9 ms·

Well, the kindle runs essentially Linux so by jailbreaking it you gain the ability to launch arbitrary code! Eg alternate pdf readers, games, ssh, vim and a lot

by replax 10y ago

Well, the kindle runs essentially Linux so by jailbreaking it you gain the ability to launch arbitrary code! Eg alternate pdf readers, games, ssh, vim and a lot more which can be very useful (especially the off reader KOreader)! check out mobilereads forums if you want to know more about that, it's a vibrant community.

semi-extrinsic 10y ago
What I'd like to see is someone get xterm in Tektronix 4014 emulation mode with $EDITOR to run on the Kindle Keyboard. Because e-ink screens are exactly like the old Tektronix vector displays, in that adding a character/line/dot to the screen is much faster than repainting the whole screen. Should make for a much more useable experience.
dharma1 10y ago
Is it usable in a beach situation, if you really need to hack away in bright sunshine?
- emodendroket 10y ago
  This is precisely the scenario e-ink excels in.
- lj3 10y ago
  This guy thinks so: https://tinyapps.org/docs/e-ink-monitor.html https://tinyapps.org/docs/e-ink-monitor.html
  - dharma1 10y ago
    Nice. I wonder if you could do away with the laptop altogether, and just use your phone with the Kindle, maybe with a bluetooth keyboard for the kindle (for some light work on a beach). Or if there are any other e-ink tablets that run a full linux (cli) or Android?
    - lj3 10y ago
      There are eink readers that are easier to hack, like the Kobo, but they're all limited in that they're e-readers and have the minimal processing power to match. The only full on eink tablet I know of is this one[0] which technically doesn't exist yet. It's fully funded, though, so I'm excited to see if it actually ships. [0]: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reader#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reade...
      - dharma1 10y ago
        That 13.3 e-ink tablet looks pretty tasty, I hope it materialises. I suppose you could run VNC on your Android/Ubuntu phone, and just use the e-ink tablet as a thin client. Maybe the slow redraw of e-ink would suck for real work, unless there are ways to make it more palatable for terminal work
        lj3 10y ago
        That's a limitation of e-ink that has yet to be explored. The Dasung paperlike[0] is a usb driven eink screen. From what I've seen of it so far, the refresh rate is on par with other usb-driven monitors I've used. It's about good enough for editing text, but anything more gets old fast. I wonder how fast that monitor could be pushed if used displayport instead of USB. I've been tempted to buy an eink dev kit and see how fast I can push the refresh rate without consideration for battery life. Alas, I can't justify the cost. Oh, and I've never done embedded programming or driver development before. I suspect that might be an issue. :D [0]: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e-ink-monitor-13-3#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e...
        snaky 10y ago
        Using vim in 'noredraw' mode you don't need high refresh rate, 9600 baud is fine. Well, I'd say even more - these days when usual attention span is like, I don't know, 5 seconds? having a device which is restrictive in this regard, might be a very positive experience.
JetSetWilly 10y ago
You can left-justify text, just like in actual books. That alone is reason enough to jailbreak, it baffles me why amazon are so tone-deaf regarding this.

by replax 10y ago

semi-extrinsic 10y ago

What I'd like to see is someone get xterm in Tektronix 4014 emulation mode with $EDITOR to run on the Kindle Keyboard. Because e-ink screens are exactly like the old Tektronix vector displays, in that adding a character/line/dot to the screen is much faster than repainting the whole screen. Should make for a much more useable experience.

dharma1 10y ago

Is it usable in a beach situation, if you really need to hack away in bright sunshine?

emodendroket 10y ago
This is precisely the scenario e-ink excels in.
lj3 10y ago
This guy thinks so: https://tinyapps.org/docs/e-ink-monitor.html https://tinyapps.org/docs/e-ink-monitor.html
- dharma1 10y ago
  Nice. I wonder if you could do away with the laptop altogether, and just use your phone with the Kindle, maybe with a bluetooth keyboard for the kindle (for some light work on a beach). Or if there are any other e-ink tablets that run a full linux (cli) or Android?
  - lj3 10y ago
    There are eink readers that are easier to hack, like the Kobo, but they're all limited in that they're e-readers and have the minimal processing power to match. The only full on eink tablet I know of is this one[0] which technically doesn't exist yet. It's fully funded, though, so I'm excited to see if it actually ships. [0]: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reader#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/13-3-inch-android-e-reade...
    - dharma1 10y ago
      That 13.3 e-ink tablet looks pretty tasty, I hope it materialises. I suppose you could run VNC on your Android/Ubuntu phone, and just use the e-ink tablet as a thin client. Maybe the slow redraw of e-ink would suck for real work, unless there are ways to make it more palatable for terminal work
      - lj3 10y ago
        That's a limitation of e-ink that has yet to be explored. The Dasung paperlike[0] is a usb driven eink screen. From what I've seen of it so far, the refresh rate is on par with other usb-driven monitors I've used. It's about good enough for editing text, but anything more gets old fast. I wonder how fast that monitor could be pushed if used displayport instead of USB. I've been tempted to buy an eink dev kit and see how fast I can push the refresh rate without consideration for battery life. Alas, I can't justify the cost. Oh, and I've never done embedded programming or driver development before. I suspect that might be an issue. :D [0]: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e-ink-monitor-13-3#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-world-s-first-e...
        snaky 10y ago
        Using vim in 'noredraw' mode you don't need high refresh rate, 9600 baud is fine. Well, I'd say even more - these days when usual attention span is like, I don't know, 5 seconds? having a device which is restrictive in this regard, might be a very positive experience.

JetSetWilly 10y ago

You can left-justify text, just like in actual books. That alone is reason enough to jailbreak, it baffles me why amazon are so tone-deaf regarding this.