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

  • henfredemars@infosec.pub
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    1 year ago

    When they say build it yourself, they mean it:

    • 3D print case
    • Solder PCB
    • Compile your own firmware

    For those interested, base price to build this might start at $85 based on one estimate linked from the resource.

        • Chobbes@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          It’s not just mass production and economies of scale. That’s obviously a huge part of it, but the cheap Kindle devices are also definitely sold at a loss with the expectation that you’re going to buy a lot of ebooks from Amazon which will more than make up for it (and also some of the devices are ad supported).

          • GrappleHat@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            …and we can be sure Amazon finds ways to monetize user data as well (they see your book purchases, downloads, reading habits, etc)

          • naught@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            I keep mine in airplane mode most of the time to avoid getting new ads too often. Also the only ads are on the lock screen which is extremely unobtrusive if you’re looking to save a few bucks

        • Kusimulkku
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          1 year ago

          I bought an “ad supported” model but I’m not sure if they’ve activated the “service” in my country since I’ve not seen a single ad. And won’t, because that thing is never ever online.

          • LazaroFilm@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I got the one with ads too. Then I called and asked for the ads to be removed because I’m not okay with the kind of ads they were showing. Gambling and adult romance ads are not okay for my kids. They removed it for free. Now it shows the cover of the book I’m reading when off.

            • Kusimulkku
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              1 year ago

              Hah this goes perfectly with my other comment

              If you want them to remove it normally, it costs you. If you want to remove it for free you must use some excuse for it. “The ads are sexual and my kid sees them, do something Amazon support!”. Apparently 50% of the time it works every time.

              • LazaroFilm@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                And the stats is right. Worked flawlessly for me. For my wife they charged her the removal and I called back saying I would not pay. They couldn’t put the ads back, so they had to refund me.

          • GrappleHat@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            There have been ads on Kindle for a very long time. You can optionally pay an extra $15-$20 to remove the ads though.

      • Heratiki@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        I mean those Echo Dots come with a huge hit to your privacy as a cost. Not to mention how susceptible the Echo Dot has been in the past. Hell some expeditious hackers even got the Echo Dot to hack itself.

      • agent_flounder@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s crazy how subsidized a Kindle is.

        No doubt Amazon sells Kindles with a thin margin or maybe even at a loss. But the cost to produce them is also lowered significantly by manufacturing large quantities.

      • The Hobbyist@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        That version is ad-sponsored though, isn’t it? If you wanted to get it without ads, I believe you need to pay extra.

        • allstar@lemmy.one
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          1 year ago

          You can ask customer service to remove it for free after purchase, or so I’ve heard.

          • 2ncs@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I’m pretty sure it’s a $30 dollar charge, from when I last looked into it. For that exact price difference you can get a Kobo, which isn’t Amazon and doesn’t have ads

            • SatyrSack@lemmy.one
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              1 year ago

              If you want to just do it automatically through the settings or whatever, sure. But you can supposedly call up customer service, make up an excuse like the ads are inappropriate for your kid, and they will remove ads for no charge.

            • Heratiki@lemmy.ml
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              1 year ago

              Sadly a Kobo doesn’t support my Kindle library without a good bit of extra steps that, from my experience, can wreck some books.

              • 2ncs@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                That’s fair. Fwiw that’s the main reason I tried to avoid kindle, so I would be able to take my library where i want and not be tied to Amazon

            • Kusimulkku
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              1 year ago

              If you want them to remove it normally, it costs you. If you want to remove it for free you must use some excuse for it. “The ads are sexual and my kid sees them, do something Amazon support!”. Apparently 50% of the time it works every time.

          • Heratiki@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            Yeah they usually won’t do this unless you’ve owned it for a while or purchased a considerable amount of content via the device. Also depends on how adamant you are about having them remove it.

    • dansity@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      DIY is like that. If you look up how to make a birdhouse they will tell you you need a saw, a hammer, nails, drill, paintbrush and something to measure with. Having a 3d printer and a soldering iron nowadays is pretty low entry, you can get into it cheaper that buying the saw, hammer and drill for the birdhouse. You don’t have to buy the bambulab printer and the weller / hakko iron. You can print this case on an ender 3 you found in the dumpster. Or pay 10 bucks for someone and they will print it for you. On the other hand you will have a device you can infinitely repair unlike the kindles that are kicking the dust every few year for everyone.

      • pingveno@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        A friend of mine was showing me around a maker space when I was on a trip to where he now lives. They had an entire room full of various 3D printer. They’ve really gone mainstream in a big way. Getting a hold of one isn’t out of the question for a lot of people.

        • Juno@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          Idk why everyone is even insisting on a 3d printed case, just cut a square hole in a cigar box. Done.

          Shit, get a thick book nobody reads and cut the middle of the book out and house a screen inside the 📖 book, glue the pages on the outside together with some modge podge. Done for the price of a cheap novel with a hardcover and some glue and a knife if you don’t have one.

          • tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            1 year ago

            Damn thank you for inspiring me, I saw the ‘3d print case’ and was like ehh, but thinking about making a wood case for this sounds sick.

      • tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        1 year ago

        It sounds wild to think about making your own electronic device, but after getting into woodworking I think it could be simpler to build this than a quality birdhouse lol.

        • Juno@beehaw.org
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          1 year ago

          I get that 3d printing is cool. It is, but new doesn’t always mean better.

          You can still “analog 3d print” anything with know how and the right tools. So why not a simple box frame out of oak? Can’t be that hard.

    • rainynight65@feddit.de
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      1 year ago

      Is that $85 for all parts?

      Calculate the extra cost if someone doesn’t own a 3D printer (or doesn’t have access to one) or soldering gear.

      • henfredemars@infosec.pub
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        1 year ago

        Right! I believe that assumes you already have necessary tools, and it certainly can’t take into account the cost of your time or the cost of mistakes along the way.

      • philpo@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        Well, printing externally costs a few bucks so that is not really the problem here.

        Soldering is more complicated but that’s more a learning curve problem than an equipment problem.

        • rainynight65@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          As someone who has tried soldering with the wrong equipment (and thoroughly stuffed it up), it’s both. Learning with the right equipment however is a lot easier than with the wrong stuff.

          And 3D printing externally can also be a bit of a trial and error process if you’re new to the whole thing.

          • philpo@feddit.de
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            1 year ago

            In terms of 3D printing it depends a lot on the quality of the model (which usually is pretty good in projects like this, unlike some thingiverse models) and the quality of the printing service. A reputable service will basically always produce good results,only the hole in the wall private garage services are sometimes problematic from my experience.

            With soldering you are absolutely correct, it is far easier to learn with more expensive equipment (but this is still far cheaper than 3D printing, decent soldering stations go for less than 120 bucks these days), but it’s still comparably cheap - but not easy to master. Takes a lot of time.

      • trolololol@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        It’s a fair call from a practical point of view. But I’ll also say you’re very likely to keep using your 3d printer for all other things, so not fair to put all costs into this one project.

        Besides there alternatives to buying the printer: friends and print shops. Besides where I live a few libraries let you use their printers (and I believe materials) at no cost.

    • MonkderZweite@feddit.ch
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      1 year ago

      I guess the E-Ink is 5"/6"? Because larger E-Ink get expensive.

      Btw, E-Ink is the fallacy in openness there, because there’s a monopolist who bought possible competition up.