7 ms·

I am one of the original kickstarter backers and got mine at a very favorable price compared to what they are selling it for now. As a original kickstarter back

by makach 4y ago

I am one of the original kickstarter backers and got mine at a very favorable price compared to what they are selling it for now. As a original kickstarter backer they also provided me with a free tier for their subscription service so I am not paying anything extra to have full functionality, this is very important to me because I am not very excited of subscription based software features - remarkable please take note of this! The remarkable unit is still a thing of beauty. It excels at what it does, and I bring it with me everywhere. I use the cloud features to pick up documents and use it to hold my PDFs and eBooks and it is an important device for my note taking. I have modded the unit a little bit by replacing the original back-ground pictures. To be able to access this device as root appeals very much to me, I very much feel in control of my device. From a security point of view, they still have some work to do. It is embarrassing when the unit goes into sleep mode and private notes are kept visible to everyone. I created a ticket in they support system, but they don't seem to take it seriously. There is also the issue with only having a 4-code pin to unlock the device. This means that you must be very careful with what you write and store on the unit. Sensitive notes should not be stored on the unit. There is also no way to deprecate the unit and the content if it is lost or it hasn't check in against the cloud. The software that is installed on your PC/Mac has very basic functionality. Overall, would still strongly recommend, 8/10.

nixpulvis 4y ago
Funny, I often wish to leave the note on screen while in sleep mode. I kinda wish there were two actions, one for lock and another for sleep... or something.
- wakeupcall 4y ago
  I had a ticket on this. There's no reason not to write "device is off" on the banner which is already there in sleep mode. A notebook doesn't make the note disappear.
  - marcus_holmes 4y ago
    mine has "remarkable is sleeping" shown when it's sleeping, and I need to unlock it to get it to show anything.
    - wakeupcall 4y ago
      I was referring to the "press button to use your remarkable" that you can see inbetween before it goes to sleep.
      - marcus_holmes 4y ago
        fair enough :)
senectus1 4y ago
Our (multi billion dollar) company had to tell the exec "no" for these because of the weak security. They just dont seem to care. Other wise we would have hundreds in the business.
- Aeolun 4y ago
  What kind of security are they lacking? I compare it with a notepad, which you lock away in a drawer when you don’t want people to access it.
  - senectus1 4y ago
    MDM We want to be able to restrict what gets synced to where. (eg, not dropbox or box or google etc) We want to enforce passwords and screen time outs. We'd prefer to use intune to do this but are open to other possibilities etc etc None of this is possible and remarkable don't seem interested in this.
    - AJRF 4y ago
      The point is that you can't do this with notebooks though, seems silly to want to do this here, with maybe the exception of blocking sync services you can't monitor. Which is totally possible with a bit of competence.
      - pluijzer 4y ago
        Though is, 'you also cannot do this with a real notebook' valid argument? Neither can you upload pdf's to a real notebook or do all the other stuff that makes this device not just a ... regular notebook.
        orls 4y ago
        Exactly. A paper notebook might not have those security features, but it’s also a lot harder to end up with reams of confidential info in a paper notebook in the blink of an eye, on a whim; or to transmit that data to arbitrary third parties. There’s a “proportionality” argument between features and security.
japanuspus 4y ago
With regard to security, it seems to me that the most obvious comparison for the ReMarkable would be a paper notepad which would also be compromised if you had physical access? Saying this as a former ReMarkable owner (and kickstarter backer) who ended up only using the device as a notepad, after learning that I read in a non-linear fashion which doesn't work well on the relatively slow screen. And for notes, I ended up deciding that paper is simpler that dragging yet another device around. Still, I highly recommend the ReMarkable and my device happily lives on as a school notebook for my son.
- consp 4y ago
  I also only use it for notes but I have the tendency to not be too nice to paper notes making them less readable over time so it's definately a plus. A bit too expensive since there are simpler alternatives but for a premium device and price I like the feel of it. The slowness doesn't bother me too much, I also use it for going through several specification files and it's not too slow that it's unusable.
- fhe 4y ago
  fellow nonlinear-reader here. random access to an otherwise rather linear content format is so key for me, and the responsiveness and user interface are maddening. now i can't stop marveling at paper as a medium -- it got so many things right. it certainly wasn't the first try by humans. we tried clay plates and sheep skin and bamboo chips, until we hit upon paper. but nonetheless it's amazing that paper is still not surpassed after more than a thousand years.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
    > after more than a thousand years. A lot more than a thousand years[0]. I have an iPad Mini with a PaperLike screen protector, and Pencil 2. Works wonderfully. I have a number of apps to convert input, and they work quite well. Apple did very well, with Pencil 2 (don’t get me started on Pencil 1). I still prefer a paper notepad, most times, though. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus
  - 4y ago
dotancohen 4y ago
> The software that is installed on your PC/Mac has very basic functionality. Is there Linux software? What do you need the software for anyway?
- jimktrains2 4y ago
  It works with wine. It syncs books and notes to/from the cloud account to your local device.
wakeupcall 4y ago
To me it's the opposite: I expect to be able to read the note which is on screen indefinitely, that is: exactly how I leave a notebook open on a page. Physical security is a non-issue in this class of device IMHO. It's the same security I expect on a physical notebook. If that gets stolen, it's stolen. If we can get something better (like full encryption with pin unlock - so that the other non visible pages are safe) than I would be more happy, but the current status is still perfectly fine. What's NOT ok is the reliance on the cloud features. There's no encryption. No control on sharing. It's either all or nothing. You can turn this off, but then you cannot send the notes elsewhere (it's fine if I'm intentionally sending one page to somebody I know he can receive it). Screenshare also stops working, despite being a dumb vnc connection wrapped in ssl, just because the central randevouz point becomes inaccessible. This is also why this makes this device unfit for company use IMHO: your users cannot be compliant with any sort of security policy unless they disable everything and just use it as a dumb notebook. Getting it stolen is a non issue: you can get a notebook stolen, it's your fault. But if I cannot control the cloud features in a fine-grained mode, then it's outside of your control and that's what makes the device really unfit for corporate use. I hope remarkable is listening. I opened several tickets for this: just allow me to disable sync for a folder or everything (without killing send by email) would already be a start. It's otherwise an amazing device, but a device you cannot trust with the cloud features, which is a major shame.

by makach 4y ago

nixpulvis 4y ago

Funny, I often wish to leave the note on screen while in sleep mode. I kinda wish there were two actions, one for lock and another for sleep... or something.

wakeupcall 4y ago
I had a ticket on this. There's no reason not to write "device is off" on the banner which is already there in sleep mode. A notebook doesn't make the note disappear.
- marcus_holmes 4y ago
  mine has "remarkable is sleeping" shown when it's sleeping, and I need to unlock it to get it to show anything.
  - wakeupcall 4y ago
    I was referring to the "press button to use your remarkable" that you can see inbetween before it goes to sleep.
    - marcus_holmes 4y ago
      fair enough :)

senectus1 4y ago

Our (multi billion dollar) company had to tell the exec "no" for these because of the weak security. They just dont seem to care. Other wise we would have hundreds in the business.

Aeolun 4y ago
What kind of security are they lacking? I compare it with a notepad, which you lock away in a drawer when you don’t want people to access it.
- senectus1 4y ago
  MDM We want to be able to restrict what gets synced to where. (eg, not dropbox or box or google etc) We want to enforce passwords and screen time outs. We'd prefer to use intune to do this but are open to other possibilities etc etc None of this is possible and remarkable don't seem interested in this.
  - AJRF 4y ago
    The point is that you can't do this with notebooks though, seems silly to want to do this here, with maybe the exception of blocking sync services you can't monitor. Which is totally possible with a bit of competence.
    - pluijzer 4y ago
      Though is, 'you also cannot do this with a real notebook' valid argument? Neither can you upload pdf's to a real notebook or do all the other stuff that makes this device not just a ... regular notebook.
      - orls 4y ago
        Exactly. A paper notebook might not have those security features, but it’s also a lot harder to end up with reams of confidential info in a paper notebook in the blink of an eye, on a whim; or to transmit that data to arbitrary third parties. There’s a “proportionality” argument between features and security.

japanuspus 4y ago

With regard to security, it seems to me that the most obvious comparison for the ReMarkable would be a paper notepad which would also be compromised if you had physical access? Saying this as a former ReMarkable owner (and kickstarter backer) who ended up only using the device as a notepad, after learning that I read in a non-linear fashion which doesn't work well on the relatively slow screen. And for notes, I ended up deciding that paper is simpler that dragging yet another device around. Still, I highly recommend the ReMarkable and my device happily lives on as a school notebook for my son.

consp 4y ago
I also only use it for notes but I have the tendency to not be too nice to paper notes making them less readable over time so it's definately a plus. A bit too expensive since there are simpler alternatives but for a premium device and price I like the feel of it. The slowness doesn't bother me too much, I also use it for going through several specification files and it's not too slow that it's unusable.
fhe 4y ago
fellow nonlinear-reader here. random access to an otherwise rather linear content format is so key for me, and the responsiveness and user interface are maddening. now i can't stop marveling at paper as a medium -- it got so many things right. it certainly wasn't the first try by humans. we tried clay plates and sheep skin and bamboo chips, until we hit upon paper. but nonetheless it's amazing that paper is still not surpassed after more than a thousand years.
- ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
  > after more than a thousand years. A lot more than a thousand years[0]. I have an iPad Mini with a PaperLike screen protector, and Pencil 2. Works wonderfully. I have a number of apps to convert input, and they work quite well. Apple did very well, with Pencil 2 (don’t get me started on Pencil 1). I still prefer a paper notepad, most times, though. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus
- 4y ago

dotancohen 4y ago

> The software that is installed on your PC/Mac has very basic functionality. Is there Linux software? What do you need the software for anyway?

jimktrains2 4y ago
It works with wine. It syncs books and notes to/from the cloud account to your local device.

wakeupcall 4y ago

To me it's the opposite: I expect to be able to read the note which is on screen indefinitely, that is: exactly how I leave a notebook open on a page. Physical security is a non-issue in this class of device IMHO. It's the same security I expect on a physical notebook. If that gets stolen, it's stolen. If we can get something better (like full encryption with pin unlock - so that the other non visible pages are safe) than I would be more happy, but the current status is still perfectly fine. What's NOT ok is the reliance on the cloud features. There's no encryption. No control on sharing. It's either all or nothing. You can turn this off, but then you cannot send the notes elsewhere (it's fine if I'm intentionally sending one page to somebody I know he can receive it). Screenshare also stops working, despite being a dumb vnc connection wrapped in ssl, just because the central randevouz point becomes inaccessible. This is also why this makes this device unfit for company use IMHO: your users cannot be compliant with any sort of security policy unless they disable everything and just use it as a dumb notebook. Getting it stolen is a non issue: you can get a notebook stolen, it's your fault. But if I cannot control the cloud features in a fine-grained mode, then it's outside of your control and that's what makes the device really unfit for corporate use. I hope remarkable is listening. I opened several tickets for this: just allow me to disable sync for a folder or everything (without killing send by email) would already be a start. It's otherwise an amazing device, but a device you cannot trust with the cloud features, which is a major shame.