On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 10:42:37AM +0200, Antony Stone wrote: > On Tuesday 25 May 2021 at 05:25:41, Hendrik Boom wrote: > > > On Mon, May 24, 2021 at 09:32:49PM +0200, Antony Stone wrote: > > > > > > As for getting a standard GNU / Linux system onto eBook reader hardware, > > > I would say: > > > > > > a) very unlikely, given the storage capacity typically available > > > > > > b) very disappointing even if you manage, given the performance of eBook > > > reader CPUs, and especially eInk displays > > > > Yes, but if he does manage, he should be able to program an ebook rader > > that does what he wants instead of what the Chinese copany wants. > > > > > c) very inconvenient, assuming it's a device with a touch screen and no > > > Bluetooth or USB OTG mode (which would have enabled you to connect an > > > external mouse and/or keyboard). > > > > Early ebook readers from Kobo used a Linux kernel, and could be booted > > from an inserted SD card (they had a slot for this). > > Indeed - I have several Tolino readers which have the same design. Later > ones > (especially the water-resistant models) have no SD card slot (either internal > or external) and simply have firmware installed on soldered flash chips. > > > Booting from inserted SD card was also how they did upgrades. Someone > > managed to write a simple game for it, after heavy reverse engineering. > > Upgrades can also be done either by inserting an SD card with a correctly- > named file into the external card slot (where one exists), or by writing the > correctly-named file to internal storage using the USB cable (just as a mass- > storage device, no ADB needed) and then restarting the device. > > > As far as I know no documentation was ever made available for those who > > wished to program the thing; in particular, there ws no documebtation > > for the screen and touch drivers. > > > > I have seen no such bootable slot in any of the current Kobo ebook > > readers. > > There is documentation (some in English, some in German) on how to install a > standard app launcher on these devices so that you can make full use of the > native Android system (normally that's inaccessible, and only one app can be > used; the e-reader app). I have a Tolino Epos 1 which I've done this with, > for example, and it's quite a nice monochrome / greyscale Android "tablet" so > long as you accept that it is quite slow, the display is very slow, it has no > sound and no Bluetooth. For many applications these limitations do not > matter.
I guess what I really want is something like a laptop that can be used effectively in bright sunlight, and still has interoperability and connectivity with the Linux ecosystem I currently use. It doesn't have to have the *same* software; it merely needs to interoperate with systems that do. Android won't even talk sshfs. -- hendrik > > > Regards, > > > Antony. > > -- > You can tell that the day just isn't going right when you find yourself using > the telephone before the toilet. > > Please reply to the list; > please *don't* CC me. > _______________________________________________ > Dng mailing list > Dng@lists.dyne.org > https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dng _______________________________________________ Dng mailing list Dng@lists.dyne.org https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dng
