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The PineNote is an e-ink notebook that runs Linux

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

#51

Post by cies »

eloeffler wrote: post #14
Enginerrrd wrote: post #6

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…

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/

If this e-ink device is usable as a secondary display for my laptop, I'm in.

I'd love to get work done in sunny locations, like gardens. But these LCD screens make me squint. e-ink would be THE solution to this, but the e-ink displays are too expensive, to well supported and not very big.

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

#52

Post by freedomben »

xrd wrote: post #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 p…

I've had many of the same thoughts as you, and I have some theories. I'm not affiliated in any way with Pine other than I love (and buy) a lot of their stuff.

My theory is that they view themselves as the hardware people, not the makers of consumer devices. They follow an "if we build it they will come" approach. They have dipped a toe in consumer-facing stuff but the bulk of their stuff is "we make the open hardware, let the software people figure it out and support it, etc." I'm very comfortable with that, especially given that it allows them to make things really affordable (which IMHO is a super important aspect). It especially seems as though Manjaro is answering the call. I know there are some Fedora community members that are as well.

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

#54

Post by bluGill »

xrd wrote: post #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 p…

They are moving to a model where you can buy direct from china and no support; or from in country resellers for more money and support provided. If they can get the second wave to move to the resellers (pay for it) the model looks good.

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

#55

Post by ocdtrekkie »

Enginerrrd wrote: post #6

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 got my wife a Remarkable 2, and for as many Pine devices I own, I think she'd make fun of me for struggling with a PineNote. I'm glad there's more open source development going on in the space though.

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

#56

Post by amelius »

megous wrote: post #31
amelius wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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)

How about a PWM-like approach? E.g. select one row with high voltage, and activate the columns with a much higher frequency (where "longer on" results in more effective power into the cell)?

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

#57

Post by eloeffler »

Buttons840 wrote: post #22
eloeffler wrote: post #14

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?

Especially: Write down your root password and DO NOT factory reset the device if you want to go back to the original state.

If you follow these steps and you know a bit about linux you'll be fine.

Factory reset on the rM2 will mess with the community framebuffer service and reset your root password, effectively locking you out unless you go the fiddly way over the external port.

The rM1 is very resilient as you can directly access the internal storage without special tools.

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

#58

Post by marcus_holmes »

Youden wrote: post #21
Enginerrrd wrote: post #6

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)?

Love my Remarkable 2, it's replaced the endless amount of paper pads I used to have - I even sketch on it, which is taking some adjusting to (it ends up being closer to etching than pencil sketching).

But it hasn't replaced my e-reader. I read myself to sleep every night, and 80% of mornings wake up with the e-reader lying on the pillow next to me. If I tried that with the Remarkable I'd smack myself in the face every night. I have a hand-size e-reader (Tolino, a German brand) with a backlight, which I use in dark mode so less light to keep the gf awake. Works great.

I could see myself reading a technical manual on the Remarkable, but I'd still need the e-reader. Two different use cases.

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

#59

Post by eloeffler »

cies wrote: post #51
eloeffler wrote: post #14

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/

If this e-ink device is usable as a secondary display for my laptop, I'm in. I'd love to get work done in sunny locations, like gardens. But these LCD screens make me squint. e-ink would be THE solution to this, but the e-ink displays are too expensive, to well supported and not very big.

There is a community VNC client for it. If you're on Windows you'll need a HDMI dummy plug to simulate a second screen with the proper dimensions.

But yes, it works as an external screen. Check out VNSee for this https://github.com/matteodelabre/vnsee

Maybe the rM1 might be the best choice for this. I'm not sure...

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

#60

Post by megous »

amelius wrote: post #56
megous wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)

How about a PWM-like approach? E.g. select one row with high voltage, and activate the columns with a much higher frequency (where "longer on" results in more effective power into the cell)?

You'd need > 1000 independent PWMs and enough bandwidth to re-configure them for each row.
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