41–50 of 109 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> there's no way to check out an ebook from a library in a way that doesn't involve Amazon Isn't this what Libby - https://libbyapp.com/ - does?
But then you can't use it on an e-reader. It remains in the app.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Even if you have an open eBook reader, where are you going to get the books from? There's a huge ebook pirating scene, so you could always do that, buying the book beforehand if the ethics disturb you. What is sad to me is that there's no way to check out an ebook from a library in a way that doesn't involve Amazon.
> there's no way to check out an ebook from a library in a way that doesn't involve Amazon Isn't this what Libby - https://libbyapp.com/ - does?
I want an e-ink web browsing tablet. I want to be able to go to nytimes.com, or Vox, or Hacker News, and read the articles and comment threads on a high-contrast screen that doesn't hurt my eyes. I don't want to use some read-later service that sends specific articles to my e-reader, I want to just navigate to the sites directly. There would be trade-offs for sure, but it seems like the benefits would outweigh the do…
There is a lot going on in the eReader world but it is at the fringe of the tech bubble of SV. It is in Europe and Asia, specially Asia.
The usual FAANG companies don't want you using that stuff because it moves you away from their silos and platforms. If you start using a device to read books away from their profiling disguised as social interaction, away from their ad machines, and walled garden shops, they lose money. Oh boy, that sounded way more conspirational than I wanted. What I want to mean here is that since these type of eReaders do not favour major tech companies from the USA, they're usually not covered in their platforms or news media that follows SV stuff.
I want an e-ink web browsing tablet. I want to be able to go to nytimes.com, or Vox, or Hacker News, and read the articles and comment threads on a high-contrast screen that doesn't hurt my eyes. I don't want to use some read-later service that sends specific articles to my e-reader, I want to just navigate to the sites directly. There would be trade-offs for sure, but it seems like the benefits would outweigh the do…
I want an e-ink web browsing tablet. I want to be able to go to nytimes.com, or Vox, or Hacker News, and read the articles and comment threads on a high-contrast screen that doesn't hurt my eyes. I don't want to use some read-later service that sends specific articles to my e-reader, I want to just navigate to the sites directly. There would be trade-offs for sure, but it seems like the benefits would outweigh the do…
1) It was prebuilt, plug-and-play.
2) It comes as a kit. I can do it as a project with my kid. Once assembled, it's as above. Kit is consumer-friendly.
Digikey parts list and PCB is a little over my laziness tolerance.
People confuse free-as-in-freedom with free-as-in-not-making-a-profit. I've done free-as-in-freedom businesses, successfully. I wish others did too.
A lot of manufacturers underestimate the power of 100% open. I'm not price-sensitive. I'll pay for it. If my cheap Chinese [tablet/keyboard/mouse/webcam/etc.] comes with a PCB schematic, parts list, and open source firmware, I'll probably pay triple and prefer it to a Logitech/Razor/etc. I'll give nice online reviews too.
And the designs are simple enough no competitive edge is lost.
On the other side, projects like this, lacking a business model, rarely get mature enough for me to use. Make 'em nice and sell 'em, I say.
And yes, there will be cheaper clones, so profit margins can't be insane, but people will pay extra for the original branded version, AND profit margins can't be insane in competitive markets either way.
The kindle doesn't lock you into Amazon's ecosystem though... It supports many different formats, Calibre allows you to convert your books to a kindle-specific format for convenience and I've yet to find an ebook DRM that can't be easily cracked...
This isn't really equivalent to a kindle though. The fonts are basic, there's no enclosure. Fonts are a huge thing for eReaders and Amazon has spent a lot of time perfecting them. It's also important to remember that it's perfectly possible to use the Kindle without DRM. You can just put your own books on it with a cable, though you'll have to convert them to MOBI as it doesn't do ePub. The same can be done with othe…
I was able to easily jailbreak mine and it does ePub fine after that. I don't think a home-made device offers me any more freedom than a jailbroken kindle; I can drop to a shell and do all the same things. That said, while I enjoy tinkering, basically the only non-stock things I do are read ePubs and play zork. I'd prefer to save my tinkering for a desktop or laptop and keep a device just for reading books.
I want an e-ink web browsing tablet. I want to be able to go to nytimes.com, or Vox, or Hacker News, and read the articles and comment threads on a high-contrast screen that doesn't hurt my eyes. I don't want to use some read-later service that sends specific articles to my e-reader, I want to just navigate to the sites directly. There would be trade-offs for sure, but it seems like the benefits would outweigh the do…