6 ms·

Some cool facts about the device from a hacker point of view: - Main developer/CTO is a KDE dev and very open source-friendly. - You get root access to the de

by lima 9y ago

Some cool facts about the device from a hacker point of view: - Main developer/CTO is a KDE dev and very open source-friendly. - You get root access to the device out of the box. - The device is running a mainline kernel with minimal patches, which have a good chance at being upstreamed[1]. - The toolchain is open[2]. They use vanilla QT/QML and people have already built simple example apps. - There's an unofficial Linux client which works just fine. - Desktop client and device run the same code, so you can just sync the files locally without connecting the device to the internet. Works both ways (it's the setup I use). [1]: https://github.com/reMarkable/linux https://github.com/reMarkable/linux [2]: https://remarkable.engineering https://remarkable.engineering Community: https://reddit.com/r/remarkabletablet https://reddit.com/r/remarkabletablet https://discordapp.com/channels/385916768696139794/385921743522627595 https://discordapp.com/channels/385916768696139794/385921743... https://github.com/reHackable https://github.com/reHackable

reacweb 9y ago
IMHO, these are important features. It seems it does not have Bluetooth (for a keyboard and/or headset to listen to mp3 while reading) and the battery can not be easily replaced.
- jsiepkes 9y ago
  Because its meant as an pen and paper replacement. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides why would you want to listen to MP3s on such a device? Your smartphone with bluetooth and microphone jack is way better equiped for such a thing.
  - reacweb 9y ago
    you are totally right.
  - m-p-3 9y ago
    I still wish it was slightly more than that. If I could read my emails on that thing instead of my violet screen, I'd consider it for work.
    - Jedd 9y ago
      > I still wish it was slightly more than that. You are describing a combination of 'perfect is the enemy of good' and feature creep. Assess the qualities of the product as shipped, assume good faith on behalf of the people doing the build & ship, and determine if the price & features are appropriate for you.
      - rhaps0dy 9y ago
        Also you can make an email app with the Qt toolkit they released! It doesn't require super fast refreshes like the drawing app, so you should be able to make it work. Email can be distracting from studying a document though.
        reacweb 9y ago
        We already have a phone with a decent email app. If "pages" and pdf files can easily be exchanged or synchronized with your phone, you do not need email app.
    - thaumaturgy 9y ago
      No. I own one. I've had mine since last November. I love it. I love it in large part because when I'm working on it, I -can't- read email, browse HN, read blogs, check on a server. The only thing I can do is put thoughts to words and diagrams. What you want is a tablet, maybe something from Amazon. The ReMarkable is intended for a different audience, people who remember what it's like to be undistracted and want that again.
      - wvenable 9y ago
        For $600 it better do more than that. If I wanted something to write on that does nothing else I'd just use a pad of actual paper. And that's the real competition for a device like this -- paper. I think it would need to come down in price significantly for it to be just what you want it to be.
        9y ago
  - freehunter 9y ago
    I miss the hell out of the Asus Eee Note. Black and white screen with a Wacom digitizer built in. Did basically nothing but allow you to read ebooks and write notes. I used mine for years after having it shipped from China (the only place I found to buy one, which meant I had to learn enough Chinese to order and to navigate the menus to change the language) until the cloud sync shut down and I couldn't be bothered to sync it manually with very outdated sync software. There's a market for a B+W ereader with a pen. Not a big market, but there is. -edit: however, that price puts me out of the market for this... the Eee Note cost me $200 which was perfect. $600 puts it just out of iPad Pro territory, which is where I'd personally go for that money. Shame. Hopefully it sells well enough that they can recoup development costs and bring the price down for later adopters.
  - s73v3r_ 9y ago
    I feel like if that was the case, it wouldn't cost $600.
- Sir_Cmpwn 9y ago
  https://github.com/fulldecent/system-bus-radio https://github.com/fulldecent/system-bus-radio
  - lima 9y ago
    Should be easy to get that running on the Remarkable...
- anarcat 9y ago
  There was the same comment when the Kobo came out (no audio) and that always struck me as odd as well. Why can't you use your phone or radio or whatever you normally use for your music instead? I certainly don't expect my books to play music (except those silly little kids book, and those drive me nuts anyways).
  - knaik94 9y ago
    Because it also means there's no text to speech capability.
  - toast0 9y ago
    I think there's several angles on this: a) the Kindle has/had audio support b) you might have audio books and want to use the same device to read them as written books c) text to speech d) many people read and listen to music at the same time, it might be nice to do that with a single device, especially if you want to sit and relax outdoors with the reader and not have your phone on you
_pmf_ 9y ago
Thanks for the links! What do you use it for; to write or to draw?
- lima 9y ago
  Lots of writing and some drawing. Writing is excellent, drawing works ok but it needs a few more brushes. For drawing, see: https://blog.remarkable.com/status-update-from-the-remarkable-team-60d75c3f1539 https://blog.remarkable.com/status-update-from-the-remarkabl...

by lima 9y ago

reacweb 9y ago

IMHO, these are important features. It seems it does not have Bluetooth (for a keyboard and/or headset to listen to mp3 while reading) and the battery can not be easily replaced.

jsiepkes 9y ago
Because its meant as an pen and paper replacement. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides why would you want to listen to MP3s on such a device? Your smartphone with bluetooth and microphone jack is way better equiped for such a thing.
- reacweb 9y ago
  you are totally right.
- m-p-3 9y ago
  I still wish it was slightly more than that. If I could read my emails on that thing instead of my violet screen, I'd consider it for work.
  - Jedd 9y ago
    > I still wish it was slightly more than that. You are describing a combination of 'perfect is the enemy of good' and feature creep. Assess the qualities of the product as shipped, assume good faith on behalf of the people doing the build & ship, and determine if the price & features are appropriate for you.
    - rhaps0dy 9y ago
      Also you can make an email app with the Qt toolkit they released! It doesn't require super fast refreshes like the drawing app, so you should be able to make it work. Email can be distracting from studying a document though.
      - reacweb 9y ago
        We already have a phone with a decent email app. If "pages" and pdf files can easily be exchanged or synchronized with your phone, you do not need email app.
  - thaumaturgy 9y ago
    No. I own one. I've had mine since last November. I love it. I love it in large part because when I'm working on it, I -can't- read email, browse HN, read blogs, check on a server. The only thing I can do is put thoughts to words and diagrams. What you want is a tablet, maybe something from Amazon. The ReMarkable is intended for a different audience, people who remember what it's like to be undistracted and want that again.
    - wvenable 9y ago
      For $600 it better do more than that. If I wanted something to write on that does nothing else I'd just use a pad of actual paper. And that's the real competition for a device like this -- paper. I think it would need to come down in price significantly for it to be just what you want it to be.
      - 9y ago
- freehunter 9y ago
  I miss the hell out of the Asus Eee Note. Black and white screen with a Wacom digitizer built in. Did basically nothing but allow you to read ebooks and write notes. I used mine for years after having it shipped from China (the only place I found to buy one, which meant I had to learn enough Chinese to order and to navigate the menus to change the language) until the cloud sync shut down and I couldn't be bothered to sync it manually with very outdated sync software. There's a market for a B+W ereader with a pen. Not a big market, but there is. -edit: however, that price puts me out of the market for this... the Eee Note cost me $200 which was perfect. $600 puts it just out of iPad Pro territory, which is where I'd personally go for that money. Shame. Hopefully it sells well enough that they can recoup development costs and bring the price down for later adopters.
- s73v3r_ 9y ago
  I feel like if that was the case, it wouldn't cost $600.
Sir_Cmpwn 9y ago
https://github.com/fulldecent/system-bus-radio https://github.com/fulldecent/system-bus-radio
- lima 9y ago
  Should be easy to get that running on the Remarkable...
anarcat 9y ago
There was the same comment when the Kobo came out (no audio) and that always struck me as odd as well. Why can't you use your phone or radio or whatever you normally use for your music instead? I certainly don't expect my books to play music (except those silly little kids book, and those drive me nuts anyways).
- knaik94 9y ago
  Because it also means there's no text to speech capability.
- toast0 9y ago
  I think there's several angles on this: a) the Kindle has/had audio support b) you might have audio books and want to use the same device to read them as written books c) text to speech d) many people read and listen to music at the same time, it might be nice to do that with a single device, especially if you want to sit and relax outdoors with the reader and not have your phone on you

_pmf_ 9y ago

Thanks for the links! What do you use it for; to write or to draw?

lima 9y ago
Lots of writing and some drawing. Writing is excellent, drawing works ok but it needs a few more brushes. For drawing, see: https://blog.remarkable.com/status-update-from-the-remarkable-team-60d75c3f1539 https://blog.remarkable.com/status-update-from-the-remarkabl...