It's an interesting hack. I do wonder whether or not it's a little over-engineered. When you look at the costs of all the kit versus maybe an older OLPC type computer off ebay I'm not sure how well it stacks up.<p>Then again, it's probably pretty good in sunlight and despite the refresh rate issues considering idle time in an editor it might be a very good use of the e-ink screen. And as I said, it is a nice hack. Certainly better than most raspberry pi posts I've seen.
This is taking concepts like my current 'Android workstation' to the extreme: <a href="http://bergie.iki.fi/blog/working-on-android/" rel="nofollow">http://bergie.iki.fi/blog/working-on-android/</a><p>That said, I can certainly see the appeal of a device with a week-long battery life and a sunlight-readable screen for some sort of 'hacking retreats'. I could imagine writing something big on the Trans-Siberian Express with a similar rig.
Nice hack. I would have liked to see some power draw measurements on this. The LiPo battery is a good source of power, however if the draw is low enough, a portable solar power source would allow for indefinite usage (perhaps even charging the LiPo, which would be used as a night time power source only).
Its an awesome hack but i dont really see the benfit vs some ultrabook with a matte screen. Batterylife is worse sure, but most probably you wont be sitting somewhere without power for more than 4-5 hours anyway.
Such a fun idea. And I had no idea miniature USB-powered routers existed... definitely added to my wish list. I'm saddened to say that I haven't put my Pi to creative use since receiving it a few months ago.
I'm convinced that e-ink displays will become ubiquitous in a not-so-far future.<p>A e-ink screen is a great idea for a workstation aimed at text editing, be it writing emails or programs or even using spreadsheet software.<p>I spend most of the day in front of a screen blasting light into my face and I find it very aggressive. I'd be ready to pay a good price for a 20"-ish e-ink display that i could plug into my PC.
He says the setup means terminal only. I'm not familiar with the Kindle, but there is a browser "built in". Perhaps it is very awkward to switch between the terminal and other apps, but it should be possible to do webdev with a server on the Raspberry and test in the Kindle browser.
The refresh rate problem possibly has a neat solution from computing history. Surely those people using punched card and paper tape have some ideas that could be useful?<p>Maybe instead of updating the screen every keypress it could update every time Enter is pressed?
I <i>loved</i> the screen of the OLPC XO laptop. I know we're really pushing for high resolution/Retina displays, but when it comes to laptop and mobile screens, usability in portable/mobile situations is desirable.