Gumstix is something I've ran into during my ever-continuous search for high tech gadgets in the embedded world. I like staying up to date with Via Mini- and NanoITX boards, iPaq's running Linux and things like Sony Librie and their restrictive DRM. It is an ever changing world out there, especially with the recent rise of iTunes and the MS-music store. These too try new techniques for a good balance between security and piracy. But I wasn't going to go into this. Too deeply. To get back on the road I'll tell you a little secret.
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In fact, when I looked at gumstix myself my first through was Ebook readers...hehehehehehehe.
Anybody want to design and sell cheap open-format linux-based ebook readers?
How many people would buy the Librie (~USD 350) + Gumstix (~USD 110) + a hypothetical conversion kit (say, ~ $150)?
The Librie electronics would be taken out and replaced by the Gumstix. Detailed conversion manual would be provided. Soldring skills are necessary.
BTW, this conversion kit does not exist (yet).
Also, here is a review of the Librie: http://www.dottocomu.com/b/archives/002571.html
And a Yahoo group for creative uses of the Librie eBook reader: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/librie/
Sony have published some source code here:
http://www.sony.net/Products/Linux/Download/EBR-1000EP.html
(You might get redirected and have to get a cookie first).
The source includes kernel drivers for the framebuffer and sound chip. There is also a tool called usbtarget which looks like it might send files to the e-book.
So, you probably don't even need a conversion kit.
Does anyone know where I can buy one of these in the USA?
--ralpht
Sony's not too good at sharing; killed Betamax
This sounds overkill to me. Something like a TI-89 with a bigger d.i.-screen, about 8 Mb of flash memory, a sharp-zaurus-ish keyboard and port to move data. It could run a modified version of PedroM OS. It would be super lite, cheep and it would run for hours on two AAA batteries.
For years I've been converting books from Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.net/
to "NewtonBooks" for my Newton 2100.
http://www.msu.edu/~luckie/gallery/mp2000.htm
The problem is that there's only so many books of interest in the public domain. Laws like the "Mickey Mouse Law"
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/commentary/20020305_sprigman.html
keep extending the copyrights...not for the authors, not even for dead authors' families, but for corporations that will perpetuate their "ownership" for as long as they can buy congress critters.
Until laws like that are changed, "ebooks" (or whatever you want to call them) will neccessarily be limited; in selection, in availability, and in what you can do with them.
http://spreadfirefox.com/community/?q=affiliates&id=958&...
Sorry. Slightly off topic, but if you have a second riffraff I'd like to pick your brain about using a Newton for this. I have a feeling my machine (message pad 120) isn't up to par with the "newer" Newtons - but I'd love to use it as an e-book if possible.
email: aaron (at) volvoguy.net
Thanks!
"With their first high resolution product launched in early 2004 by Philips in a Sony e-Book reader."
Being the software patent lobbyists that they are, I encourage would-be purchasers to avoid buying products from Philips.
http://swpat.ffii.org/players/philips/index.en.html
An interesting fact which is rarely noticed by the open source community is that a lot of display prototyping happens with Linux on the StrongARM.
The reason is that the StrongARM has an integrated framebuffer, which handles all the hard work of clocking data out to a display, and Linux makes it super easy to write custom data into the framebuffer, and read/write to control lines through the /proc filesystem.
The result is that you can write user-space code to control a display, which makes prototyping really fast. It's even possible to prototype in scripting languages.
Ok, this may seem like a nitpick but the "StrongARM" processors are the SA-110 (used in the APple Newton MP2x00s), SA-1100 and SA-1110 (CPU used by original iPaqs, Zaurus 5000D/5500, etc).
Intel acquired the StrongARM processor line from DEC, liked the idea (after some "arm twisting") and made their own processor called the XScale.
XScale builds on the fundamental ideas of the SA series (low-power ARM, integrated peripherals, etc) but it's a new design from the ground-up, not to be associated with the "true" StrongARM processors.