9 ms·

Read Hacker News on Kindle (2022)

61 points by Timothee 2y ago

auraham 2y ago
That's a really nice project. I used it a few minutes ago and the resulting file is great. I like how top-level comments are sections. Also, you can highlight text and write notes.
Timothee 2y ago
Previous announcement and discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32637996 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32637996 Thought I'd share again since I needed it, found it and thought it was a perfectly simple and efficient tool. I liked that I could download the ePub directly instead of figuring out how to allow KTool to send files to my Kindle when I could do it easily myself.
carlosjobim 2y ago
In 2023 they upgraded the Kindle system so that the web browser is actually usable now. So you can browse Hacker News and many other sites directly, n WiFi. Even on my ancient Kindle it works.
sabrina_ramonov 2y ago
alternative: get an Amazon Scribe, surf the web
- aliasxneo 2y ago
  This is currently at the top of my list of next purchases. Out of curiosity, has your experience using it this way been good? Also curious if you've tried using Oreilly's web platform on it for consuming technical material.
  - TechDebtDevin 2y ago
    So many better e readers at that price point that also function as actual phones or tablets and run Android.
    - aliasxneo 2y ago
      Sure, it's no longer a super niche field. I don't really want a smart e-ink tablet, though. Just something to read technical books and occasionally browse the web (for the same content, basically).
      - crimsontech 2y ago
        I got one but ended up returning it. My use case was for reading technical books, PDFs and taking notes. I went back to using an iPad when I realised the scribe was heavier. I read normal books on the kindle, PDFs on the iPad.
  - presbyterian 2y ago
    If it's for reading only, it's fine, but if you plan on doing a lot of writing and markup, skip it. The handwriting features are very limited, and you can't write on the actual pages or write margin notes at all, you can only write on virtual post-it notes that are kept separate from the book.
- fbrchps 2y ago
  As a Scribe owner, let me say that using the web on there is far from pleasant. Yes it has the most RAM of a Kindle ever, but 1GB is not much unfortunately. Also the biggest bottleneck is honestly the web browser itself. It _technically_ works, but it's super stripped down and JS-heavy sites especially struggle.
  - zipping1549 2y ago
    Yet another excuse for me to write my own e-reader friendly webapp
- relyks 2y ago
  Do other Kindles allow web browsing?
  - wkat4242 2y ago
    Yes every kindle since the very first one had an "experimental" web browser in various stages of usability. All currently supported kindles have a web browser that is fairly usable though very slow.
  - RattlesnakeJake 2y ago
    They have for years, but the browser was historically very stripped down and didn't get get certificate or SSL/TLS algorithm updates, leaving parts of the web inaccessible as time went on. I only ever use it to hit Project Gutenberg for public-domain ebooks (though their redesign a few years ago made that a lot harder)
slagfart 2y ago
The Google Play app seems to be missing from the store? I get 'app not found'. I'm in Croatia if that makes a difference
jcul 2y ago
KOReader has a RSS downloaded plugin, that could also be used to read hacker news.
eleveriven 2y ago
> the most interesting content is in the comment section It is, indeed!
wkat4242 2y ago
This looks amazing. However sending each discussion to myself as an email or having to download it as an epub is really really tedious. It would be so much more seamless as an app. I'm surprised Amazon never opened up an app ecosystem on the kindle.
- CameronBanga 2y ago
  KTool has the ability to do Daily/Weekly collections FYI, so could add a group that way if you sign up for full tool!
  - wkat4242 2y ago
    Hmm nice... I wouldn't subscribe to something that expensive though. And I don't like the offline/batch method. I'll just use my tablet with one of the many HN reader apps. I don't really have eye strain issues. But I wish them well. I like the layout though.
mathfailure 2y ago
I keep seeing HN clients again and again to the point that... its tiresome. Why do you think there's a need to create a client for a website? > https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40568585 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40568585
- daggerdrone 2y ago
  Don’t you think some users may want this as it puts less strain on your eyes? Especially, if they spend a lot of time reading Hacker News.
  - mathfailure 2y ago
    I don't think it's a valid solution for such a problem. The solution has to be more general, not just for 1 site.
    - wkat4242 2y ago
      It looks like this is what it is actually. It's very expensive for what it is though (at least for me as a European).
iAm25626 2y ago
Calibre have build in newspaper/magazine/site scrapper. https://calibre-ebook.com/ https://calibre-ebook.com/ Would be interesting to create a plugin for hackernews. My left eye is in bad shape and have family history of retina detachment. I also start migrating to e-reader. think about e-ink monitor https://onyxboox.com/boox_mirapro https://onyxboox.com/boox_mirapro

61 points by Timothee 2y ago

That's a really nice project. I used it a few minutes ago and the resulting file is great. I like how top-level comments are sections. Also, you can highlight text and write notes.

Timothee 2y ago

Previous announcement and discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32637996 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32637996 Thought I'd share again since I needed it, found it and thought it was a perfectly simple and efficient tool. I liked that I could download the ePub directly instead of figuring out how to allow KTool to send files to my Kindle when I could do it easily myself.

carlosjobim 2y ago

In 2023 they upgraded the Kindle system so that the web browser is actually usable now. So you can browse Hacker News and many other sites directly, n WiFi. Even on my ancient Kindle it works.

sabrina_ramonov 2y ago

alternative: get an Amazon Scribe, surf the web

aliasxneo 2y ago
This is currently at the top of my list of next purchases. Out of curiosity, has your experience using it this way been good? Also curious if you've tried using Oreilly's web platform on it for consuming technical material.
- TechDebtDevin 2y ago
  So many better e readers at that price point that also function as actual phones or tablets and run Android.
  - aliasxneo 2y ago
    Sure, it's no longer a super niche field. I don't really want a smart e-ink tablet, though. Just something to read technical books and occasionally browse the web (for the same content, basically).
    - crimsontech 2y ago
      I got one but ended up returning it. My use case was for reading technical books, PDFs and taking notes. I went back to using an iPad when I realised the scribe was heavier. I read normal books on the kindle, PDFs on the iPad.
- presbyterian 2y ago
  If it's for reading only, it's fine, but if you plan on doing a lot of writing and markup, skip it. The handwriting features are very limited, and you can't write on the actual pages or write margin notes at all, you can only write on virtual post-it notes that are kept separate from the book.
fbrchps 2y ago
As a Scribe owner, let me say that using the web on there is far from pleasant. Yes it has the most RAM of a Kindle ever, but 1GB is not much unfortunately. Also the biggest bottleneck is honestly the web browser itself. It _technically_ works, but it's super stripped down and JS-heavy sites especially struggle.
- zipping1549 2y ago
  Yet another excuse for me to write my own e-reader friendly webapp
relyks 2y ago
Do other Kindles allow web browsing?
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Yes every kindle since the very first one had an "experimental" web browser in various stages of usability. All currently supported kindles have a web browser that is fairly usable though very slow.
- RattlesnakeJake 2y ago
  They have for years, but the browser was historically very stripped down and didn't get get certificate or SSL/TLS algorithm updates, leaving parts of the web inaccessible as time went on. I only ever use it to hit Project Gutenberg for public-domain ebooks (though their redesign a few years ago made that a lot harder)

slagfart 2y ago

The Google Play app seems to be missing from the store? I get 'app not found'. I'm in Croatia if that makes a difference

jcul 2y ago

KOReader has a RSS downloaded plugin, that could also be used to read hacker news.

eleveriven 2y ago

> the most interesting content is in the comment section It is, indeed!

wkat4242 2y ago

This looks amazing. However sending each discussion to myself as an email or having to download it as an epub is really really tedious. It would be so much more seamless as an app. I'm surprised Amazon never opened up an app ecosystem on the kindle.

CameronBanga 2y ago
KTool has the ability to do Daily/Weekly collections FYI, so could add a group that way if you sign up for full tool!
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Hmm nice... I wouldn't subscribe to something that expensive though. And I don't like the offline/batch method. I'll just use my tablet with one of the many HN reader apps. I don't really have eye strain issues. But I wish them well. I like the layout though.

mathfailure 2y ago

I keep seeing HN clients again and again to the point that... its tiresome. Why do you think there's a need to create a client for a website? > https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40568585 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40568585

daggerdrone 2y ago
Don’t you think some users may want this as it puts less strain on your eyes? Especially, if they spend a lot of time reading Hacker News.
- mathfailure 2y ago
  I don't think it's a valid solution for such a problem. The solution has to be more general, not just for 1 site.
  - wkat4242 2y ago
    It looks like this is what it is actually. It's very expensive for what it is though (at least for me as a European).

iAm25626 2y ago

Calibre have build in newspaper/magazine/site scrapper. https://calibre-ebook.com/ https://calibre-ebook.com/ Would be interesting to create a plugin for hackernews. My left eye is in bad shape and have family history of retina detachment. I also start migrating to e-reader. think about e-ink monitor https://onyxboox.com/boox_mirapro https://onyxboox.com/boox_mirapro