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OP here. thanks for all the comments. some more info: rmkit is a library (and group of devs) for creating apps on the rM (and now Kobo). outside of rmkit, peop

by raisjn 3y ago

OP here. thanks for all the comments. some more info: rmkit is a library (and group of devs) for creating apps on the rM (and now Kobo). outside of rmkit, people typically use Qt to write apps, but there's many routes[0], including SAS[1]: a solution that uses unix pipes. the rM2 requires a bit more hacking to get working than the rM1 because their framebuffer driver[2] is embedded in their software for rM2 and requires updating rm2fb every time remarkable releases a new update. there's alternative drivers[3] to drive the display in development. i will keep updating the article based on feedback, thank you and keep hacking [0]: https://remarkable.guide/devel/index.html https://remarkable.guide/devel/index.html [1]: https://rmkit.dev/apps/sas https://rmkit.dev/apps/sas [2]: https://github.com/ddvk/remarkable2-framebuffer/ https://github.com/ddvk/remarkable2-framebuffer/ [3]: https://github.com/matteodelabre/waved https://github.com/matteodelabre/waved

jmspring 3y ago
On a scale of a PC to having to jail break an iPhone to do custom stuff - how invasive is what you are mentioning for the RM2? I have one, love it for notes/etc. But haven't tried 3rd party software/etc on it.
- lallysingh 3y ago
  The settings page had the root password and you ssh in over (IIRC) usb
- Eeems 3y ago
  https://remarkable.guide/ https://remarkable.guide/ has a bunch of current information on the state of hacking your device. You have root access out of the box, which means how invasive it is depends on how you go about it. The community is trying their best to stick to a set of standards that keeps things from being too brittle, and "just works".
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
AlexCoventry 3y ago
Can you brick your RM2 by playing with this? I'm interested, but the device was a bit pricey for potentially destructive fooling around.
- raisjn 3y ago
  see Eeems' comment about soft bricking: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37274460 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37274460 as long as you have SSH keys and you don't blow away your home partition, you are mostly fine. you do need a slightly older version of Xochitl, though (3.2 and below)
  - AlexCoventry 3y ago
    Thanks!
yoavm 3y ago
I don't know about the rM, but for Kobo - why not just run Linux? it literally runs Debian (and others). I've written so apps for it (e.g. https://github.com/bjesus/pidif https://github.com/bjesus/pidif) using GTK. It would have been great if we had a more unified eco-system for e-ink supported apps.
- Eeems 3y ago
  Usually the reason is that people want to continue using the built-in interface with just some additions, instead of replacing and maintaining a separate installation. It would be nice if someone were to start working on an aftermarket linux distribution/ecossytem that targets eink devices. It's a lot of work to do, though, so I'm not surprised that nobody has picked up that torch yet. Some notes on the reMarkable, it is running a custom linux distribution that is based on Openembedded Core[0]. The company publishes their modifications to the linux kernel[1], so one person has created their own linux distribution for the original reMarkable tablet [2]. The reMarkable 2 currently has no native framebuffer driver for the screen, due to it being software controlled by the UI application, which requires a workaround for custom applications[3]. 0. https://www.yoctoproject.org/software-item/openembedded-core/ https://www.yoctoproject.org/software-item/openembedded-core... 1. https://github.com/reMarkable/linux https://github.com/reMarkable/linux 2. http://www.davisr.me/projects/parabola-rm/ http://www.davisr.me/projects/parabola-rm/ 3. https://github.com/ddvk/remarkable2-framebuffer https://github.com/ddvk/remarkable2-framebuffer
  - yoavm 3y ago
    > It would be nice if someone were to start working on an aftermarket linux distribution/ecossytem that targets eink devices. It's a lot of work to do, though, so I'm not surprised that nobody has picked up that torch yet. That is what I'm trying to do with https://github.com/bjesus/air https://github.com/bjesus/air . Kobo runs mainline Linux quite fine, and specifically PostmarketOS works great. Assembling an interface that plays nicely with the device hasn't actually been that difficult!
konschubert 3y ago
To (maybe?) add to your list: The e-paper smart display that I am making and selling does also allow users to build their own content. There are two different ways: 1. You can either just serve an image on a URL and the device will display it, refreshing whenever the image changes: https://www.invisible-computers.com/invisible-calendar/image-url-manual.html https://www.invisible-computers.com/invisible-calendar/image... 2. Or you go one step further and wrap it into an API with a settings page, which will also allow others to install and use your app: https://github.com/Invisible-Computers/image-gallery/blob/main/HowToBuildAnApp.md https://github.com/Invisible-Computers/image-gallery/blob/ma... To be fully transparent: I know that many people are using the first approach to display their own designs, but I haven't had much uptake yet on the second option to build a public, installable app. So if anyone is interested in trying this out, please contact me! I am willing to cooperate closely and iterate on the API where necessary. (I hope that this is sufficiently relevant, even though I am tooting my own horn here.)
- crobertsbmw 3y ago
  I have one of your displays. It’s really nice. I intend to do something with option one, but I just haven’t found the time. Right now, as your targeting computer minded folks, I think your customers can figure out how to set up an image url that changes periodically, but as you scale you might want to create more accessible options. Or maybe let third parties build apps to do it for you..
  - konschubert 3y ago
    I am hoping to add third party apps, that's why I have created the API for 3rd party apps: https://github.com/Invisible-Computers/image-gallery/blob/main/HowToBuildAnApp.md https://github.com/Invisible-Computers/image-gallery/blob/ma... But right now, I understand that building an app for my platform is a) more hassle than just pointing to a URL b) limited upside, because the audience that you can charge for a subscription isn't very big yet. However, I think that a good app could generate its own audience (aka drive ppl to buy the displays) and then make money by charging them a small monthly subscription fee.
gcanyon 3y ago
Maybe a crazy question, maybe not, but you never know if you don't ask: any eInk tablets capable of handling Notion? It seems like Slack, maybe?
idontwantthis 3y ago
I got the (wrong?) impression that the rM2 was super locked down because you needed to buy a subscription to use any kind of cloud backup. Does that just require some hacking, or do they still some how lock that down even if you are a power user?
- p_l 3y ago
  It's not locked down at all, it's just that the included software and attendant cloud is for pay. You can just as well SSH into device (the password is available on settings screen), copy stuff yourself or install a daemon that will backup files or whatever. Just remember to ensure you have some form of recovery prepared or make the necessary pogo connector just in case.
  - idontwantthis 3y ago
    Cool maybe I’ll look back into that one if I decide to finally get a bigger one.
ineedasername 3y ago
I definitely think you're on to something, but there's something lacking. E-ink that can be rolled up, folded, connected to utility compute or local rigs for semi-intelligent agents to crawl through the noise and chafe and ads and malware... that's the true punk aesthetic. though with current llm's, i'm not sure we're that far from it. With a mid-range rig running a llama-based agent and some l33t programming skills to glue things together I might be close to something on the low end of the this, somewhat untethered to corporate guardrails. And perhaps someone might stumble upon a guarded GPT-6 model circled by a fortress of cold security, a model ironically named wintermute....

by raisjn 3y ago

jmspring 3y ago

On a scale of a PC to having to jail break an iPhone to do custom stuff - how invasive is what you are mentioning for the RM2? I have one, love it for notes/etc. But haven't tried 3rd party software/etc on it.

lallysingh 3y ago
The settings page had the root password and you ssh in over (IIRC) usb
Eeems 3y ago
https://remarkable.guide/ https://remarkable.guide/ has a bunch of current information on the state of hacking your device. You have root access out of the box, which means how invasive it is depends on how you go about it. The community is trying their best to stick to a set of standards that keeps things from being too brittle, and "just works".

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

AlexCoventry 3y ago

Can you brick your RM2 by playing with this? I'm interested, but the device was a bit pricey for potentially destructive fooling around.

raisjn 3y ago
see Eeems' comment about soft bricking: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37274460 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37274460 as long as you have SSH keys and you don't blow away your home partition, you are mostly fine. you do need a slightly older version of Xochitl, though (3.2 and below)
- AlexCoventry 3y ago
  Thanks!

yoavm 3y ago

I don't know about the rM, but for Kobo - why not just run Linux? it literally runs Debian (and others). I've written so apps for it (e.g. https://github.com/bjesus/pidif https://github.com/bjesus/pidif) using GTK. It would have been great if we had a more unified eco-system for e-ink supported apps.

Eeems 3y ago
Usually the reason is that people want to continue using the built-in interface with just some additions, instead of replacing and maintaining a separate installation. It would be nice if someone were to start working on an aftermarket linux distribution/ecossytem that targets eink devices. It's a lot of work to do, though, so I'm not surprised that nobody has picked up that torch yet. Some notes on the reMarkable, it is running a custom linux distribution that is based on Openembedded Core[0]. The company publishes their modifications to the linux kernel[1], so one person has created their own linux distribution for the original reMarkable tablet [2]. The reMarkable 2 currently has no native framebuffer driver for the screen, due to it being software controlled by the UI application, which requires a workaround for custom applications[3]. 0. https://www.yoctoproject.org/software-item/openembedded-core/ https://www.yoctoproject.org/software-item/openembedded-core... 1. https://github.com/reMarkable/linux https://github.com/reMarkable/linux 2. http://www.davisr.me/projects/parabola-rm/ http://www.davisr.me/projects/parabola-rm/ 3. https://github.com/ddvk/remarkable2-framebuffer https://github.com/ddvk/remarkable2-framebuffer
- yoavm 3y ago
  > It would be nice if someone were to start working on an aftermarket linux distribution/ecossytem that targets eink devices. It's a lot of work to do, though, so I'm not surprised that nobody has picked up that torch yet. That is what I'm trying to do with https://github.com/bjesus/air https://github.com/bjesus/air . Kobo runs mainline Linux quite fine, and specifically PostmarketOS works great. Assembling an interface that plays nicely with the device hasn't actually been that difficult!

konschubert 3y ago

To (maybe?) add to your list: The e-paper smart display that I am making and selling does also allow users to build their own content. There are two different ways: 1. You can either just serve an image on a URL and the device will display it, refreshing whenever the image changes: https://www.invisible-computers.com/invisible-calendar/image-url-manual.html https://www.invisible-computers.com/invisible-calendar/image... 2. Or you go one step further and wrap it into an API with a settings page, which will also allow others to install and use your app: https://github.com/Invisible-Computers/image-gallery/blob/main/HowToBuildAnApp.md https://github.com/Invisible-Computers/image-gallery/blob/ma... To be fully transparent: I know that many people are using the first approach to display their own designs, but I haven't had much uptake yet on the second option to build a public, installable app. So if anyone is interested in trying this out, please contact me! I am willing to cooperate closely and iterate on the API where necessary. (I hope that this is sufficiently relevant, even though I am tooting my own horn here.)

crobertsbmw 3y ago
I have one of your displays. It’s really nice. I intend to do something with option one, but I just haven’t found the time. Right now, as your targeting computer minded folks, I think your customers can figure out how to set up an image url that changes periodically, but as you scale you might want to create more accessible options. Or maybe let third parties build apps to do it for you..
- konschubert 3y ago
  I am hoping to add third party apps, that's why I have created the API for 3rd party apps: https://github.com/Invisible-Computers/image-gallery/blob/main/HowToBuildAnApp.md https://github.com/Invisible-Computers/image-gallery/blob/ma... But right now, I understand that building an app for my platform is a) more hassle than just pointing to a URL b) limited upside, because the audience that you can charge for a subscription isn't very big yet. However, I think that a good app could generate its own audience (aka drive ppl to buy the displays) and then make money by charging them a small monthly subscription fee.

gcanyon 3y ago

Maybe a crazy question, maybe not, but you never know if you don't ask: any eInk tablets capable of handling Notion? It seems like Slack, maybe?

idontwantthis 3y ago

I got the (wrong?) impression that the rM2 was super locked down because you needed to buy a subscription to use any kind of cloud backup. Does that just require some hacking, or do they still some how lock that down even if you are a power user?

p_l 3y ago
It's not locked down at all, it's just that the included software and attendant cloud is for pay. You can just as well SSH into device (the password is available on settings screen), copy stuff yourself or install a daemon that will backup files or whatever. Just remember to ensure you have some form of recovery prepared or make the necessary pogo connector just in case.
- idontwantthis 3y ago
  Cool maybe I’ll look back into that one if I decide to finally get a bigger one.

ineedasername 3y ago

I definitely think you're on to something, but there's something lacking. E-ink that can be rolled up, folded, connected to utility compute or local rigs for semi-intelligent agents to crawl through the noise and chafe and ads and malware... that's the true punk aesthetic. though with current llm's, i'm not sure we're that far from it. With a mid-range rig running a llama-based agent and some l33t programming skills to glue things together I might be close to something on the low end of the this, somewhat untethered to corporate guardrails. And perhaps someone might stumble upon a guarded GPT-6 model circled by a fortress of cold security, a model ironically named wintermute....