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20$ isn't much so affordability is not a problem. The author also mentions on his website that he is able to discuss alternative payment methods on a case-by-ca

20$ isn't much so affordability is not a problem. The author also mentions on his website that he is able to discuss alternative payment methods on a case-by-case basis if you don't like PayPal.

yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
Of course it's affordable. But having a paywall at all is a huge amount of friction and will reduce your community size.
- detaro 6y ago
  paywall seems a bit strong for something where they literally provide you with a guide on how to do the bit you'd pay for yourself.
- megous 6y ago
  Might as well be the opposite. :) I added full FOSS support to Linux kernel for one of the PocketBook e-book readers, including a custom driver for the e-ink display. Gave away all the reverse engineered information about the reader for free. After a year, community size is 0. For this person, having a paywall might even work better psychologically, to get some interested people hooked. The biggest friction as always, is actually creating something useful in userspace, writing apps, etc. That's waaay more than $20.
  - davisr 6y ago
    Hello, I'm "this person." :) Parabola-rM already has a few users. I think charging for the convenience of pre-built images, and offering support/gratis updates for some time, helps people be comfortable with playing "in the deep-end" so-to-speak. That, along with high-quality documentation and a plain, no-bullshit way of being.
  - solarkraft 6y ago
    That sounds amazing! Which one is it? Do you have a link? I'd really like to experiment with all the new mobile Linux software on an e-reader. I can't guarantee anything, but the community may just grow a little :-) Would you mind sharing some details about how you implemented the driver? I happen to have an ED097OC1 (possibly excess stock from the Kindle DX) on my hands and would like to drive it from a Linux system.
    - megous 6y ago
      It's http://linux-sunxi.org/PocketBook_Touch_Lux_3 http://linux-sunxi.org/PocketBook_Touch_Lux_3
Funes- 6y ago
>20$ isn't much so affordability is not a problem. It is, for me. I'd be willing to donate a smaller amount, though, but not an imposed fee over free software. That's my personal point of view--others, perhaps many, might think differently, sure.
- seba_dos1 6y ago
  If you own a ReMarkable, it's not. Especially not for something that you can do by yourself with just a bit more effort.
  - Funes- 6y ago
    >If you own a ReMarkable, it's not. No, it is. I decide what's affordable or acceptable for me. In any case, are you really implying that one's economic situation is invariable? That owning a certain piece of hardware automatically makes you economically buoyant? Too many wrong presuppositions. On top of that, I find it expensive based on other factors, especially it being "something that you can do by yourself with just a bit more effort."
    - Zenbit_UX 6y ago
      > That owning a certain piece of software automatically makes you economically buoyant? The point they were making wasn't about the software's objective cost but it's subjective one compared to the ~$500 pdf reader and not taking device which can't really be called a necessity. You're being obstinate.
      - Funes- 6y ago
        I knew what his point was. I meant to say "hardware" instead of "software".
        Funes- 6y ago
        >>If you own a ReMarkable, it's not. >No, it is. I decide what's affordable or acceptable for me. In any case, are you really implying that one's economic situation is invariable? That owning a certain piece of hardware automatically makes you economically buoyant? Too many wrong presuppositions. On top of that, I find it expensive based on other factors, especially it being "something that you can do by yourself with just a bit more effort." I'll reproduce the comment here. It's incredible it's been flagged. But, well, that's HN for you: lots of aggressive comments full of fallacies, censorship through downvotes and flagging, and almost no arguments, only ferocious defenses of firm personal ideologies. The "author" is in his right to put a price tag on an OS--or on anything that he so desires--that is in any case heavily incompatible with the device it's been ported to, but that will make it more difficult for others to make it actually useful through improving on it and adapting it to the ReMarkable--which has a good hobbyist community behind it that puts out very good software (https://github.com/reHackable/awesome-reMarkable https://github.com/reHackable/awesome-reMarkable) for free, even when it's usually much more thought out and vastly more useful than that Parabola port. I would've put it out for free and accepted voluntary donations, as I always do, but that's me.

20$ isn't much so affordability is not a problem. The author also mentions on his website that he is able to discuss alternative payment methods on a case-by-case basis if you don't like PayPal.

yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago

Of course it's affordable. But having a paywall at all is a huge amount of friction and will reduce your community size.

detaro 6y ago
paywall seems a bit strong for something where they literally provide you with a guide on how to do the bit you'd pay for yourself.
megous 6y ago
Might as well be the opposite. :) I added full FOSS support to Linux kernel for one of the PocketBook e-book readers, including a custom driver for the e-ink display. Gave away all the reverse engineered information about the reader for free. After a year, community size is 0. For this person, having a paywall might even work better psychologically, to get some interested people hooked. The biggest friction as always, is actually creating something useful in userspace, writing apps, etc. That's waaay more than $20.
- davisr 6y ago
  Hello, I'm "this person." :) Parabola-rM already has a few users. I think charging for the convenience of pre-built images, and offering support/gratis updates for some time, helps people be comfortable with playing "in the deep-end" so-to-speak. That, along with high-quality documentation and a plain, no-bullshit way of being.
- solarkraft 6y ago
  That sounds amazing! Which one is it? Do you have a link? I'd really like to experiment with all the new mobile Linux software on an e-reader. I can't guarantee anything, but the community may just grow a little :-) Would you mind sharing some details about how you implemented the driver? I happen to have an ED097OC1 (possibly excess stock from the Kindle DX) on my hands and would like to drive it from a Linux system.
  - megous 6y ago
    It's http://linux-sunxi.org/PocketBook_Touch_Lux_3 http://linux-sunxi.org/PocketBook_Touch_Lux_3

Funes- 6y ago

>20$ isn't much so affordability is not a problem. It is, for me. I'd be willing to donate a smaller amount, though, but not an imposed fee over free software. That's my personal point of view--others, perhaps many, might think differently, sure.

seba_dos1 6y ago
If you own a ReMarkable, it's not. Especially not for something that you can do by yourself with just a bit more effort.
- Funes- 6y ago
  >If you own a ReMarkable, it's not. No, it is. I decide what's affordable or acceptable for me. In any case, are you really implying that one's economic situation is invariable? That owning a certain piece of hardware automatically makes you economically buoyant? Too many wrong presuppositions. On top of that, I find it expensive based on other factors, especially it being "something that you can do by yourself with just a bit more effort."
  - Zenbit_UX 6y ago
    > That owning a certain piece of software automatically makes you economically buoyant? The point they were making wasn't about the software's objective cost but it's subjective one compared to the ~$500 pdf reader and not taking device which can't really be called a necessity. You're being obstinate.
    - Funes- 6y ago
      I knew what his point was. I meant to say "hardware" instead of "software".
      - Funes- 6y ago
        >>If you own a ReMarkable, it's not. >No, it is. I decide what's affordable or acceptable for me. In any case, are you really implying that one's economic situation is invariable? That owning a certain piece of hardware automatically makes you economically buoyant? Too many wrong presuppositions. On top of that, I find it expensive based on other factors, especially it being "something that you can do by yourself with just a bit more effort." I'll reproduce the comment here. It's incredible it's been flagged. But, well, that's HN for you: lots of aggressive comments full of fallacies, censorship through downvotes and flagging, and almost no arguments, only ferocious defenses of firm personal ideologies. The "author" is in his right to put a price tag on an OS--or on anything that he so desires--that is in any case heavily incompatible with the device it's been ported to, but that will make it more difficult for others to make it actually useful through improving on it and adapting it to the ReMarkable--which has a good hobbyist community behind it that puts out very good software (https://github.com/reHackable/awesome-reMarkable https://github.com/reHackable/awesome-reMarkable) for free, even when it's usually much more thought out and vastly more useful than that Parabola port. I would've put it out for free and accepted voluntary donations, as I always do, but that's me.