Okay, so I'll preface this by saying I am absolutely fascinated by e-ink technology, and I believe there is a lane for it. I am typing this on a Bigme Hibreak, a smartphone with an E-ink screen, and I have owned two Boox devices thus far. If you manage your expectations and you have the patience to tinker and dial it in, some of these devices can be perfect. The Boox Palma looks like a very practical device, although I haven't used it myself. It seems to be very lightweight, and I can say from experience that the Boox software is pretty user-friendly (although not necessarily beginner-friendly; some settings tweaks are needed to optimize the experience). The Boox software is generally pretty stable, and the generic reader app is one of the best I've ever used. As another user pointed out, their software is not open source, so you may want to take that into account, but I haven't encountered an E-reader company that does publish open source software (or hardware, for that matter). For what it's worth, I had a Boox Nova Pro and replaced it with a Boox Nova Air C, and I have very few complaints. Just don't order through GoodEreader. They are a bunch of assholes.
Maerman
They have become considerably better in recent years, but I understand the hesitation. Once bitten, twice shy, and all that. I will say that my experience with Boox devices has been pretty good, though. As long as you don't expect it to behave like a full-fledged Android tablet. But above all, don't trust strangers on the internet.
Might I direct you to [email protected]? Boox devices have a fantastic generic reader app which can handle just about any file type and is very customizable. If you are willing to navigate certain sites, you can get many books for free, and the Boox reader app is an absolute champ when it comes to opening them and tweaking the experience to your liking. It's more effort, without a doubt. But it's worth it for me personally.
So I have a story related to this. I teach English in Korea. One time, two 11-year-old students chose kopi luwak as a topic for their in-class (no research) project. I asked what that is, as I had never heard of it. They explained in pre-intermediate English that there is a cat that poops coffee beans. I didn't believe them at first, because it sounded so silly. But they urged me to look it up. At first, I got confused between 'kopi' and 'coffee', because Korean has no 'f' sound and substitutes a 'p' sound. But when I finally found the Wiki page, I was blown away. The fact that this is real would be so funny if it weren't for all the abuse another user pointed out.
It used to be very popular, so I don't know if this qualifies, but I watch a lot of noir and neo-noir. Specifically, I like the ones told from the criminal's perspective. Films like Double Indemnity, Body Heat and The Postman Always Rings Twice are great places to start.
I like the guy's approach; the creativity of constraint has always been appealing to me. Like a movie set in a single room. Thanks for sharing.
As far as my own stuff goes, I play guitar and I sing. I have recorded and published two albums of my own songs so far. It's an interesting process. I want to fit the structure of the song I set up for myself, but I also want to be authentic and honest. It's a delicate balance.
They shoot horses, don't they?
Good on you. You can teach your son some valuable perspective, while getting in some quality time as well. Please let us know how it goes, if you don't mind. I feel invested now.
Depends on what you're looking for, really. I'm unsure about the rules regarding sharing specific sites, but if you DM me, I can throw a few recommendations your way.
You make some good points there. I remember LAN parties in high school where we would spend hours troubleshooting network problems and calling older brothers for advice. I learned a lot from those experiences, because I was forced to. I think a big part of the changes we are seeing in computer literacy is what I would call the Apple philosophy: if a toddler can't use it, we need to simplify. Basically, as you said, things are getting simpler with less granular control. Of course, Apple is far from the only company doing this stuff, but they seem to be industry leaders in the sense of 'dumbing down' tech.
I recently had a friend say that privacy is a luxury these days. My first thought was that there is nothing luxurious about it. It takes hard work, inconvenience and savvy. And I'm not even close to Stallman levels of privacy paranoia. I know just enough to acknowledge that I know nothing. I feel similarly about tech in general. I have been using Linux for ten years, I use VPNs, I have played around with DNS settings, et cetera. But I realize that I have barely scratched the surface of what is possible and available to those willing to spend the time and get it done.
Anyway, I'll shut up now. Thanks for replying thoughtfully, and thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
Look at the Bigme Hibreak. It might be up your alley.