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from the there's-an-app-for-that dept.
An Open Source eReader That's Free of Corporate Restrictions Is Exactly What I Want Right Now:
I get it. The Kindle and its ability to shop for and instantly buy books anywhere using wifi or Whispernet are incredibly convenient, and it’s what’s made Amazon’s hardware the obvious choice for consuming ebooks. But supporting awful companies like Amazon is getting harder and harder if you were born with a conscience, and right about now, an open source ebook reader, free of corporate restrictions, sounds like the perfect Kindle alternative.
A fully open-hardware eReader, it includes the following design specs: ARM Cortex M4 processor, 400x300 monochromatic resolution, microSD card reader, lithium-polymer rechargeable battery, audiobook-capable headphone jack, and audio-command-capable microphone.
The Open Book Project was born from a contest held by Hackaday and that encouraged hardware hackers to find innovative and practical uses for the Arduino-based Adafruit Feather development board ecosystem. The winner of that contest was the Open Book Project which has been designed and engineered from the ground up to be everything devices like the Amazon Kindle or Rakuten Kobo are not.
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday January 31 2020, @02:58AM (6 children)
I've built plenty of systems over the decades. But the fact remains, linux isn't fit for 99% of the population. The "model" for free software as enunciated by both RMS and the FSF was "give away the product for free, and make money off support."
That might have seen like a good idea in the '80s. But it doesn't work that way any more for consumers. They don't want a product that needs support. They won't buy a new car that needs oil changes every 3 months, a tuneup twice a year - that is now considered defective.
So you can't get consumers to use a product that needs too much support, and linux is exactly that product. It needs too much hand-holding of users because it doesn't run the software they want to run. It doesn't play the games they want to play. Their bosses can't open the spreadsheets and docs they send them.
I can and do still use linux, but it's really shit compared to, say Mandrake 7, or Opensuse when they made the switch from Suse.
Why would ordinary consumers put up with the lack of choice that comes with free software?
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(Score: 2) by kazzie on Friday January 31 2020, @07:15AM (2 children)
Yet many consumers will (in this part of the world at least) turn down the opportunity to buy a car outright, preferring to lease it for a fixed period with servicing etc. included, because they look forward to switching to a lease on a newer model every few years.
The few car adverts I watch never quote monthly finance / hire purchase prices any more, it's always monthly leases.
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday January 31 2020, @06:04PM (1 child)
Nobody considers servicing when buying or leasing a car. It's all about the monthly payments. And keep in mind - more than half of all cars sold are used, with no servicing included, and they STILL don't consider servicing costs.
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(Score: 2) by kazzie on Saturday February 01 2020, @07:56AM
Some customers must be interested in maintenance costs, othereise the likes of Kia wouldn't have advertising campaigns harping on about the 7 year warranty they offer with all their cars.
I am a buyer of used cars myself too. But the used market needs to be supplied by the buyers of new cars. I'm a bit surprised at people who prefer to rent a new vehicle for three years, as opposed to taking the hire-purchase or finance route which would leave them owning the vehicle at the end of the period. There'll be monthly payments whichever route you choose. Naturally, the dealers would prefer to lease the car out, as then they can get the second-hand sale price at the end of the lease period.
The whole thing feels like "Driving as a Service" to me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @07:38AM
But the fact remains, linux isn't fit for 99% of the population.
So? You don't have to use it. That's freedom, babe!
You're just upset, it's making you irrational. You should calm down before you bust an artery.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday February 03 2020, @05:09AM (1 child)
Isn't Android a modified form of Linux?
(Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Monday February 03 2020, @12:09PM
Not at all. Just as Android isn't Java. Android is a runtime. It currently runs atop a scaled back Linux, but like any runtime, it can be ported to other systems.
But it's pretty limited, so why bother?
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