Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

eInk Mode: Making web pages easier to read

jackscogito.blogspot.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 87 posts

Re: eInk Mode: Making web pages easier to read

#21

Post by carlosjobim »

thinkling wrote: post #20
bityard wrote: post #6

Okay, so I started reading this and got excited to see what this was all about. I've been wanting a web browser that can turn the "regular web" (as much as possible) into something more like an e-book that happens to have hyperlinks. Essentially, imagine Reader Mode, but all the time. But this is... something else? I tried scrolling to the bottom and as soon as I click on the scroll bar, I get a pop-up showing a bunc…

I find the wording ambiguous, but this: > Eink mode is not a closed-file format reader but rather a form of responsive web design (RWD) integrated into the website itself. suggests to me that it's a display mode you have to enable in the CSS design of the site, like "print" layout. I.e. this particular version is not software you can use on any site, it has to be baked into the site.

Yes it is, he has instructions here on how to enable it on your site: https://github.com/jack101311/Eink-Module

Now the quest is to make this something that the user instead enables on her device for all sites.

Re: eInk Mode: Making web pages easier to read

#22

Post by carlosjobim »

This is something genius from the article:

"WYSIWYG Printing (PDF Saving)

When printing web pages, browsers typically use a default pagination algorithm that rearranges the content based on the printed paper size. This ensures images aren't cut off by page boundaries. However, this pagination isn't tailored to the user's current device screen size. Instead, it uses standard paper dimensions like A4, A3, or B5. As a result, when downloading a PDF on a small-screen device using A4 sizing, the text may appear too small to read comfortably in a PDF reader, requiring zooming. This leads to the same issues as general web page zooming: inability to view full lines of text and the need for constant horizontal scrolling.

In Eink mode, pressing the print button will produce a PDF that mirrors the screen's display. While the paper size might be larger, resulting in surrounding whitespace, using an E Ink device's native PDF reader (such as Onyx's Neoreader) to automatically crop the margins will create a PDF that exactly matches the on-screen view. All highlighted annotations and handwritten notes will be preserved in their original page positions, achieving a true 'What You See Is What You Get' experience. This allows users to conveniently save and later review content on the same device without text size issues."

Re: eInk Mode: Making web pages easier to read

#24

Post by nottorp »

bityard wrote: post #6

Okay, so I started reading this and got excited to see what this was all about. I've been wanting a web browser that can turn the "regular web" (as much as possible) into something more like an e-book that happens to have hyperlinks. Essentially, imagine Reader Mode, but all the time. But this is... something else? I tried scrolling to the bottom and as soon as I click on the scroll bar, I get a pop-up showing a bunc…

When I browsed away by typing another site name in the address bar i got the 'your information may not be saved' firefox popup twice. Didn't see any forms...

Re: eInk Mode: Making web pages easier to read

#25

Post by darkteflon »

edent wrote: post #10
carlosjobim wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can -almost- do this on most browsers by pressing space bar to scroll down and shift+space bar to scroll up. But on phones there is no remedy yet. For e-ink the problem with space bar scrolling is that it has an animation which messes up the display. Historically we went from scrolls to pages when the printing press was developed. Digital reading needs to go through the same evolution, it seems.

On Android you can pair a Bluetooth presentation remote. Up and Down work as Page Up / Down. I use that for reading on my phone and eReader.

I do this too, on an iPhone and iPad. I keep several remotes scattered around the house and in the car, and have strategically placed either cellotape-backed Magsafe mounts (on things like the car sun visor) or suspension arms (desks, bed).

Sounds overkill, I know - my wife hates it - but if you do a lot of reading on your phone/iPad, your hands will thank you. I have an eReader too (jailbroken Kindle) which I really like, in principle, but between PDF text sizing and reflow issues, it’s often just way easier to break out the iPad in reader mode with one of these remotes.

Re: eInk Mode: Making web pages easier to read

#27

Post by latexr »

bityard wrote: post #6

Okay, so I started reading this and got excited to see what this was all about. I've been wanting a web browser that can turn the "regular web" (as much as possible) into something more like an e-book that happens to have hyperlinks. Essentially, imagine Reader Mode, but all the time. But this is... something else? I tried scrolling to the bottom and as soon as I click on the scroll bar, I get a pop-up showing a bunc…

> Essentially, imagine Reader Mode, but all the time.

You can tell Safari to use Reader Mode by default on all websites.

On iOS 18: Settings > Apps > Safari > Reader > All Websites.

On macOS 15: Safari > Settings… > Websites > Reader > When visiting other websites.

Re: eInk Mode: Making web pages easier to read

#28

Post by c0pi1ot »

bityard wrote: post #6

Okay, so I started reading this and got excited to see what this was all about. I've been wanting a web browser that can turn the "regular web" (as much as possible) into something more like an e-book that happens to have hyperlinks. Essentially, imagine Reader Mode, but all the time. But this is... something else? I tried scrolling to the bottom and as soon as I click on the scroll bar, I get a pop-up showing a bunc…

I had a similar idea to use the ibtegrated browser in my ebook.. maybe is useful to someone else https://ebookmode.dropdatabase.es/

Re: eInk Mode: Making web pages easier to read

#29

Post by jonathanlb »

bityard wrote: post #6

Okay, so I started reading this and got excited to see what this was all about. I've been wanting a web browser that can turn the "regular web" (as much as possible) into something more like an e-book that happens to have hyperlinks. Essentially, imagine Reader Mode, but all the time. But this is... something else? I tried scrolling to the bottom and as soon as I click on the scroll bar, I get a pop-up showing a bunc…

While looking for a typeface for my terminal, I happened upon the Braille Institute's website (https://www.brailleinstitute.org/) which exemplifies more or less what you're describing. It is an aesthetically-pleasing site, with low visual and cognitive loads.

Granted, that is an example of a site and not a browser, but I would love it if a browser could magically transform websites to look like the Braille Institute's, where visual and cognitive accessibility are first-class citizens in the UX.

Re: eInk Mode: Making web pages easier to read

#30

Post by edvardas »

jonathanlb wrote: post #29
bityard wrote: post #6

Okay, so I started reading this and got excited to see what this was all about. I've been wanting a web browser that can turn the "regular web" (as much as possible) into something more like an e-book that happens to have hyperlinks. Essentially, imagine Reader Mode, but all the time. But this is... something else? I tried scrolling to the bottom and as soon as I click on the scroll bar, I get a pop-up showing a bunc…

While looking for a typeface for my terminal, I happened upon the Braille Institute's website ( https://www.brailleinstitute.org/ ) which exemplifies more or less what you're describing. It is an aesthetically-pleasing site, with low visual and cognitive loads. Granted, that is an example of a site and not a browser, but I would love it if a browser could magically transform websites to look like the Braille Institut…

Do you happen to know how the Braille website's style is called? The high contrast, button shadows with big offsets. I've seen it in several places now and would like to use it myself
Post reply on HN