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Thoughts on Daylight Computer

jon.bo

141–150 of 155 posts

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#141

It reassures me that going with an Onyx Boox Tab Pro was the better choice. Full e-ink, not e-Paper, but still can switch to a mode where you could, if you want, watch a movie. Backlight is not crazy orange, it's what you want (warmth controlled separately from brightness). Ignores hand when you use the stylus, or at least, uses hands gestures for different things than the stylus and I never had the issue. Bluetooth…

I for one would love crazy orange :-) There are, almost, dozens of us!

Onyx offers that option, but does not mandate it.

Max the "warm" frontlight slider, min the "cold". Voila la orange!

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hardware is mediocre, the OS is laggy, can't easily take notes / share interesting quotes, its slow enough trying to buy my next book I just go to sleep if I finish a book & bulk shop for books on phone/desktop in the morning. I can't remember the last time they added a new feature that was useful. I used to actually read the newspaper on it but they killed it. They used to make a giant one which was kind of a co…

> They used to make a giant one which was kind of a cool idea, but they killed it. They have a new(er) big one, the scribe

Yeah fair point, though there was a 5+ year period without the big screen model. Also the scribe apparently is fairly mediocre - https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/28/24328287/amazon-kindle-s...

Also I at this point I have a mental block on spending more than $250 for any Kindle after years of dealing with their mediocrity.

So I'd rather take a spin with a new device from a new company than hope this time after nearly 20 years Amazon really figured it out...

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#143

It reassures me that going with an Onyx Boox Tab Pro was the better choice. Full e-ink, not e-Paper, but still can switch to a mode where you could, if you want, watch a movie. Backlight is not crazy orange, it's what you want (warmth controlled separately from brightness). Ignores hand when you use the stylus, or at least, uses hands gestures for different things than the stylus and I never had the issue. Bluetooth…

I'm also in the Onyx BOOX camp (Max Lumi, going on my fourth year, numerous previous mentions/discussions in my HN history). Most of the observations on the Daylight Computer, particularly about readability under direct sunlight (the exact opposite of all other portable devices I've used, save the similarly B&W LCD-based Palm Pilot ... oh, a quarter century ago now) really is quite nice.

Other features seem pretty comparable with the DC. I suspect DC's high-speed refresh beats E-ink, but that E-ink's persistence, resolution, and clarity are strong counterpoints.

The observations on B&W v. colour are interesting, and mostly match my own experience. Coding (in vim under Termux) takes me back to monochrome screen days (though those were largely green/amber rather than B&W), and the loss of colour syntax highlighting can be somewhat jarring (though I remember finding the garishness of it being initially offputting when I'd first begun using it). I find the Web much less distracting in B&W, and only rarely miss colour, though for some data presentation (e.g., graphs and charts) it can be conspicuous by its absence). I'd like to try a colour e-ink device at some point.

For a device that maximises portability, preserves battery life, functions spectacularly in all lighting conditions (though diffuse overhead lighting tends toward glare), and is principally aimed at reading / listening / notetaking, with light technical work (largely under Termux w/ a Bluetooth keyboard) I strongly recommend the form-factor, and would suggest exploring either e-ink or e-paper depending on specific preferences, the key distinction likely being the refresh/persistence aspect noted previously.

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#144

I quite like mine, but I haven't done any work work on it. No typing or anything. I've read a couple of books on it, I've read some manga (perfect match for the monochrome screen), and I've taken some notes on some papers that I'm working through. I'm impressed with the battery, and I've been using it every single day since I got it. Mindblowing? No. Just a nice reading experience. Perfect if you want something large…

On Onyx it's possible to swap in other-than-stock launchers, such as Nova (though that's apparently ceased further development: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41205497>).

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I was looking up such screens, these also seem to sell "quick refresh" PC screens: https://shop.dasung.com/ Just did a quick search on HN and while it did get posted recent ones didn't get many comments, not many users perhaps? I'd be greedy and wish there was something in the middle (13 is tiny for desktop but there's no battery so it's not really laptop friendly; 25 is a bit too big for my desk), but perhaps.…

The Dasung monitors are cool, but those are actual Eink, whereas the Daylight tablet is LCD, so you'll have a wildly different experience between the two. There's a reflective lcd subreddit that discusses reflective lcd pc monitors, looks like at least one company is launching a commercial product soon.

Are you aware of any specific direct comparisons?

Video of same would be particularly illuminating, I think.

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#146
post #92

I have one of these and I'm just about ready to give it away. The problem is it doesn't fit a use case that I don't have better solutions for. I've found that writing on the screen makes me prefer paper; reading on the screen makes me prefer books. I wanted to like the DC-1 but every time I use it something feels off. Maybe that's partly because I don't enjoy the Android experience.

Yeah; I was really excited about this, but then saw it ran android. Hard pass. I have an android tablet laying around, and never use it. A Linux version / polished installable rom would make it compelling for me, especially if it included stuff from the kindle jailbreak community. Other than that, the ability to ssh, a shell with apt or apk, running vs code, and a web browser would cover a big chunk of my daily drive…

What do you assume that a non-apple tablet runs, if not Android. Why would running Android be a surprise to you?

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#147

I've had a DC-1 for several months now. My biggest fear is that the company won't make a second version. I think I can truthfully say this is the one digital device I've actually been excited to own! I have two primary usecases - reading on the train and taking notes in meetings. On the first - being a full Android, I can use apps or a web browser, and it's extremely responsive and highly legible. On the notetaking s…

I believe their first few Founder's Edition batches did ship with a cover, and a nicer sling.

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They used to make a giant one which was kind of a cool idea, but they killed it. They have a new(er) big one, the scribe

Yeah fair point, though there was a 5+ year period without the big screen model. Also the scribe apparently is fairly mediocre - https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/28/24328287/amazon-kindle-s... Also I at this point I have a mental block on spending more than $250 for any Kindle after years of dealing with their mediocrity. So I'd rather take a spin with a new device from a new company than hope this time after nearly…

I feel the same about my Kindle... but also have yet to pull the trigger on anything else. I've eyed some Boox ones, they have a million options from Kindle to tablet formfactor, including color, and they run Android so easy to do newspapers, magazines, feeds, ..., but I also find it hard to justify when my Kindle still works kinda fine. Ugh

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#149
post #92

I have one of these and I'm just about ready to give it away. The problem is it doesn't fit a use case that I don't have better solutions for. I've found that writing on the screen makes me prefer paper; reading on the screen makes me prefer books. I wanted to like the DC-1 but every time I use it something feels off. Maybe that's partly because I don't enjoy the Android experience.

Yeah; I was really excited about this, but then saw it ran android. Hard pass. I have an android tablet laying around, and never use it. A Linux version / polished installable rom would make it compelling for me, especially if it included stuff from the kindle jailbreak community. Other than that, the ability to ssh, a shell with apt or apk, running vs code, and a web browser would cover a big chunk of my daily drive…

have you found much use for termux? i use it for quite a bit, running python scripts, yt-dlp and ffmpeg stuff. neovim.

you cant run things like vscode but there is an app called andronix that lets you run a full linux os and then you remote into it from a browser. its probably clunky though

Re: Thoughts on Daylight Computer

#150
post #16

From the picture, it has the low-contrast look of an older E-ink display. Here's a higher-contrast E-ink display.[1] There are also emissive display laptops brighter than 1000 nits, which is about where they become sunlight-readable. Battery life might be a problem. [1] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GKVM94N1F6E

The lower contrast is because it's not e-ink (with the very slow refresh times that implies). It's something more like an LCD.

For values of "something like" strongly approaching "actually is a transflective LCD".

https://www.androidpolice.com/origins-daylight-dc-1-with-cre...>

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