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The Open Book - An open hardware reading device that's easy to build, easy to manufacture, and easy to make your own (hackaday.io)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by Voyager@psychedelia.ink to c/opensource@lemmy.ml

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This is a complete reimagining of the Open Book Project, but the original mission remains:

As a society, we need an open source device for reading. Books are among the most important documents of our culture, yet the most popular and widespread devices we have for reading are closed objects, operating as small moving parts in a set of giant closed platforms whose owners' interests are not always aligned with readers'.

The Open Book aims to be a simple device that anyone can build for themselves. The Open Book should be comprehensible: the reader should be able to look at it and understand, at least in broad strokes, how it works. It should be extensible, so that a reader with different needs can write code and add accessories that make the book work for them. It should be global, supporting readers of books in all the languages of the world. Most of all, it should be open, so that anyone can take this design as a starting point and use it to build a better book.

Check out the promo video as well:
https://youtu.be/vFD9V8Hh7Yg

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[-] ALoafOfBread@lemmy.ml 49 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Rakuten Kobo is a good alternative to Amazon Kindle. I can just drag and drop books, no internet connectivity necessary, no DRM... I have no problems with it at all. Would be cool to be able to load custom firmware, but I do not need to since it already doesn't spy on me and doesn't force DRM (3rd party book imports).

[-] optissima@possumpat.io 20 points 11 months ago

Have you installed nickelmenu and koreader? Brings the experience up a couple of levels software side.

[-] biscuit@beehaw.org 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Koreader blasted my "aging" 1st Gen H2O into space with all the speed and features it added.

Faster page turning
Wallabag support
Most of all: SFTP transfer from my phone

It's wild.

[-] cloud@lazysoci.al 3 points 11 months ago

but I do not need to since it already doesn’t spy on me

let's see the source code

[-] finnie@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

I've been using kobo. The integration with pocket and Libby is the killer feature for me. Checking out library books right on the device? Game changer.

[-] FederatedSaint@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

You can do this with a kindle, too. I'm not advocating for them specifically, just pointing out that you can use a Kindle in a similar way. I've never even enabled WiFi on it. Just drag and drop some epubs on it via USB once in a while. Works great, is cheap, and is waterproof.

[-] settinmoon@lemmy.ml 1 points 11 months ago

Can you do usb drag and drop for kindles? I always thought you need to send the book over to the special kindle email address.

[-] PeachMan@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

Calibre is how people do this. Install it on a PC or Mac, and it can easily send books to your Kindle and convert to the right format automatically.

But yes, you can also drag and drop to USB like you're asking. You just gotta make sure you drop on the right format (or use Calibre).

[-] FederatedSaint@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Yep, it just mounts like an external USB drive and you can load it with epub files. Alternatively, you can use calibre that will handle your library on your computer and will detect and load what you want on the Kindle as you desire.

[-] Emanuel@lemmy.eco.br 1 points 11 months ago

You can. With jailbreak, I send books to it through ssh.

[-] jack@hexbear.net 2 points 11 months ago

Love my Kobo H20. Had it for about three and a half years now. Full connectivity with Overdrive/Libby means almost everything I read I get from the library, but it's also super easy to upload any EPUB and PDFs. Plus it's fully waterproof; one time I dropped it in a swamp river and had to root around in stinky mud for 15 minutes to find it. It was working totally fine once I finally pulled it out.