external keyboard, linux and the pocketbook

[damaru]

If it's running linux and has a usb c - can I plug in a keyboard? Can I boot this device directly in tty, the terminal? And are there ways to run vim and tmux ?

There seems to be a lot of e-reader these day running on Android too, which makes it possible to connect a keyboard in the usb port, but having a linux based e-reader that I can hack to log to the console would be my dream.

I invented the KindleBerry Pi years ago, and I'm still looking at a decent e-ink typewritter which runs linux.

I see in this thread that the InkBook can have a USB keyboard connected:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...ArtaTechPoland

I assume it would then be possible with the pockebook?

[b0rsuk]

Originally Posted by damaru

If it's running linux and has a usb c - can I plug in a keyboard? Can I boot this device directly in tty, the terminal? And are there ways to run vim and tmux ?

I would also like to know answers to this. I only started using my device today. It is generally not possible to log in to root on Pocketbook devices, although with some effort you can access a user terminal.

You may want to search by the keyword "OTG" (On The Go).

I know that Kobo readers are Linux based and you can ssh to root. Some have figured out how to use an external keyboard and indeed run vim, firefox and X.org. The older devices have the system on a removable SD card. All recent Kobos have a soldered SD. I bought InkPad 3 (not pro) in part because it DOES have an SD card slot.

[b0rsuk]

Two Inkpad models - Pro and X - have USB-C and bluetooth. It may allow connecting a keyboard, but won't help with root.

[EastEriq]

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=325185

[kacir]

Originally Posted by damaru

If it's running linux and has a usb c - can I plug in a keyboard? Can I boot this device directly in tty, the terminal? And are there ways to run vim and tmux ?

I had several PocketBooks in the past.
In the Good Old Days (TM) the manufacturer of the PocketBook actually cared about the features and user satisfaction and included features that enabled us - users - to enhance and improve the devices without having to hack them or root them.
They published an SDK (Software Development Toolkit) that enabled us - users - to develop apps (and screensacers and dictionaries and alternate User Interfaces and other interesting stuff).
Part of that manufacturer initiative was a competition that they organized and sponsored with prizes on a Russian-language forum.
One of the winners was, for example a modification of the stock reading app that enabled us to turn pages by using a built-in accelerometer and enabled lots of configuration options.
Another noteworthy winner was a terminal application that let you to open a terminal window with an on-screen keyboard (where you had to move using up, down, right, left and OK buttons (plus two buttons for page turning). That was before we had touch screen.
PocketBook 360 had Linux system (not Android) and ran on BusyBox. Busybox is a very interesting project - a miniature userland system built as a single binnary that takes different roles depending on how you call it, or what symlink you use to call it. So a single BusyBox binary can have over a 300 symlinks with names like cp, mv, pwd, mkdir, sh, init, vi ... and behave as [a limited version of] any of those programs (PocketBook version was, of course, more limited, because it was a long time ago and they did not need some functionality)
Fascinating stuff. And all that was available to you using that terminal.
PocketBook also had other pieces of software besides BusyBox that you could run from terminal. Most of it not very useable for a typical e-ink e-reader enthusiast, even if said enthisuast is an avid Linux fan ;-).
I think (haven't tried in a long time) that there exists a binary of terminal app for PocketBook that works on a recent versions of PocketBook devices. The support for configuration and enhancement features is slowly deteriorating (since the Good Old Days when PocketBook 360 was THE most exciting e-ink reader in existence) but are baked way too deep in the basic architecture of the system.

As recently as PocketBook 623 Touch Lux I had terminal installed on my PocketBook and I also had Gvim installed. Gvim did not run in terminal (or at least start from terminal from BussyBox session), it had its own UI. I was *SO* excited when I discovered that there is a full-size full-featured genuine, recent version, Gvim available with all the bells and whistles.
Outside of the demonstrating this fantastic feature to fellow Linux nerds I have used it perhaps three times to make a note.

There was a talk about using USB keyboard and a support for that new-fangled BlueTooth interface, but I do not remember hearing about some usable keyboard solution.

[b0rsuk]

Overall I think it would be awesome to have keyboard support. An editor like vim can be used effectively with few keypresses. Lack of keyboard is most likely why Pocketbooks don't have an email program. Otherwise, it would be a perfect fit! For anyone competent with a keyboard, note-taking with a stylus is pathetic. The only thing it does better is sketches.

There are small keyboards for mobile devices, some of which can be rolled into a coil.