Live data from Hacker News

The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

tuxphones.com

31–40 of 105 posts

Re: The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

#31
post #16
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the project was initially announced, Pine was claiming a 60Hz refresh rate, which sounded amazing but is essentially impossible for e-ink at full dynamic range. They've since clarified this: >Edit August 16 00:09 UTC: A previous version of this post listed the e-ink panel’s refresh rate at 60Hz. This number requires much more context. It takes multiple frames to display most images on an e-ink panel. The visual…

> Realistically, the best you can do with e-ink is 1-bit with ~120ms refresh I'm curious, why is that so? Can't the control algorithm boost the speed by sending higher voltages when switching, then going back to "holding" voltage?

No it can't. (voltage is applied to entire row - select cells - at once) The algorithm can realistically only affect timing. (have the voltage applied to the entire row longer, but that's not very useful if you have varying shades of gray within the row)

Re: The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

#33

Let me just say that the Remarkable also runs linux. Not only that, but I've been blown away by the ongoing results from the team at Remarkable. I only have the Remarkable 1 but they continue to ship updates for it, and these updates are often really substantive with sometimes profound new features. Their cloud service is free, no aggravating subscription stuff and even though they have the remarkable 2 now, they con…

Do note that Remarkable is not as rosy as it looks like. Due to the fact that most of the builtin software is proprietary, actually modifying it to run anything other than the stock features requires binary monkey patching the main executable. It's as fragile as it sounds.

If they were to add a simple plugin system, that would take them 0 effort with Qml, it would be significantly better.

Re: The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

#34
Will this have a OneNote client? That missing feature makes the remarkable a nonstarter for me and the fact they still don't seem interested in adding one baffles me.

No I'm not interested in the "just email it to yourself" workflow. I want and need to be able to directly interact with OneNote.

Re: The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

#35
post #21

Let me just say that the Remarkable also runs linux. Not only that, but I've been blown away by the ongoing results from the team at Remarkable. I only have the Remarkable 1 but they continue to ship updates for it, and these updates are often really substantive with sometimes profound new features. Their cloud service is free, no aggravating subscription stuff and even though they have the remarkable 2 now, they con…

I like the idea of Remarkable but the thing that bothers me a lot is that it doesn't have a backlight. I'd really like to use it to read at night and no backlight kinda kills that. Do you not use it at night or do you use some other solution for nighttime lighting (like bright ceiling lights)?

I have both the Kindle Oasis and a Remarkable 2.

If the use case is just reading at night, a Kindle with a backlight is probably a better bet.

That said - I like the Remarkable a lot more, and tend to carry it with me more. The kindle has essentially just become my "vacation" reading device since I stopped taking the train for work.

It definitely doesn't need bright lights to read (well, depending on your eyesight). If I want to read/write before bed, I'll keep my side table light on at 25%, and it works fine. If my wife is still watching a show, the tv alone is bright enough I can generally read/write fine.

Re: The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

#36

Let me just say that the Remarkable also runs linux. Not only that, but I've been blown away by the ongoing results from the team at Remarkable. I only have the Remarkable 1 but they continue to ship updates for it, and these updates are often really substantive with sometimes profound new features. Their cloud service is free, no aggravating subscription stuff and even though they have the remarkable 2 now, they con…

How is the web browser experience on the ReMarkable? It kinda sucks on the Kindle and forces me to consider an iPad to make up for open access.

No web browser on the remarkable (at least stock). Stock it is literally just a note taking device, which I personally find appealing.

Re: The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

#37

Let me just say that the Remarkable also runs linux. Not only that, but I've been blown away by the ongoing results from the team at Remarkable. I only have the Remarkable 1 but they continue to ship updates for it, and these updates are often really substantive with sometimes profound new features. Their cloud service is free, no aggravating subscription stuff and even though they have the remarkable 2 now, they con…

How is the web browser experience on the ReMarkable? It kinda sucks on the Kindle and forces me to consider an iPad to make up for open access.

There is no web browser on the ReMarkable. On purpose. Their mentality is that the device should be a distraction-free note-taking, idea-sketching tool.

source: https://remarkable.com/blog/inside-remarkable-2-chapter-2-th...

Re: The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

#38
I own several of the Pine devices. They are all alpha in different ways but that's fine, I'm paying for the future.

The thing that worries me is that they are launching a lot of products. They are all adjacent in some ways.

But, should I as a customer, or Pine as a company, be worried about the cost of supporting all these different kinds of devices?

I recall reading a long time ago that Google intentionally offers products where they can get away without offering support from a real person. That's obviously not true anymore but many of their products are entirely self supported (or GTFO...). The obvioys reason is that support is so incredibly costly and you never recoup a penny of that cost because it only happens after the purchase is made in most cases.

Is this the true brilliance of Pine, that they've created a community of people around them that are willing to help get all these products to the next level and they can avoid this costly facet of any organization? Or, is this a fatal mistake that will kill Pine?

I'm super excited about all their products and some of them will undoubtedly sit in my closet after the initial use. But, is that ok for the second wave of users who will demand something better?

Re: The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

#39
I was hoping for an affordable competitor to the Remarkable, but seems like it is just a competitor not necessarily affordable like a lot of the other Pine products. Not to say it won't be great or it is a bad thing, but had my hopes up when I saw the title. I cannot justify spending that amount for that type of product. Again not a knock as it is nice to see them get into this market just not what I thought when I originally saw that title.

Re: The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And they give root access to the device along with GPL compliance statements, allowing for a flourishing developer community that creates tons of useful programs that can run on the embedded device. See for example https://github.com/reHackable/awesome-reMarkable for a list. There is also an opkg-based package manager and repo with many packages: https://toltec-dev.org/

I'm scared by that link warning about how easy it is to brick your device. Should I be?

Remarkable 1 is recoverable without many tricks.

Remarkable 2 requires a bit of parts and possibly soldering (but not required, just might make things easier if you don't have pogo pins with handles available).

Both are fully recoverable unless you do something really impressive.

Post reply on HN