Hiya,

Having a bad track record of not taking care of "dead tree" books, I am
looking to buy an electronic book reader.

The Amazon's Kindle does look good and it boasts a Linux kernel, but I
am very disappointed at the many restrictions they want to place on me:
automatic installation of firmware, limitations to its use, access to my
data, and ads! To mention a few.

I know it's possible to circumvent these restrictions, but what I am
looking for is a hardware reader that is designed to respect my
freedoms. Preferably one that runs a GNU/Linux system, and which I am
allowed to tinker with. It does not have to work out of the box, and I
am prepared to invest time in it and deal with bugs, as I would with a
regular computer, provided it has a community around it to support it,
as Linux distros do.

Any suggestions?

Best regards,
Panayiotis

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calibre

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Yeah, Kindle is not good.
Surely you've seen the FSF "Kindle/Swindle" campaign.

The Barnes & Noble Nook is essentially an Android Tablet.

Really, you could grab any android tablet (or tablet running an actual
gnu/linux system) and install FBReader (e-book reader software),
or any of various other e-reader projects available.

I don't have experience with Kindle, Nook (other than in-store demo).
I have used an Android tablet, and also have FBReader on my Android
phone.

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On 06/04/12 02:12 PM, Panayiotis Karabassis wrote:

That could be a description of the OLPC XO.  The factory installed
system is Fedora Remix with Gnome and Sugar.  DebXO can be installed.
In ordinary ambient light the display works with back lighting.  In
bright ambient, the back light is turned down and you will see a
monochrome reflective display.  Users are involved in development and
there are bugs to report and fix.  Mostly it works well.

I found a XO-1.5 on eBay for about $110 + postage.

Regards,          ... Peter E.

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On 06/04/12 05:57 PM, Walter Hurry wrote:

   +1

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Thanks for the quick replies.

Calibre is a software reader isn't it? I do use it on my computer, but I
was looking for the hardware to install it on. I will keep it in mind.

The OLPC seems to be a laptop right? I was looking for something like a
tablet.

The Nook is interesting, but I would prefer GNU/Linux to Android.

Many thanks,
Panayiotis

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On 06/04/12 22:12, Panayiotis Karabassis wrote:
I would take a look at an Android 7" tablet & install an e-reader on it;
you'd then have both.

(Or maybe that new Galaxy Note that's being advertised on TV just now.)

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On 2012-04-06, Panayiotis Karabassis <pan...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a Bookeen Cybook Orizon (which is open-source, if that's your
criterion).

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On 07/04/12 18:32, Panayiotis Karabassis wrote:

Just buy any tablet that suits your price and feature requirements *and*
that will support Debian[*1]. Then install Calibre - it's more than just
an reader, it is a library manager, can read every eBook type I've heard
of, and convert between types. By installing Debian you will be able to
install other software without a new learning curve and, more
importantly, be able to link easily.

Probably best if you buy a cheap tablet if you have trouble caring for
paper books - tablet are less sturdy (even the clay variety). :-)

Buy a know rootable Android pad (I don't know the Nook).

Please post your experience when you do.

[*1]eg. Motorola Xoom Honeycomb, Archos gen-8/9

Kind regards

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On 04/07/2012 01:07 PM, Scott Ferguson wrote:

Haha ;-). Yup, I can replace the tablet and keep the books. Some of the
books I ruined were higher priced than a tablet. :-)

I've had my experience with Android, and it's ok, but it feels like it
was not intended to be tinkered with. Searching the internet for this
hack and that, is less satisfying than using an OS that actually wants
you to have control over it, like Debian.

These are a bit over my price range. Also since I have an Android phone
and a Debian netbook, I think it would be an excess to get another
general purpose computer. I think I'll get a device specific for
reading, and, perhaps childishly, I want to check out the eInk displays. :-)

I'll post my experiences as requested, as soon as possible.

Thank you very much,
Panayiotis

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(...)

I'm following very closely the ongoing movements of Kobo¹ and Vivaldi².

While the former conforms a complete set of hardware/software/e-books the
later is a tablet (no "e-ink" based display) that runs KDE Plasma SC, but
both projects seem to share the same objective: let the user to decide.

¹http://www.kobo.com
²http://makeplaylive.com

Greetings,

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Digressing from the OT digression ... anyone know of a smartphone that runs
OSS only? I dislike letting my carrier tell me what hardware features I can
use, for instance.
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On 08/04/12 02:59, Carl Fink wrote:

Yes - the GTA4 from Golden Delicious is the best and it will run Debian.
Unfortunately the GSM stack is not completely open (OpenStack may change
that), it's pricey (but worth it) and it's lower powered than other
"Smart" phones.

That said it's actually a very nice phone with good reception and sound.
I've got some 3D printable cases designs for it somewhere - PirateBay
may have more (nothing illegal involved).

http://www.handheld-linux.com/wiki.php?page=GTA04&referer=Neo%20Freer...

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Thank you.
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On 04/07/2012 07:45 PM, Camaleón wrote:

Thanks! I am more oriented towards the Kobo, since it is an ebook reader
specifically. The promise of an open platform seems alluring.

Do you know if it runs GNU/Linux or whether I'll be able to install it?
Seems perfect, reasonably priced too, thanks.

Sorry I didn't mark my post OT, I wasn't sure if it was, since it kind
of involves Debian.

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(...)

Mmm... according to Wikipedia¹, Kobo e-Readers run "Linux" (no additional
info is given) and according to their spcecs sheet², they're based on SoC,
Freescale processor, thus ARM based³.

I'm not sure how feasible would be installing a different OS on such devices,
but neither forget about guarantee which sure will be lost after replacing
the OS with something else.

No prob. I just tagged it as OT just because it was not directly related
to Debian, but regardless related or not I find it an interesting subject
:-)

¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers#Electronic-...
²http://www.kobobooks.com/touch_tech
³http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.MX#i.MX50_family

Greetings,

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Panayiotis,

Yes but it folds into a tablet for reading.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLPC_XO-1

A crucial advantage of the XO is that hardware and
software are completely open.  The list of components
on the PCB, for example, is on the Web site.

Also, the radio hardware works well.  A smaller device
has a smaller antenna and smaller battery.  That
constrains the radio system.

I have a Sony MYLO weighing 220 g and an XO-1.5 weighing
1500 g.  I prefer to take the XO unless weight dictates.
Nothing beats heavy iron.

Regards,           ... Peter E.

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Hi Panayiotis,

I too like the idea of e-readers, without spying, adverts, and other freedom
impeding 'features.'

The Kobo and the Bookeen (recommended earlier in this thread) both
look like they use the linux kernel and busybox, so offer source for
those, but are otherwise quite proprietary. I can't imagine running
your own software freely on them, or modifying their reader software.

The only project that I know of that addresses what you want is
OpenInkpot - openinkpot.org. They've been quiet lately, but are
still active. It's an entirely free, community built Linux
distribution (not sure how much gnu stuff is in there), designed for
e-readers with e-ink displays. It works well for a few older
e-readers - if you wanted new hardware I think you'd have to get
quite involved with the project to add support. But if I were you
I'd get a second hand oldish ereader based on the Jinke V3 and put
OpenInkpot on it. Someday I plan to do that. Apparently the Kindle
is very nice hardware, so I'd like someone to finish porting
OpenInkpot to that, but I lack the time and money ;) Anyway, the
list of supported hardware is here
http://openinkpot.org/wiki/Hardware - note that lots of ereaders are
rebrands of the Jinke V3, so they should all work. A review of
OpenInkpot is at https://lwn.net/Articles/354714/

Resist the dull shiny of android tablets, get a second hand
e-reader, with a real community distribution behind it, and read
happily!

Best of luck,

Nick

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Hi Nick!

Thank you! I didn't see your post until after I ordered a Pocketbook. :(

I've seen the OpenInkpot project, but I decided against it, reasoning it
was still in very early development and didn't support many devices.

Right now, I plan to install an ssh server and busybox on my new device,
and if the Inkpot project isn't abandoned, I can wait for it. I should
probably get involved, since I am a programmer, but I don't know if I
have the stamina. :-)

Again thanks to all. Best of luck! I will post back my experiences.

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Darn it - debian-user is hard to keep on top of; sorry I didn't
answer sooner.

Do that! Nothing like exercise to improve one's stamina. A little
search online suggests that the source code that's free for the
pocketbook is at
http://pocketbook-free.sourceforge.net/en/sourcecode.shtml

Good luck with it, and I look forward to hearing how you get on :)

Nick

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Thanks again!

On 04/10/2012 05:40 PM, Nick White wrote:

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So, in the end I got a Pocketbook Touch.

I am quite satisfied. It runs Linux, and Free programs, such as
fbreader, and it seems quite open to customization. I haven't tried it
yet, but it should be possible, for example, to install rsync to
synchronize with Calibre etc. I think I saw a hook for running custom
scripts at startup. When mounted as a disk (BTW there are no problems in
transferring files from/to Debian machines), the entire filesystem is
available, even the system directories. Of course software being open
source does not automatically mean that a user can modify it without
putting in some effort first.

Battery life is excellent, I haven't charged it in two months besides
the time it was connected for file transfers. The eInk display is very
readable and kind to the eyes.

My only annoyance is that ebook technology is not quite perfect yet for
technical books. For example A4 documents don't "reflow" well if they
contain equations, equations are usually rendered as pictures, and
fbreader doesn't support tables yet, so I am forced to use adobe reader
for some books.

Other than that it's like carrying a library in your hand.

Customer support has been great, I had some defective pixels, and they
offered to replace it.

So in general I have a positive impression.

Many thanks to all for your valuable suggestions and insights.

P.S. How does one order an OLPC? I am interested in one for my niece,
but it seems impossible to find in a shop. Revolution hardware indeed. :-)

On 07/04/2012 12:12 πμ, Panayiotis Karabassis wrote:

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Thanks.

On 21/05/2012 06:03 μμ, Dan Ritter wrote:

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They aren't generally available to the retail public. There was a
program called Get One Give One, in which you could pay for two
and get one yourself, but that's not currently running.

-dsr-

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