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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 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year 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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[-] nossaquesapao@lemmy.eco.br 94 points 1 year ago

For the people commenting about prices and comparing it to kindle:

Unfortunately, open source hardware is in its infancy, and faces severe barriers of entry, but projects like this one are really nice in order to further develop the concept and make working prototypes, proving its viability.

[-] Emanuel@lemmy.eco.br 9 points 1 year ago

Ideally, how would open source hardware look like for you? I mean that as in after it has achieved something akin to mainstream adoption.

[-] nossaquesapao@lemmy.eco.br 24 points 1 year ago

This is a great question. I don't believe it can reach the point of any person simply being able to create their own hardware, unless we're talking about an utopic future with multimaterial 3d printing in small scale, but I can see small businesses being able to manufacture custom open source hardware on demand, based on open standards. For me, the ideal scenario would be something like going into an open hardware service shop and asking for a device with your requirements, and they creating it for you, or repairing/upgrading yours.

[-] andrew_bidlaw@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 year ago

Like with skating, many shops can provide you with wheels, decks, gear. Amazon can sell their one-piece e-books at loss, but eventually it can turn to modular open design where nothing is irreplaceable. It's a matter of demand. If there could be a good project and something like a big org or a government programm funding it, it would end well. Like, supplying troubled communities with an e-reader? If only there wouldn't be DRM fuckery, it's golden.

[-] dgriffith@aussie.zone 2 points 1 year ago

to modular open design where nothing is irreplaceable.

It adds interesting aspects. For example, I work with systems that have 5 I/O modules. Each one keeps a backup of the main controller settings, so that you can replace any component, including the controller.

After a quick question on the next boot, you're up and running again.

Imagine if each module of your ebook reader had enough cheap/slow storage that everything in "main storage" could be replicated across your modules. As long as you only replace a couple of modules at a time, you'd have everything forever.