Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiat_Lux
This is not a mass market item. It is for people who have some very specific requirements: - * Do not want to be constantly tracked;
* Have the tech know-how to follow blueprints;
* Have the tools to construct the device;
Claiming PDFs are not ebooks, is akin to claiming that the USS Wasp is not an aircraft carrier. |
PDFs are
electronic documents to proof paper prints. They are misused as electronic only documents. Claiming they are ebooks is laughable. An ebook is meant to be read on any size screen with the page size determined by the screen. The Fixed Layout KFX and epub3 are not real ebooks either. Anything where the producer picks the page size rather the actual device in use is not a real ebook.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiat_Lux
For people outside the target audience, this project is irrelevant.
It is pointless only to those who think that being tracked 7/24, with unknown third parties knowing what page in which books you are currently reading, is an extremely good thing.
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Some ereader apps certainly tracks usage.
It's trivial to set up a new Kindle with a $1 gift card and an email address with no payment method or physical address.
You can set up a Kobo with a fake email address.
No Payment details needed to setup a Nook.
None of those track anything if you don't use the WiFi.
If you don't at least give payment details you can't legally get books still in Copyright. I buy ebooks from Amazon and Smashwords and read ALL of my ebooks on ANY ereader I have. No Tracking or Wifi needed on the device. I copy via USB (sideload).
The tracking is a red herring.
The target audience is users of the very successful Arduino ecosytem, not readers.
The Arduino ecosytem appeals to a particular kind of hobbyist. It's not a very good form factor. I'd rather buy one of the many non-Arduino ARM boards and interface an eInk to that. But it would cost more than the €179 inc Irish VAT that I paid for a 7" 300 dpi Libra.
There are more useful things to spend the time and money on even if you want to use the Arduino ecosytem rather than get a clunky piece of HW with a far too low resolution screen even for 3.5" never mind 4.3". Also a larger decent resolution eink screen is close to the price of a Kindle Basic.