A question about electronic books
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Greetings.
I'm interesting in purchasing an electronic book so I could read books from project Gutenberg where I want.
Is there a freedom friendly model I could buy?
Thank you
Some ereaders with EInk displays were supported by OpenInkpot, they are
hard to find now and the project development stopped.
All other free software support for such devices that I know about is
running a GNU/Linux system inside the original nonfree system.
Improving this might be difficult.
A Replicant-supported phone or tablet might be an easier freedom
friendly solution, if LCD or AMOLED is ok for you.
No e-readers for me then.
Thank you for the information Mr Maslowski.
This thread might interest you.
https://trisquel.info/en/forum/free-software-running-e-book-reader-now-made-possible
I recall an Ukrainian maker doing some small (5") readers some years ago based on free software. Actually, like Android, ALL readers are based on free software. Only they put proprietary stuff on top to make sure you are locked away for good. Mostly is the Adobe junk, the major exception being Amazon. Adobe means YOU HAVE to register with adobe online in order to make use of your device. The app is quite handy, but it's a huge price paid for that functionality. And IT IS buggy. And it handles large page PDFs badly. An irony as Adobe is the inventor of that ugly format.
Also, beware. EPUB is marketed as the electronic book standard. It's badly supported on Linux. The version is 3.0 for some years now. Adobe and all the rest use different flavors of 2.0. And also, there are many apps that produce broken EPUBs. Those broken EPUBs break in so many ways the reader apps, most certainly you need to redo the file on a desktop before uploading it to the device. And if there is DRM in the story, than the effort is simply not worth it.
If you are willing to ignore the eInk screen, any Android not connected to the Internet would fit the bill. Remember the cheap ones have shitty battery. And the expensive ones have memory you don't need. In a way, the Android market is the worst development in the computing history.
Mobileread.com forum is the place to go for ebook readers. Only most users there don't really get what is free software and why one might want it.
I see...
In that case, i will forget about electronic books until I can be sure I can read on freedom.
I use to read "paper books" but technical books are huge and difficult to carry.
Perhaps a solution is to purchase one of the Openmoko/OpenPhoenux devices and using as a multipurpose computer instead of cellphone fuctionalities.
Maybe an older laptop with the appropriate readers and no outside connection would fit the bill. Ten times heavier. But with a 32GiB stick you can carry a few tons of books.
Otherwise you can tweak some light distribution NOT to use the installed disks or the network hardware and that's about it: anybody who lends you their computer helps you unleash your private library. Just like in the RoadRunner cartoons: just add water.
It's not free software AFAIK, but I have a simple e-reader the cheapest K* from Amazon. It's an e-ink screen and I don't have it connected to the internet or registered to an account. PROS: you can easily load books onto it via its USB cable, which I get from sites like booksshouldbefree.com and gutenberg.org. CONS: not free(?), doesn't display PDFs well at all, and if you do purchase e-books from Amazon they're usually DRMed (though if you bought them there's a way to unlock them ;-)
I'm looking at the Nook from Barnes and Noble. It's also cheap and has e-ink display, but AFAIK it runs Android so -- barring any digital restrictions -- you could read on it via apps from F-Droid.org for instance.
Basically if you can get a reader with which you're allowed to avoid DRM and can connect to them using free software, that's about the best mass market has to offer right now.
You should read this: http://www.bookeen.fr/en/aboutbookeen
And this for one of the currently available models: http://www.bookeen.fr/en/cybook-odyssey-frontlight
The device runs Linux 2.6. It is easy to maintain and to upgrade. I think it is the best reader available out there. Even better is the Ocean model to come.
Can you install custom firmware on it? My DDG skills are too low, or
there is no custom firmware for this device nor project working on one.
Most ebook readers run Linux and vendor-specific nonfree software, many
vendors release the minimum amount of code that the GPL requires them to
and add blobs to handle e.g. the eink controller.
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