The Open Book
hackaday.io
This is a complete reimagining of the Open Book Project, but the original mission remains: As a society, we need an open source device for reading. Books are among the most important documents of our culture, yet the most popular and widespread devices we have for reading are closed objects, operating as small moving parts in a set of giant closed platforms whose owners' interests are not always aligned with readers'. The Open Book aims to be a simple device that anyone can build for themselves. The Open Book should be comprehensible: the reader should be able to look at it and understand, at least in broad strokes, how it works. It should be extensible, so that a reader with different needs can write code and add accessories that make the book work for them. It should be global, supporting readers of books in all the languages of the world. Most of all, it should be open, so that anyone can take this design as a starting point and use it to build a better book.

This is a complete reimagining of the Open Book Project, but the original mission remains:

As a society, we need an open source device for reading. Books are among the most important documents of our culture, yet the most popular and widespread devices we have for reading are closed objects, operating as small moving parts in a set of giant closed platforms whose owners’ interests are not always aligned with readers’.

The Open Book aims to be a simple device that anyone can build for themselves. The Open Book should be comprehensible: the reader should be able to look at it and understand, at least in broad strokes, how it works. It should be extensible, so that a reader with different needs can write code and add accessories that make the book work for them. It should be global, supporting readers of books in all the languages of the world. Most of all, it should be open, so that anyone can take this design as a starting point and use it to build a better book.

Check out the promo video as well:
https://youtu.be/vFD9V8Hh7Yg

  • peopleproblems
    41•1 year ago

    I just want a digital notebook that doesn’t need my phone and doesn’t cost $300 to amazon

    • @Chobbes
      11•1 year ago

      There’s slowly starting to be more options for this. The reMarkable devices seem pretty good, but they’re a little pricey (though, I’m pretty sure they’re not owned by Amazon, so it might technically fit your requirement).

    • @FederatedSaint
      3•1 year ago

      I just bought their kindle and never connect it to WiFi. Just load some books on it with USB once in a while. Works great, was cheap, and is waterproof.

    • @[email protected]English
      1•1 year ago

      I’ve been kind of hoping for a e-ink based laptop device for amateur radio to email via the WinLink system. Emergency communications need to send messages for very extended periods of time without resupplying, so they must take as little power as possible. An e-ink screen could stretch a single charge over weeks.

    • OverzeetopEnglish
      1•1 year ago

      Isn’t that a Boox? eInk, stylus, android, can buy direct.

      • conciselyverbose
        2•1 year ago

        I came within a click or two of buying the poke, but you need bigger for the pen layer.

        • peopleproblems
          2•1 year ago

          … Are you guys pulling my leg with these names or are they real?

          • conciselyverbose
            2•1 year ago

            They’re real. I have a Boox Max 3. The Poke is the small one (6") they make. The name is playing on pocket, I’m assuming. The 6" I ended up getting as a pocket option instead (because it was silly cheap for having color) is basically the same size as my iPhone 13 Pro Max (thinner but wider, and way lighter), so you can comfortably throw it in a jeans pocket.

      • peopleproblems
        1•1 year ago

        $500?

        For a digital notebook? With Android?

        No, not what I want at all. Like why would I need an OS at all?

        • OverzeetopEnglish
          5•1 year ago

          It ticks the boxes - not Amazon, stylus, and eInk.

          You’re going to need an os, even if it’s just embedded to access a file system and manage resources.

          I bought one and it kinda sucked. I wanted a digital library for the tens of thousands of pages of references I use at work, and a sketch pad would be a bonus. It’s a cool device but the screen is just too slow to be useful and the application space for android and drawing is…thin.