8 ms·

Is anyone aware of a netbook-form device with an e-ink display? I've always felt that'd be my ideal device for writing on-the-go; especially if it'd run vi, nvi

by messe 8y ago

Is anyone aware of a netbook-form device with an e-ink display? I've always felt that'd be my ideal device for writing on-the-go; especially if it'd run vi, nvi or vim.

tanisds 8y ago
https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17788476/lenovo-yoga-book-c930-dual-e-ink-screen-price-photos-release-date-ifa-2018 https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17788476/lenovo-yoga-book...
- craftyguy 8y ago
  That's not at all what they are asking for. The e-ink 'display' is the keyboard, not the display for term/graphics. Also: > Memory: 4GB RAM Why do laptop manufacturers insist on being stuck in 2005?
  - PeCaN 8y ago
    >Why do laptop manufacturers insist on being stuck in 2005? why does running apps these days require 16GB because developers insist on using as much RAM as possible
    - sambull 8y ago
      Abstraction
    - Erlich_Bachman 8y ago
      Because RAM is cheap, and human developer/testing time is expensive.
      - shakna 8y ago
        RAM is only cheap if your consumer can actually run your product. As manufacturer's have decided 4GB is good enough for most people... Maybe the developer is the problem.
        craftyguy 8y ago
        > As manufacturer's have decided 4GB is good enough for most people "640K of memory should be enough for anybody."
        shakna 8y ago
        "RAMs cheap, everyone should have more than enough." Platitudes are cheap. Ignoring the real world, and allowing cheap excuses for either developers or manufacturers isn't acceptable. With 640K, a lot of developers built decent software. They didn't decide that the manufacturer was wrong and so their software would simply be a resource hog, as that was easier for their developers. But they also asked for more too.
        skyride 8y ago
        With 640K of memory, developers were building basic productivity tools with simple CLI interfaces and little or no extensibility.
        shakna 8y ago
        Sid Meier's Civilization ran in 640k. No extended memory. RetroCityRampage[0] is a modern game with a DOS port that uses no more than 640k of RAM [1]. That's a lot more than a simple CLI interface. [0] https://vblank.com/RetroCityRampage/ https://vblank.com/RetroCityRampage/ [1] https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/248019/How_5_years_of_burning_ambition_brought_Retro_City_Rampage_to_DOS.php https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/248019/How_5_years_of_bu...
        srean 8y ago
        Which developers ? 2K seems to have been enough for the Apollo mission to go to the moon and back https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer#Memory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer#Memor...
    - craftyguy 8y ago
      Yea, good luck running Windows 10 on that (since that's what it supposedly ships with).
      - sohkamyung 8y ago
        I'm typing this on the original Lenovo Yoga Book with 4GB of RAM and it works. On bootup Win 10 occupies about 2GB of RAM. I'm using Firefox Nightly to view this HN comment and it occupies 500-600 MB of memory, leaving a bit still free. Yes, 4GB is probably ridiculous for a real laptop. But viewed as a tablet, it (the original Yoga Book) is workable. Of course, I would love the new Yoga Book to have more memory. Hopefully, Lenovo gets the memo and tries to add more, although that would push the price up.
  - wiz21c 8y ago
    I run on 4GB and it's good enough for : browsing, python development of GUI, looking at picture, listening to music, serving music, word processing, making patches to KDE, running a virtual machine, etc. Oh and it's 2018.
    - craftyguy 8y ago
      I'm not arguing that 4GB is not enough for running a Linux distro (I'm sitting at ~800MB of RAM usage on i3 with qutebrowser, cmus, vim, and more!). But 4GB is not enough to do anything beyond that, especially for developers. It's also almost certainly not enough to do much of anything on the OS it actually ships with (windows 10).
  - c2h5oh 8y ago
    Because the price of RAM went up by over 250% since late 2016.
samstave 8y ago
Holy carp. The link from the user below you, which I am reposting, as his link is [dead] is quite amazing... Lenovo's Yoga Book... I want this device: https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17788476/lenovo-yoga-book-c930-dual-e-ink-screen-price-photos-release-date-ifa-2018 https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17788476/lenovo-yoga-book...
- simcop2387 8y ago
  Definitely looks cool. I went and vouched for his comment since I suspect it was hit by anti-spam filters (just being a link).
- gedy 8y ago
  Afaik you can't use the e-ink as a normal display though, bummer
  - samstave 8y ago
    I wonder what this machine will do if you install other OS' onto it though
    - Inityx 8y ago
      Probably not much, unless someone reverse engineers the drivers.
  - castratikron 8y ago
    yet
- poizan42 8y ago
  A keyboard you can't touch type on? And they are showing the home-row notches on the J and F keys on the display like that makes a difference? I think I'll pass.
  - samstave 8y ago
    If its an e-ink haptic keyboard, I wonder if its not configurable to whatever degree -- or will it only run one US-Centric keyboard version? I would like to be able to configure the thing in any way... given that you can write on it with a pen, that implies that its 100% touch-surface, so I don't see how you cant just assign whatever touch interface you want to it...
abledon 8y ago
buy a dasung paperlike pro 3[1] e-ink monitor and place it infront of your laptop screen. Retina display on __E-INK__. slim like a book, just carry it wherever you take your laptop. can double as dual monitor. [1]https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-3-a-smart-e-ink-monitor-save-your-eyes https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-3-a-smart-e-ink...
- lylecubed 8y ago
  It looks like this guy was one of the first to get one of the new ones. Here's a typing test video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvyS047RYqU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvyS047RYqU
  - IshKebab 8y ago
    Wow that is impressively fast. Wish it was a bit cheaper than $900 though.
- nextos 8y ago
  The problem with Dasung is that they force you to use a driver, which is a bit buggy and not available for all platforms. But I reckon their hardware is super nice. Boox Android tablets can take input through standard HDMI, without any software. Another option is an AMOLED screen, and invert colors to have the majority of the screen switched off. Sadly portable JOLED screens from Asus are not coming out yet, despite being announced for Q2.
  - IshKebab 8y ago
    That one uses HDMI and there's a comment saying they didn't need to install any drivers.
    - nextos 8y ago
      That's great. Can you link the comment please?
    - JoshTriplett 8y ago
opencl 8y ago
There was one announced last year but it appears to be vaporware. The Boox Typewriter. Probably the closest you're going to find is an e-ink Android tablet paired with a keyboard folio case. Pixel Qi is not really e-ink but sort of similar. You can still find the screens on eBay and transplant one into an old netbook.
- messe 8y ago
  > Pixel Qi is not really e-ink but sort of similar. You can still find the screens on eBay and transplant one into an old netbook. I'll look into it, thanks.
jedimastert 8y ago
There is this thing https://getfreewrite.com/ https://getfreewrite.com/
- mdonahoe 8y ago
  No terminal support out of the box, at least not that I can find
2m 8y ago
There is also Onyx Boox 10.3 with some pretty good reviews: https://twitter.com/milessabin/status/1035499322882883584 https://twitter.com/milessabin/status/1035499322882883584 It runs Android. So running Termux app with a BT keyboard should be pretty good.
- m-p-3 8y ago
  Termux is great, and it's also available through the F-Droid appstore.
- Erlich_Bachman 8y ago
  Not only does it run Android, it has built-in HDMI mode, where you can just connect it to any HDMI port as a second screen. It will act as any regular screen (except it's e-ink of course). This way you don't even need a Termux or bluetooth, or whatever, instead depending on your setup you might just connect it to your PC and run any software you want as on any regular screen. (The screen refresh will be somewhat laggy of course, but they really did a great job in this one, and many regular apps are truly usable.)
  - mlonkibjuyhv 8y ago
    No HDMI on this model, the larger 13 inch does have it though.
- messe 8y ago
  Neat.
jimktrains2 8y ago
I love the reflective mode in the XO-1. I've always been very sad it hadn't become more common.
rapind 8y ago
What I would give for a MacBook (or the equivalent) with an e-ink screen. Not some cheap Android semi-computer-tablet, but a full on laptop. No dual screen gimmicks, just a laptop that can be used outside (readable) with the improved battery life from what would be such an awesome screen. My understanding as to why this may never exist is because there's not much of a market and the refresh rate is too slow. But I can dream.
kochthesecond 8y ago
Doesn't e-ink have horrible lag?

by messe 8y ago

Is anyone aware of a netbook-form device with an e-ink display? I've always felt that'd be my ideal device for writing on-the-go; especially if it'd run vi, nvi or vim.

tanisds 8y ago

https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17788476/lenovo-yoga-book-c930-dual-e-ink-screen-price-photos-release-date-ifa-2018 https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17788476/lenovo-yoga-book...

craftyguy 8y ago
That's not at all what they are asking for. The e-ink 'display' is the keyboard, not the display for term/graphics. Also: > Memory: 4GB RAM Why do laptop manufacturers insist on being stuck in 2005?
- PeCaN 8y ago
  >Why do laptop manufacturers insist on being stuck in 2005? why does running apps these days require 16GB because developers insist on using as much RAM as possible
  - sambull 8y ago
    Abstraction
  - Erlich_Bachman 8y ago
    Because RAM is cheap, and human developer/testing time is expensive.
    - shakna 8y ago
      RAM is only cheap if your consumer can actually run your product. As manufacturer's have decided 4GB is good enough for most people... Maybe the developer is the problem.
      - craftyguy 8y ago
        > As manufacturer's have decided 4GB is good enough for most people "640K of memory should be enough for anybody."
        shakna 8y ago
        "RAMs cheap, everyone should have more than enough." Platitudes are cheap. Ignoring the real world, and allowing cheap excuses for either developers or manufacturers isn't acceptable. With 640K, a lot of developers built decent software. They didn't decide that the manufacturer was wrong and so their software would simply be a resource hog, as that was easier for their developers. But they also asked for more too.
        skyride 8y ago
        With 640K of memory, developers were building basic productivity tools with simple CLI interfaces and little or no extensibility.
        shakna 8y ago
        Sid Meier's Civilization ran in 640k. No extended memory. RetroCityRampage[0] is a modern game with a DOS port that uses no more than 640k of RAM [1]. That's a lot more than a simple CLI interface. [0] https://vblank.com/RetroCityRampage/ https://vblank.com/RetroCityRampage/ [1] https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/248019/How_5_years_of_burning_ambition_brought_Retro_City_Rampage_to_DOS.php https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/248019/How_5_years_of_bu...
        srean 8y ago
        Which developers ? 2K seems to have been enough for the Apollo mission to go to the moon and back https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer#Memory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer#Memor...
  - craftyguy 8y ago
    Yea, good luck running Windows 10 on that (since that's what it supposedly ships with).
    - sohkamyung 8y ago
      I'm typing this on the original Lenovo Yoga Book with 4GB of RAM and it works. On bootup Win 10 occupies about 2GB of RAM. I'm using Firefox Nightly to view this HN comment and it occupies 500-600 MB of memory, leaving a bit still free. Yes, 4GB is probably ridiculous for a real laptop. But viewed as a tablet, it (the original Yoga Book) is workable. Of course, I would love the new Yoga Book to have more memory. Hopefully, Lenovo gets the memo and tries to add more, although that would push the price up.
- wiz21c 8y ago
  I run on 4GB and it's good enough for : browsing, python development of GUI, looking at picture, listening to music, serving music, word processing, making patches to KDE, running a virtual machine, etc. Oh and it's 2018.
  - craftyguy 8y ago
    I'm not arguing that 4GB is not enough for running a Linux distro (I'm sitting at ~800MB of RAM usage on i3 with qutebrowser, cmus, vim, and more!). But 4GB is not enough to do anything beyond that, especially for developers. It's also almost certainly not enough to do much of anything on the OS it actually ships with (windows 10).
- c2h5oh 8y ago
  Because the price of RAM went up by over 250% since late 2016.

samstave 8y ago

Holy carp. The link from the user below you, which I am reposting, as his link is [dead] is quite amazing... Lenovo's Yoga Book... I want this device: https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17788476/lenovo-yoga-book-c930-dual-e-ink-screen-price-photos-release-date-ifa-2018 https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/30/17788476/lenovo-yoga-book...

simcop2387 8y ago
Definitely looks cool. I went and vouched for his comment since I suspect it was hit by anti-spam filters (just being a link).
gedy 8y ago
Afaik you can't use the e-ink as a normal display though, bummer
- samstave 8y ago
  I wonder what this machine will do if you install other OS' onto it though
  - Inityx 8y ago
    Probably not much, unless someone reverse engineers the drivers.
- castratikron 8y ago
  yet
poizan42 8y ago
A keyboard you can't touch type on? And they are showing the home-row notches on the J and F keys on the display like that makes a difference? I think I'll pass.
- samstave 8y ago
  If its an e-ink haptic keyboard, I wonder if its not configurable to whatever degree -- or will it only run one US-Centric keyboard version? I would like to be able to configure the thing in any way... given that you can write on it with a pen, that implies that its 100% touch-surface, so I don't see how you cant just assign whatever touch interface you want to it...

abledon 8y ago

buy a dasung paperlike pro 3[1] e-ink monitor and place it infront of your laptop screen. Retina display on __E-INK__. slim like a book, just carry it wherever you take your laptop. can double as dual monitor. [1]https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-3-a-smart-e-ink-monitor-save-your-eyes https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/paperlike-3-a-smart-e-ink...

lylecubed 8y ago
It looks like this guy was one of the first to get one of the new ones. Here's a typing test video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvyS047RYqU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvyS047RYqU
- IshKebab 8y ago
  Wow that is impressively fast. Wish it was a bit cheaper than $900 though.
nextos 8y ago
The problem with Dasung is that they force you to use a driver, which is a bit buggy and not available for all platforms. But I reckon their hardware is super nice. Boox Android tablets can take input through standard HDMI, without any software. Another option is an AMOLED screen, and invert colors to have the majority of the screen switched off. Sadly portable JOLED screens from Asus are not coming out yet, despite being announced for Q2.
- IshKebab 8y ago
  That one uses HDMI and there's a comment saying they didn't need to install any drivers.
  - nextos 8y ago
    That's great. Can you link the comment please?
  - JoshTriplett 8y ago

opencl 8y ago

There was one announced last year but it appears to be vaporware. The Boox Typewriter. Probably the closest you're going to find is an e-ink Android tablet paired with a keyboard folio case. Pixel Qi is not really e-ink but sort of similar. You can still find the screens on eBay and transplant one into an old netbook.

messe 8y ago
> Pixel Qi is not really e-ink but sort of similar. You can still find the screens on eBay and transplant one into an old netbook. I'll look into it, thanks.

jedimastert 8y ago

There is this thing https://getfreewrite.com/ https://getfreewrite.com/

mdonahoe 8y ago
No terminal support out of the box, at least not that I can find

2m 8y ago

There is also Onyx Boox 10.3 with some pretty good reviews: https://twitter.com/milessabin/status/1035499322882883584 https://twitter.com/milessabin/status/1035499322882883584 It runs Android. So running Termux app with a BT keyboard should be pretty good.

m-p-3 8y ago
Termux is great, and it's also available through the F-Droid appstore.
Erlich_Bachman 8y ago
Not only does it run Android, it has built-in HDMI mode, where you can just connect it to any HDMI port as a second screen. It will act as any regular screen (except it's e-ink of course). This way you don't even need a Termux or bluetooth, or whatever, instead depending on your setup you might just connect it to your PC and run any software you want as on any regular screen. (The screen refresh will be somewhat laggy of course, but they really did a great job in this one, and many regular apps are truly usable.)
- mlonkibjuyhv 8y ago
  No HDMI on this model, the larger 13 inch does have it though.
messe 8y ago
Neat.

jimktrains2 8y ago

I love the reflective mode in the XO-1. I've always been very sad it hadn't become more common.

rapind 8y ago

What I would give for a MacBook (or the equivalent) with an e-ink screen. Not some cheap Android semi-computer-tablet, but a full on laptop. No dual screen gimmicks, just a laptop that can be used outside (readable) with the improved battery life from what would be such an awesome screen. My understanding as to why this may never exist is because there's not much of a market and the refresh rate is too slow. But I can dream.

kochthesecond 8y ago

Doesn't e-ink have horrible lag?