reMarkable, a New eink device with pen support

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by Alpha o

How can it use the Canvas name?

I thought that was a design suite made for Mac.

In computer graphics, the object towards which the drawing operations are applied is usually called the canvas. A lot of the terminology in the field was borrowed from painting. So, using the term canvas in this sense has lots of prior art.

[Rbneader]

Originally Posted by SnowRipple

I see that some people are complaining that there is no extendable memory slot but I don't see this as a problem because all your documents will be synced with the cloud storage (that's what I understood from their video). So you should never run out of storage space.

This is in fact standard now in tablets and phones, instead of using SD cards use cloud storage. Of course we can discuss if cloud storage can replace SD cards, but I think for the purpose of e-ink devices and documents collections it's perfectly fine. Kindles are using cloud storage for many years now and I never run out of storage place+I don't have to worry that I will loose or damage a SD card. Cloud storage is the reality now.

Cloud storage doesn't help at all with limited storage - it just means that you can mitigate the limited storage if you're in range of a good internet connection.

Cloud storage has been around for a long time and a lot of people use it, but that doesn't mean it's the be-all and end-all of storage solutions. Any device relying on it solely is missing out on some segments of the market.

[SnowRipple]

Originally Posted by Rbneader

Cloud storage doesn't help at all with limited storage - it just means that you can mitigate the limited storage if you're in range of a good internet connection.

Cloud storage has been around for a long time and a lot of people use it, but that doesn't mean it's the be-all and end-all of storage solutions. Any device relying on it solely is missing out on some segments of the market.

1. Of course cloud storage helps with limited storage! It gives you extra storage!

2. Look at what is happening in phones/tablets/laptop devices: sd cards, cd/dvd/bluray drives, they are all being removed from latest models in favour of cloud solution. It's a global trend.


Of course I would like to have extra sd card in all my devices, they allow me to be more flexible, but if they are missing I will not be crying, for standard use cloud storage is more than enough. I would not pay extra for slots neither.

Some people mentioned security concerns: personally I like cloud storage security better than sd cards.

First of all if sd card breaks, it is the END, all is lost, whereas cloud services have multiple backup servers.

Secondly, if you think that you will not be hacked because you store your data remotely, think again! The moment you plug it into the computer, the only barrier between you and the outside world is your computer firewall and most often free antivirus software. Not a problem for even a mediocre hacker.

Some might say that they switch off the internet connection when checking their remote data, again, os systems make temporary files of your documents, there are so many ways that someone can access your data without you knowing, e.g. installing simple logger program that works without internet connection.

On the other hand, cloud services like Amazon have a dedicated teams of engineers that only purpose is to keep your data safe. If you think that you can be better than thousands of skilled engineers, think again.

To sum up: for a standard user, using cloud storage is even better than using sd card, in my opinion. The industry seems to agree with this view.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by SnowRipple

1. Of course cloud storage helps with limited storage! It gives you extra storage!

No, it only gives extra sometimes storage. You need to be connected to the internet to make use of it. I am not always connected to the internet.

2. Look at what is happening in phones/tablets/laptop devices: sd cards, cd/dvd/bluray drives, they are all being removed from latest models in favour of cloud solution. It's a global trend.

Most phones/tablets/laptops have USB ports, where you can connect external storage. And my current phone? I wouldn't have bought it, if it hadn't had a SD card slot If one picture is already 5Mb, even 32Gb will fill up fast. Add some offline maps and offline music and that external card will be almost mandatory (I plugged in a 256Gb one)

Of course I would like to have extra sd card in all my devices, they allow me to be more flexible, but if they are missing I will not be crying, for standard use cloud storage is more than enough. I would not pay extra for slots neither.

Some people mentioned security concerns: personally I like cloud storage security better than sd cards.

First of all if sd card breaks, it is the END, all is lost, whereas cloud services have multiple backup servers.

For me cloud storage isn't a replacement for internal storage, it complements it.
I make a picture on my phone, it gets store on the phone until such time that I have an internet connection (via wifi) and then it gets uploaded to OneDrive.

And when I want to show that picture, I better have that picture on my phone because I don't normally have an internet connection.

[Gotadimple]

The glaring issue in the use of the cloud is the need for wi-fi connection (at a minimum), or, connecting to the internet on a cell connection. The latter uses data, and for some data is not cheap. This is a first world problem - the use of wi-fi and/or data to communicate. All it takes is a loss of external power, and, the ability to access the cloud goes away.

Until cell networks and cloud storage is infallible, a storage card is the ideal solution (with a backup when power is available).

[Gardenman]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

No, it only gives extra sometimes storage. You need to be connected to the internet to make use of it. I am not always connected to the internet.


Most phones/tablets/laptops have USB ports, where you can connect external storage. And my current phone? I wouldn't have bought it, if it hadn't had a SD card slot If one picture is already 5Mb, even 32Gb will fill up fast. Add some offline maps and offline music and that external card will be almost mandatory (I plugged in a 256Gb one)


For me cloud storage isn't a replacement for internal storage, it complements it.
I make a picture on my phone, it gets store on the phone until such time that I have an internet connection (via wifi) and then it gets uploaded to OneDrive.

And when I want to show that picture, I better have that picture on my phone because I don't normally have an internet connection.

[Gardenman]

Originally Posted by Gotadimple

The glaring issue in the use of the cloud is the need for wi-fi connection (at a minimum), or, connecting to the internet on a cell connection. The latter uses data, and for some data is not cheap. This is a first world problem - the use of wi-fi and/or data to communicate. All it takes is a loss of external power, and, the ability to access the cloud goes away.

Until cell networks and cloud storage is infallible, a storage card is the ideal solution (with a backup when power is available).

[SnowRipple]

We are getting a little bit of topic here...

When a company develops a device it has to decide on it target customers. The main criterion is the size of this group, the bigger the better. Currently all main companies go for cloud storage because it fits the needs of a bigger group, group with an internet access.

Adding extra sd slot takes the precious space inside the device, if this place can be used for e.g. better refresh rate I would happily resign on a sd card slot.

I am not against sd cards. My main point is that you can happily live and use your device without a sd card slot. It is just an extra for vast majority of users, not necessity. So I understand Remarkable (and other companies) decision to resign from it.

That's my last post on this subject. Let's wait for news from Remarkable!

[John F]

Originally Posted by SnowRipple

...

Adding extra sd slot takes the precious space inside the device, if this place can be used for e.g. better refresh rate I would happily resign on a sd card slot.

...

Do we really think that, on a 10.3 inch device, there is not space inside the device for an extra SD slot?

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by SnowRipple

We are getting a little bit of topic here...

When a company develops a device it has to decide on it target customers. The main criterion is the size of this group, the bigger the better. Currently all main companies go for cloud storage because it fits the needs of a bigger group, group with an internet access.

Adding extra sd slot takes the precious space inside the device, if this place can be used for e.g. better refresh rate I would happily resign on a sd card slot.

I am not against sd cards. My main point is that you can happily live and use your device without a sd card slot. It is just an extra for vast majority of users, not necessity. So I understand Remarkable (and other companies) decision to resign from it.

That's my last post on this subject. Let's wait for news from Remarkable!

Well, in this case, I think the device needs that external storage. It will only have 8Gb. And I presume the OS needs some room too, so, let's be generous and say you have 6Gb left. As it's a large device, made for drawing, PDF and such, I think that space will fill up fast. We're not talking about the average novel of 500Kb, but larger documents like PDF's, which can run to the dozens of Mb, or even more.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by SnowRipple

1. Of course cloud storage helps with limited storage! It gives you extra storage!

Cloud storage is not extra storage. It's auxiliary storage.

2. Look at what is happening in phones/tablets/laptop devices: sd cards, cd/dvd/bluray drives, they are all being removed from latest models in favour of cloud solution. It's a global trend.

No. iPhones and iPads lack card slots for control reasons. It's one less avenue for loading "unauthorized" code or data into the devices which could be use to circumvent application sandboxes.

Google, on the other hand, have gone entirely the other way on card storage in recent versions of Android. M and N have a feature called "adoptable storage" which you use a large uSD card as main storage.

Optical drives are still available on full-size notebooks. They aren't options on ultraportables simply because there is no room for them.

Some people mentioned security concerns: personally I like cloud storage security better than sd cards.

I don't. Physical control trumps all other forms of data security. If it's in my hand then it's awfully hard for a remote attacker to get at it. If my data is out there somewhere then I no longer have physical control over the media. Data encryption is no real protection. If an attacker has access to the encrypted data then he can attack it at his leisure and I cannot do anything about it.

First of all if sd card breaks, it is the END, all is lost, whereas cloud services have multiple backup servers.

I suggest you read up on the Code Spaces breach.

[Barty]

Cloud storage is good for making data available across devices, and can be used in a pinch to supplement internal storage, but isn't a substitute for it. Even streaming services understand the importance of offline storage and allow people to download music/movies to their phones/tablets, as limited as they are in storage.

[Randy11]

Originally Posted by SnowRipple

Some people mentioned security concerns: personally I like cloud storage security better than sd cards.

First of all if sd card breaks, it is the END, all is lost, whereas cloud services have multiple backup servers.

The security is not the reliability. For an access in the long term, the cloud solution is more reliable than an SD card, but no secure when you expose all your data if they are only protected by a login and password, sometimes too simples, or when the provider of this service can access to your data. For a professional usage, it's really a big problem.

Originally Posted by SnowRipple

Secondly, if you think that you will not be hacked because you store your data remotely, think again! The moment you plug it into the computer, the only barrier between you and the outside world is your computer firewall and most often free antivirus software. Not a problem for even a mediocre hacker.

Some might say that they switch off the internet connection when checking their remote data, again, os systems make temporary files of your documents, there are so many ways that someone can access your data without you knowing, e.g. installing simple logger program that works without internet connection.

This why I don't connect my M92 to Internet. I use some Linux distributions and I'll try to don't make something dangerous, per example, I block all the scripts by default when I use my web browser. Working with a device with no Internet connection is more secure, but you are right, less reliable if you use an SD card.

[hkckoo]

when will a device be available for showcase/review? you want to ship it within 6-7 months and no one saw a thing yet.

[Larla]

The other glaring problem with cloud storage is that the cloud has to remain in the sky. With a new company you have little confidence that the cloud servers will remain intact for a significant amount of time.