Quote:
Originally Posted by lumpen
By "hacker" ereader, I meant one that gave us access to the OS and ability to customize everything (fonts, zooms, image viewing?), but I do not know if this is actually an option with ereaders straight from the manufacturer, and I do not know how to program. I don't like the idea of being limited to amazon or any other online store for ebooks, I like to use my local library website or other free services like gutenberg. However, I mainly need to read scientific research articles which no reader seems to be good for.
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The Barnes and Noble Nook E-reader (aka NookE) is pretty well hacked right now - see nookdevs.com etc. Admittedly not to the degree you're asking for, but it's likely going to be better than what you initially suggested.
Note also that DRM is pretty hard to remove without the keys! Thus, an ereader which took DRM'd ebooks and read them without the keys is likely a pipe dream. There are however well-documented removal tools for the various major formats - so once you legally have a book, you should be able to get it onto another reader. Discussion of this topic is discouraged on mobileread though....
Note that for non-DRM content, Calibre is an excellent tool which converts well between the various ebook formats. (Nothing does PDF -> other very well IMO, but that's not the converter's fault!)
I picked the Nook for the hackability and the Trook application (once hacked) which allows WiFi access to one's Calibre library. It's about $100 high for your desired price point though.
HTH,
Richard