6 ms·

Do you use the text OCR feature? Is that component opensource?

AshamedCaptain 6y ago
Note they mean open as in "it runs a random old Linux kernel and you can have the root password", not as in "open source". Nothing whasoever from their software is actually open source, and nothing indicates they may not decide to simply close down the platform in the future (e.g. for "security" reasons)
- owenversteeg 6y ago
  Sure, but that's miles ahead of almost any other consumer device you can buy today. I'll take it.
  - jbeard4 6y ago
    Yes, I meant "open" in the sense that you do not need to jailbreak it to run software that has not been approved by the manufacturer, not "open" in the sense that the operating system is open source. Although, I think a lot of their operating system is open source and on their github page (linux kernel and uboot configuration): https://github.com/reMarkable https://github.com/reMarkable Their Qt-based shell software, xochitl, is not open source.
    - AshamedCaptain 6y ago
      In other words, they open sourced just what they're legally obliged to. The fact that this is surprising nowadays is heavily depressing.
  - AshamedCaptain 6y ago
    I think it's not as good as you think. There is a difference between "it happens to be open" and "manufacturer cares", and here it's more like the former. The experience here is in fact identical to e.g. using any device whose bootloader has been cracked. You are locked to very old kernel versions, or attempts to run a mainline kernel in various degrees of stability (or lack of). You cannot really modify the existing user interface to your liking, as it is even more closed than Android; it's either take it or replace it entirely. And if you stay on the official firmware then there is a non-negligible risk that they will lock it down. I've been through that route... It's in no way comparable to a some other devices (mentioned on HN too) where e.g. manufacturer actually cares about it. I agree it's technically better than "locked down bootloader with few chances of ever being unlocked" like some newer devices are, just not "miles better". Plus the fact that it does run GNU/Linux rather than Android makes it more hacker-friendly out of box, at least for some types of hackers.
    - jrib 6y ago
      > It's in no way comparable to a some other devices (mentioned on HN too) what sort of devices?
    - owenversteeg 6y ago
      Well, unlike nearly all consumer devices, they did intentionally leave it open and hackable, and promote this on their homepage. I think that makes it likely that they'll leave it open in the future as well. So sure, yes, I'd love it if it was a 100% FOSS project. But I'll take what I can get.
      - AshamedCaptain 6y ago
        Do they actually promote this in their webpage? I didn't see it anywhere.
- ognarb 6y ago
  The CTO is a KDE developer and they use and contribue some KDE libraries (like the KArchirve). They have a github with some projects: https://github.com/reMarkable/ https://github.com/reMarkable/ but sadly the software is not open.
- marcus_holmes 6y ago
  This is the thing I'm wary of. That when it does get to mass-market appeal, it'll be targetted by bad people, and then locked down, and this is why we can't have nice things. I don't want to buy an expensive hackable pad of paper that I then have to fight the manufacturer to keep hackable. I'm fed up of tech that stops me owning it properly so that idiots can be saved from their ignorance. I'm waiting for v3. Let's see what happens then.
Cyphase 6y ago
It seems not, unless the server code is hiding somewhere publically. https://support.remarkable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002661437-Convert-handwritten-notes-into-text https://support.remarkable.com/hc/en-us/articles/36000266143... > Wi-Fi connection and log-in is required > You need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network and logged in to a reMarkable account (my.remarkable.com) in order to use the handwriting conversion feature.
- generalizations 6y ago
  I would be very surprised if a commercial-grade handwriting conversion tool could run on that device. It sounds to me like they're sending off the data somewhere else to get converted into text.

Note they mean open as in "it runs a random old Linux kernel and you can have the root password", not as in "open source". Nothing whasoever from their software is actually open source, and nothing indicates they may not decide to simply close down the platform in the future (e.g. for "security" reasons)

owenversteeg 6y ago
Sure, but that's miles ahead of almost any other consumer device you can buy today. I'll take it.
- jbeard4 6y ago
  Yes, I meant "open" in the sense that you do not need to jailbreak it to run software that has not been approved by the manufacturer, not "open" in the sense that the operating system is open source. Although, I think a lot of their operating system is open source and on their github page (linux kernel and uboot configuration): https://github.com/reMarkable https://github.com/reMarkable Their Qt-based shell software, xochitl, is not open source.
  - AshamedCaptain 6y ago
    In other words, they open sourced just what they're legally obliged to. The fact that this is surprising nowadays is heavily depressing.
- AshamedCaptain 6y ago
  I think it's not as good as you think. There is a difference between "it happens to be open" and "manufacturer cares", and here it's more like the former. The experience here is in fact identical to e.g. using any device whose bootloader has been cracked. You are locked to very old kernel versions, or attempts to run a mainline kernel in various degrees of stability (or lack of). You cannot really modify the existing user interface to your liking, as it is even more closed than Android; it's either take it or replace it entirely. And if you stay on the official firmware then there is a non-negligible risk that they will lock it down. I've been through that route... It's in no way comparable to a some other devices (mentioned on HN too) where e.g. manufacturer actually cares about it. I agree it's technically better than "locked down bootloader with few chances of ever being unlocked" like some newer devices are, just not "miles better". Plus the fact that it does run GNU/Linux rather than Android makes it more hacker-friendly out of box, at least for some types of hackers.
  - jrib 6y ago
    > It's in no way comparable to a some other devices (mentioned on HN too) what sort of devices?
  - owenversteeg 6y ago
    Well, unlike nearly all consumer devices, they did intentionally leave it open and hackable, and promote this on their homepage. I think that makes it likely that they'll leave it open in the future as well. So sure, yes, I'd love it if it was a 100% FOSS project. But I'll take what I can get.
    - AshamedCaptain 6y ago
      Do they actually promote this in their webpage? I didn't see it anywhere.
ognarb 6y ago
The CTO is a KDE developer and they use and contribue some KDE libraries (like the KArchirve). They have a github with some projects: https://github.com/reMarkable/ https://github.com/reMarkable/ but sadly the software is not open.
marcus_holmes 6y ago
This is the thing I'm wary of. That when it does get to mass-market appeal, it'll be targetted by bad people, and then locked down, and this is why we can't have nice things. I don't want to buy an expensive hackable pad of paper that I then have to fight the manufacturer to keep hackable. I'm fed up of tech that stops me owning it properly so that idiots can be saved from their ignorance. I'm waiting for v3. Let's see what happens then.

Cyphase 6y ago

It seems not, unless the server code is hiding somewhere publically. https://support.remarkable.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002661437-Convert-handwritten-notes-into-text https://support.remarkable.com/hc/en-us/articles/36000266143... > Wi-Fi connection and log-in is required > You need to be connected to a Wi-Fi network and logged in to a reMarkable account (my.remarkable.com) in order to use the handwriting conversion feature.

generalizations 6y ago
I would be very surprised if a commercial-grade handwriting conversion tool could run on that device. It sounds to me like they're sending off the data somewhere else to get converted into text.