tldr:
* I installed console-only Debian on an old laptop (no desktop OS at all)
* I added some packages to make it work better for writing:
* network-manager for connecting to hotspots while I'm away
* kmscon for custom fonts and more than 16 colors in the tty
* tmux for a nice status
This is a much better idea than those products that are $1000 for a bad laptop with a tiny eink screen.
Hey, they’re only $800: https://shop.boox.com/collections/eink-tablet/products/notemax - yeah, I’ve wanted an e-ink screen (to sit outside in bright light and read with sunglasses on) for years, but never for the prices they’re charging.
For this application, I am hoping reflective LCDs make a comeback or transreflective LCDs. They are much better for typing than e-ink and still easy on the eyes.
Early apple devices were quite decent out in the sun with the glass screen and transreflective LCDs. I remember my old devices were quite usable even with the not great brightness if I angled it to reflect the sun nicely.
Waveshare just released a fully reflective monochrome small one with an integrated ESP32 so I am hoping that catches on in the hobbyist communities and people can start building tech decks with bigger screens that aren’t 800€ and a 1Hz refresh rate.
E-paper is amazing for static text, images (see pimorino screens with E-Ink 6color), labels, and status things, but fast typing and drawing makes them outrageously expensive for hobbyists and even very expensive at large scale like Boox and Remarkable.
I got the waveshare color e-ink ( https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256810087715380.html ) to make a custom dashboard display - it is the living embodiment of horrible refresh behavior - no clock on that dashboard. Still, while it’s static it looks really good, you just have to figure out what you want to see on a changeable display that doesn’t change more than a couple of times per hour.
It makes me sad that e-ink is so niche that it will never reach a truly cheap price. Last time I checked it seem to have already achieved its mass production potential. It is so hard to manufacture already, and newer developments just find ways to make fancier screens that are even more expensive and complex to make. The process to make them is already as efficient as it can be.
Without a decent refresh rate, I don’t see them gaining mainstream appeal. Given that the technology revolves around physically moving particles, I don’t see the refresh rate improving by leaps and bounds anytime soon.
Decent refresh rate depends on the use.
Which is why ebook readers with such screens sell reasonably well, and nothing else does.