This is a very nice packaging of a kindle hack I've seen several years ago [1]. Previous discussion: [2]
You can point your kindle web browser at this website: [3]<p>[1] <a href="https://techni.gallery/literaire-klok-trekt-internationaal-aandacht/" rel="nofollow">https://techni.gallery/literaire-klok-trekt-internationaal-a...</a>
[2] <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17688324">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17688324</a>
[3] <a href="https://literature-clock.jenevoldsen.com/" rel="nofollow">https://literature-clock.jenevoldsen.com/</a>
"Author Clock has built-in Wi-Fi, so all software and content updates happen automatically." i.e. At some point in the future, an advertisement will be the first thing you see when you open your eyes in the morning.
I kickstarted this long ago and when I got it a few months ago gave it to my wife as a gift, who is an author. She immediately rejected it because she found the eink transitions where it flashes a dark color briefly very distracting.
> <i>We plant a tree for every Author Clock sold....</i><p>> Shop: $199.00 USD<p>Funny how products that claim a cause on the side are always 5 times the price they should be.
This device does not need a WiFi for any reason. A microsd with the entire database of messages (encrypted) would have made the device cheaper, safer, consuming less energy (not an expert, but I guess that those solar cells you see in calculators could power 1 e-ink transition/minute forever), still upgradeable and a better product overall.
I wonder if someone has managed to extract the quote database yet for DIYers.<p>The device's firmware is easily available via their website - the Mac Installer contains a pair of 9MB binaries (in addition to 200MB of Electron), which seems to just be an unencrypted ESP32 blob. Running `strings` on the blob gives plenty of human-readable stuff (including entire html pages), but nothing resembling quotes. Maybe they are compressed in some way?<p>Assuming 140 characters per quote, the entire 13000-entry quote database should fit uncompressed in about 2MB, so who knows.
> If the "Captive" setup page is not working, try going to "192.168.4.1" instead of the captive website.<p>I’m at a loss as to why they’d hard-code an IP address instead of pulling a DHCP lease. I suppose they chose that subnet with the thought that it isn’t in use for most people, but it would in fact collide with a VLAN on my network.
Neat, but the weird line breaks would drive me crazy.<p><a href="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/647e0971bc9b144cf71693a5/663a7c03a2412671257d2282_Author_Dahl-p-1080.png" rel="nofollow">https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/647e0971bc9b144cf71693a5/...</a><p><a href="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/647e0971bc9b144cf71693a5/650c539fb838be83c8e020a0_clock-101.webp" rel="nofollow">https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/647e0971bc9b144cf71693a5/...</a><p>I wish they would add hyphens and justify the text.
13000 quotes over ~720 combinations isn't a bad spread.<p>I'll admit, it's cute. For someone well-read this is a pretty charming gift. Visually pleasant and nicely constructed.
I wish someone would sell an e-ink screen for lazy tinkerers.<p>It would be powered by USB C, have a small Linux system installed, and some easy way to display stuff on the screen. In a nice case.
Beautiful. I need a device like this, but with the famous memento mori calendar (<a href="https://memento-mori-calendar.netlify.app/" rel="nofollow">https://memento-mori-calendar.netlify.app/</a>), maybe with a bigger screen.<p>But the aesthetic and the e-ink screen is really nice.<p>Although, $200 for a clock is probably more than what I would spend. I understand e-ink are not cheap unfortunatly.
nice! this reminds me of an art piece I saw once, which used segments of movies to show the time: <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/christian-marclay-clock" rel="nofollow">https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/christian-marcl...</a>
Funded this on Kickstarter to get one for my wife (who has an MA in English).<p>It's nice, but interferes with her BlueTooth mouse and keyboard, so rather than the envisioned usage at her desk it migrated to the living room.<p>The new mode of updating less often greatly reduces the need to charge.
How often does it need to be charged?<p>I made something like that about fifteen years ago. It displayed "A little after two", "A quarter past three", and such. It wasn't an e-ink device; the display was vacuum-fluorescent. So it needed a power cable to a wall wart. I wanted to build one that would run for a year on a battery, like an ordinary clock, but e-ink displays were too costly back then.<p>The idea is from an old New Yorker cartoon, where someone is looking in the window of a clock store, and sees a long, narrow clock displaying "A little after three".<p>Today, of course, it has to be "cloud enabled".
I wonder how easy it is to mod the firmware.<p>I have my own idea for an e-ink clockface, and something like this could save me some hardware prototyping (at a steep price!) Realistically I'm probably better off repurposing a kindle.
I like this but I'd rather make it myself than buy it. I wonder if there is a db one can get with the time quotes already compiled, it would be trivial to make one, although the fit and finish wouldn't be this nice.
I have 2 of these (their campaign manager payment service was confusing, and I accidentally bought a second one).<p>For me, it is very disappointing.<p>The screen is _very_ small and most people won't be able to read this from a shelf. The only place this is appropriate is next to you on your work desk, but personally, I prefer a desk free from decoration.<p>It takes a lot of effort to read a quote, and they're usually disappointing.
The quotes are banal without context. It is a thrill when you recognize a quote from a book you know, but it rarely happens.<p>The wood is thin and plasticky, the brass knob is too sharp-edged and feels unfinished. There's a gap all around the bezel. It runs out of charge quickly, the interface is much slower than is comfortable.<p>I'm really sad to say, I can't think of anything good about it. I accidentally bought two, and decided not to cancel the second so I could offer it as a prize in my club. But now I won't inflict that disappointment on someone else, and it is still in the box.
It's beautiful and fun!<p>$199 seems expensive, but when an EInk screen is around $80 and it has a carved oak case and brass fixtures and a nice finish, it seems worthy of the price.<p>But what about all of the great quotes that will occur from 12a to 6a when I'm asleep? I would have to set it to random wrong times on different days to read all of them!
Nice idea and nicely packaged.<p>I think they could open the firmware and make plenty of sales from tinkerers, and 'secondary tinkerers' ie people buying the clock to use a particular mod to show the tides, moon phase, stock quotes, or whatever.
This is a great idea, and I love that it includes four languages. The price is a bit more than I'm comfortable with but I may pick one up anyway, it does look nicely constructed.
I have always hunted for things like this. In my childhood, I collected calendars with quotes from great people. These clocks have intrigued me very much
Eink is bad for anything that changes often; the flicker of the screen refresh would be distracting.<p>There is a high chance that the quote would disappear before you finish reading.<p>Even ignoring these flaws the item seems significantly overpriced.