, moron, idiot, etc used to refer to people with mental disabilities. No, they were not. And despite what the "you get offended so quickly" mob says, "retarded" main meaning when used in a negative fashion against someone always, always appeals to the "that person/entity has the mental abilities of someone with Down syndrome or any other similar intellectual disability". And you, me and everybody…

>No, they were not Not arguing any real point other than yes those words did. Have a couple of definitions I found in a rather harshly titled old book, Backward and feeble-minded children > Idiots. — Those so defective that the mental development never exceeds that of a normal child of about two years. > Morons. — Those whose mental development is above that of an imbecile, but does not exceed that of a normal child…

Bonus points for not citing Wikipedia.

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#114

Post by nine_k »

xxr wrote: post #88
throwaway4485we wrote: post #14

Throaway to not get sued. E-ink, the company, holds the patents of the pigment core tech that makes "paper-like" displays possible and strongarms the display manufacturers and the users of their displays to absolute silence. Any research project or startup that comes up with a better alternative technology gets bought out or buried by their lawyers ASAP. E-ink don't make the display themselves, they make the e-ink fi…

>the current consumption was astronomical, sometimes triggering the protection of the power supply on certain images That's surprising, since I was always under the impression that E-Ink displays were pretty low-power. Is it the drawing of the new image that requires so much energy in a small instant?

E-ink is zero power when displaying the picture. But moving all these tiny ink particles around takes a lot of energy.

I suspect that low refresh rates are partly due to the problems of power delivery to the pixels via transparent conductors.

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#115

Post by PartiallyTyped »

6gvONxR4sf7o wrote: post #100
Ajedi32 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't necessarily disagree with you, but seeing as "the r word" is no longer used to refer to mentally disabled people it seems a little late to be campaigning to end its use as a pejorative _now_. If anything, these efforts should be directed towards ending the use of "autism" in a pejorative context, as if that trend isn't stopped then that term is up next on the euphemism treadmill. I also wonder if perhaps these…

I wonder if this is an age thing? Up until very very recently, “retarded” did mean what we now refer to as mentally disabled. It was a slur that people pushed back on just like the words that preceded it, but the pejorative figurative use won out. But it’s too recent to say that’s definitively not what it means anymore. It’s hard to date these kinds of things, but the first document I found was the social security ad…

I would like to point towards urban dictionary and different definitions of literally [1] that I found quite amusing, please excuse the language.

> a word with no meaning in today's USA. Person 1: I am literally going to have a stroke if I see another tweet about fake news. Person 2: Are you really? Should I call 911?

---

> Who fucking knows anymore? First, it meant factual, and now it means fictional. What the fuck, internet... what the fuck?

---

> a much misused adverb, often for emphasis

> "I literally died of embarrassment."

> "Really? How was reincarnation, you fucking illiterate dipshit?"

---

> A good way to show that you are a total drama queen twit is to use the term 'literally' to describe every mundane thing that you do in life

---

All of this begs the question, when does a definition of a word change? I suppose it happens when we collectively agree on it, or perhaps when a large enough segment of the population agrees. Perhaps at this point, literally can mean figuratively if we consider the misuse, in the same way we accept irregardless and regardless as being one and the same. But I suppose then a new word would be necessary to literally mean literally and avoid confusion.

[1] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Literally

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#116

Post by sq_ »

habitue wrote: post #96
toyg wrote: post #72

Beyond patent issues, TBH I would not have a problem paying for a reMarkable this very day, if I could be 10000% sure that there wasn't some shitty SaaS service involved in using it at any stage. These days, whenever a new gadget comes up, my first reaction has become "I wonder how they try to screw you into a SaaS later".

I have one, and the cloud service is actually completely replaceable if you want. Since the device is running linux you can compile to arm7 and just run a sync cron to whatever server you want if you don't like their cloud service. Edit: I think people may have the impression this is like Android where the process is "ok, first reboot, hold all the buttons but not that one button and then unlock root, then flash the…

Does that still hold for the reMarkable 2?

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#117

Post by thatguy0900 »

fortran77 wrote: post #99
Naga wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree completely with your points, and I'm sorry be that guy, but "literally retarded" is offensive language and is frankly below the level of discourse of HN. I'm not one to be the PC police but really, come on. You can make your argument without resulting to slurs like that. https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-is-the-r-word-3105651

This is why Hacker News is a big joke among real tech leaders. Literally. https://www.reddit.com/r/LOLHackerNews/

And the people on a lol reddit are the real tech leaders?

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#118

Post by 1shooner »

wernercd wrote: post #90
1shooner wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's called the euphemism treadmill[1]. It's nothing new, and it's a normal part of language. Attributing it to some sort of contemporary 'social justice campaign' seems very reactionary. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemism#Euphemism_treadmill

crying about a word is reactionary... especially when you are getting offended for other people who haven't asked for your help.

I don't think anyone is crying about it. Here's a simple thought experiment: would you use that word while sitting at dinner with a developmentally disabled child and his parents?

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#119

Post by danaos »

throwaway4485we wrote: post #14

Throaway to not get sued. E-ink, the company, holds the patents of the pigment core tech that makes "paper-like" displays possible and strongarms the display manufacturers and the users of their displays to absolute silence. Any research project or startup that comes up with a better alternative technology gets bought out or buried by their lawyers ASAP. E-ink don't make the display themselves, they make the e-ink fi…

Have you heard of Clearink? [1] They are using a different technology which appears to be superior. One can hope they will be reaching market soon.

https://clearinkdisplays.com/

Re: Ask HN: Why are e-ink note-taking devices so expensive compared to iPads?

#120

Post by gregallan »

fortran77 wrote: post #99
Naga wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree completely with your points, and I'm sorry be that guy, but "literally retarded" is offensive language and is frankly below the level of discourse of HN. I'm not one to be the PC police but really, come on. You can make your argument without resulting to slurs like that. https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-is-the-r-word-3105651

This is why Hacker News is a big joke among real tech leaders. Literally. https://www.reddit.com/r/LOLHackerNews/

I suppose you consider all 87 of the members of that subreddit to be the "real tech leaders", then?
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