There's a contingent of enthusiasts who, once they find out a device runs Linux or can run Linux, seems determined to expose a terminal on it. I don't know why someone needs to SSH into their toaster, but damned if they're not gonna do it, just because they can.
I always assume it's more for the challenge and accomplishment than anything practical. The results are always neat, but rarely anything you'd actually use for general-purpose computing.
This isn't Normie News! I think you are on the wrong site!
The street finds its own use for things is the excitement that we don't know what is possible, and that we ought be free to try. The amazing suite of software here sure looks like self evident proof about how exciting it is when we can go further, to me. I love the LLM prompt sidekick; super neat as an ambient display.
It's really sad how HN is so vocally anti-hacker, is so conservative, shows up so regularly to declare alliance to anti-possibility, to anti-features. For some people, they don't only fail to be interested, they are expressly anti interested, the only thing they want is for everyone else to have to live as constrained and unexplorarive and unthoughtful as they are. I don't get it. Conservatism is a wicked disease, imo.
I think the distaste is more against feature bloat. This sub-thread is reacting to dedicated e-readers succumbing to becoming full-fledged app-running devices. Is the refresh rate on an e-ink display even suitable for general computing?
Plus, isn't it fairly old hat to get root access on a Linux consumer device and then running whatever you want on it? Oh, it makes for a neat party trick you could make an Action Retro YouTube video out of. But perhaps people are just jaded since they've seen it done on a million types of devices by now. Maybe there are more interesting ways, and things, to hack.
No, the whole point is the e-ink screen. Kindle has had a web browser since the very first version, and people have managed to read books on it just fine without distractions.
I went through a whole design phase with ChatGPT on the idea of using an old Kobo as a low-distraction TV remote for my dad. The idea is that it would interface with a computer media server thing, be more legible than a traditional remote, and not be an app on his phone that would immediately send him into his phone.
Ended up being more involved than the benefit it would bring, especially considering that these media server programs know how to interface with the traditional remote over HDMI (if you have the right graphics card or a dongle) and show the selection UI on screen like a smart TV.
Anyway, my response is "you don't necessarily have to complicate your e-reader, instead you have the option of making it not an e-reader."
Even if you want it for just books, there are benefits to installing things like KOReader (way better ebook reader than the default). This allows you to sync with Calibre, etc.
Years ago, it was practically a hobby of mine to go to my local Goodwill, and find an extremely cheap old used Kobo and find someone to donate it to. Now I'm thinking of getting old Kobos just for the eink display so I can run simple apps on it - while continuing to use my regular Kobo as an ereader.
Some people came for the compact package containing an eink screen, a moderately powered application board, and a reasonable amount of battery and storage. For some, it may be the perfect thin client.
In my personal experience, this can help in case the books are little technical and you have to switch to my laptop/mobile to get more information about the topic, which ends up consuming more time it should.
There's a contingent of enthusiasts who, once they find out a device runs Linux or can run Linux, seems determined to expose a terminal on it. I don't know why someone needs to SSH into their toaster, but damned if they're not gonna do it, just because they can.
Me personally, I just want a reliable toaster.
I always assume it's more for the challenge and accomplishment than anything practical. The results are always neat, but rarely anything you'd actually use for general-purpose computing.
This isn't Normie News! I think you are on the wrong site!
The street finds its own use for things is the excitement that we don't know what is possible, and that we ought be free to try. The amazing suite of software here sure looks like self evident proof about how exciting it is when we can go further, to me. I love the LLM prompt sidekick; super neat as an ambient display.
It's really sad how HN is so vocally anti-hacker, is so conservative, shows up so regularly to declare alliance to anti-possibility, to anti-features. For some people, they don't only fail to be interested, they are expressly anti interested, the only thing they want is for everyone else to have to live as constrained and unexplorarive and unthoughtful as they are. I don't get it. Conservatism is a wicked disease, imo.
I think the distaste is more against feature bloat. This sub-thread is reacting to dedicated e-readers succumbing to becoming full-fledged app-running devices. Is the refresh rate on an e-ink display even suitable for general computing?
Plus, isn't it fairly old hat to get root access on a Linux consumer device and then running whatever you want on it? Oh, it makes for a neat party trick you could make an Action Retro YouTube video out of. But perhaps people are just jaded since they've seen it done on a million types of devices by now. Maybe there are more interesting ways, and things, to hack.
Obviously you ssh into your toaster so you can host a website on it, or run DOOM
What worth is a toaster if it can't run DOOM? What worth is life if you never even find out??
No, the whole point is the e-ink screen. Kindle has had a web browser since the very first version, and people have managed to read books on it just fine without distractions.
I went through a whole design phase with ChatGPT on the idea of using an old Kobo as a low-distraction TV remote for my dad. The idea is that it would interface with a computer media server thing, be more legible than a traditional remote, and not be an app on his phone that would immediately send him into his phone.
Ended up being more involved than the benefit it would bring, especially considering that these media server programs know how to interface with the traditional remote over HDMI (if you have the right graphics card or a dongle) and show the selection UI on screen like a smart TV.
Anyway, my response is "you don't necessarily have to complicate your e-reader, instead you have the option of making it not an e-reader."
You can read books on an iPad without distractions just fine. Just turn off all notifications...
Even if you want it for just books, there are benefits to installing things like KOReader (way better ebook reader than the default). This allows you to sync with Calibre, etc.
Years ago, it was practically a hobby of mine to go to my local Goodwill, and find an extremely cheap old used Kobo and find someone to donate it to. Now I'm thinking of getting old Kobos just for the eink display so I can run simple apps on it - while continuing to use my regular Kobo as an ereader.
Why use a Kobo for that? Nook and Boox devices run Android - I've run Ankidroid on both those devices.
I guess I could. I recall I was getting used Nooks as cheap as Kobos. Not sure about Boox.
(I'm talking $15 or less).
Some people came for the compact package containing an eink screen, a moderately powered application board, and a reasonable amount of battery and storage. For some, it may be the perfect thin client.
In my personal experience, this can help in case the books are little technical and you have to switch to my laptop/mobile to get more information about the topic, which ends up consuming more time it should.
That's what I want from my e-reader device too. Yet being able to turn a $140 e-ink tablet into a general purpose tool is really neat.