[elementarythree]

Originally Posted by mdp

For that matter, the same tricks here can be used to hook a system to an OLED screen, and it's a whole new visual experience. Of course, a technology still very limited by environmental light...

I was interested in a while in OLED screens but I haven't really found anything practical enough. Everything you can get is either too expensive or way too small. Similar to eink, I guess. I was even thinking about a 6-7" eInk screen hooked to an ARM SBC as sort of makeshift monitor/really low powered work station/digital typewriter. (6-7" is small but for text only, I think you might get used to it) You can get these small waveshare eInk screens for reasonable amounts of money and there's enough documentation to whip up a TTY. I'm just concerned their refresh speed might not be up to par and the overhead might be a bit too much for really weak SBCs I'd intent on using. Then again I've seen such projects so maybe you could make it work. I don't know. Also it's not like the Max 2 doesn't work in that role, it absolutely does. I even managed with GNU parallel to write batch scripts doing image conversion from my PC, utilizing the SoC in the Max.

Originally Posted by mdp

The "five font sizes including a few sight-impaired-big ones will be plenty" (for the skimmers: two or three font sizes real option) device? Oh my. Sony's PRS is the proof we need control - to take it and to be given the ability to take control. To fix the fumblings of aristocratic producers with a lineage so long that it remains confusing to see how the just-pulled-themselves-out-of-the-muddy-land Onyx seem to spit saliva less frequently during speech in front of the Queen. «It just works», just not the way you may reasonably expect it.

(By the way: mine came with a silverly frame, which is exactly what you want to use in exactly the environment you expect to use it, to read Sacher-Masoch and "How to use NLP to win a political general election".)

I have the silvery one, I can just say that I like it. The new battery lasts forever . (another thing you can't say about the Max 2, although I admit the comparison isn't fair _at all_) I've noticed that with eReader bigger isn't necessarily better, the Onyx is really uncomfortable to hold for me for long amounts of time. The Sony has exactly the right size for me to lie down on the couch or in bed and read a little, I also found a nice LED reading lamp with warm light which clips to it perfectly. I don't have any problem with the font size, even the smallest one, but I can see how that could be a problem. I personally was more worried the page turning you have to do often on 5" would bother me, but it really doesn't. I can just slightly touch the side of the screen with my thumb. It happens automatically and I don't really think about it anymore. I like the whole simplicity of it. Gets recognized as an USB drive you can just copy files to and no online garbage. I also have to admit I don't really see it as a computer the way I see the Max 2, and therefore don't have the same demands on it, although it of course technically is. That being said I installed PRS+ on it and it brings a few goodies, like a calculator and ways of changing the fonts of ebooks to your own, but I haven't used that stuff much. I wonder how Adobe Garamond Pro would look on it...

Also when I changed the battery to my luck I found it to be very easy as the device has easy-to-access screws. There's some glue but I think it was only used in manufacturing to make putting it together easier. It's not really needed. The Max 2 has no visible screws and I have the feeling the thing is glued together (as it doesn't make croaking noises when you press the frame which would indicate some kind of plastic clamping) which might mean you can take it apart but never put it together again which in turn again would mean you can never replace the battery. I might be wrong though.

Originally Posted by mdp

Of course the display cost being most of the price... ; )
(Though for fairness I remember some fellows unconvinced of the price/quality ratio after subtraction of the display cost.)

The display is expensive, no doubt. It makes the price sorta acceptable. A device of that class with that kind of quality with a normal LCD display would not sell.

Originally Posted by mdp

I thought one of the goals of Android was battery optimization: do we have data on how a Linux Desktop fares against it?

I meant more a mess in "weird frankenstein kernel" and "will never receive meaningful updates" kind of way. Android has a huge conceptual problem with that. There are constantly security issues found that will not be patched in a majority of devices because nobody maintains that particular devices' kernel or android version anymore. Even the Asus Tinkerboard I have, (small SBC with the same SoC as the Max 2) doesn't get any Android updates and is already not safe to use on the internet with Android anymore. (with Linux it mostly is as the SoC enjoys mainline support - for now) The manufacturers push these things out and just do not give a crap about long time support. Onyx and the ancient kernel/Android Version they use don't either. They seem to be a lot more concerned with integrating an online shop. This is a problem with ARM devices in general and with Android in particular.

Originally Posted by mdp

Did not you have a serious performance hit, especially with X11? Have you managed to try Wayland?

Yeah, frankly X11 is awful on it. Even with the blob Mali drivers which do not work well with X11. I once found a comment on Github from one of the people involved that basically admitted that the X11 drivers of Mali are awful and will never get fixed as they focus on Wayland now. (see above re: support of manufacturers) There are open source Mali drivers in the works but they have been "just around the corner" for about two years now and frankly, I'm not holding my breath anymore. Would not help in case of the Max 2 anyways. I haven't tried Wayland but I know from my Tinkerboard that Mali works way better with Wayland.

Originally Posted by mdp

Without any offense meant to the Chinese (the burdens of history on society are crucial here), but really not unrelatedly, yesterday I was telling myself how refreshing the experience with Epson is being. "Ahh, a well thought device where the project writers ask themselves the mandatory question, «What may I want it to have when using it...»".

These chinese ARM devices are meant to be sold and to be cheap, not to last or be used for long. Humanity is one day gonna pay the price for that particular shortsightedness.

Originally Posted by mdp

Locked down, where true, that is a sin and a crime. But I would not say it is at a "dead-end". Many of those spaces for improvement can still be filled. Surely, with work on the consumer's side - that's the way it is, be contented or strive (or both).

You're way more optimistic than me there. The Max 2 Pro (or whatever it is called) apparently has different firmware and I'd not be surprised if Onyx just silently stops pushing firmware updates for the Max 2 and just expects everyone to buy The New Thing(tm) (see above). These companies can't earn money with supporting old devices. I also doubt they'll ever unlock the bootloader or make it otherwise possible for people to gain control of the device. Stallman is right in decrying this kind of stuff, as weird as he is.