Community Built E-ink Laptop Project

I’m a community organizer, educator, software engineer, hacktivist, and agent of social change.

My interests are in exploring community-building, social justice, education, and leveraging technology to address social problems.

In the past, I’ve worked as a labor rights organizer, a teacher, and I’m currently an Expert In Residence at Resilient Coders.

Alexander Soto

Project Lead

Core Team

I'm an independent contractor- I provide tech support services to IT companies.

My hobby interests are in building technology (e.g. FOSS hardware & software) and making it easier to use and more accessible.

In the past, I have worked in technical support roles for IT companies in wireless networking, help desk, and hardware repair.

Giovanni Lostumbo

 (aka ”scrunch”)

Core Team

Our students spend 20 weeks with us, learning object-oriented programming principles, through the vehicle of full stack javascript; that's vanilla JS, React, Express, Node, and PostgreSQL.

Resilient Coders

State of the Ink

E-ink based tablets, smartphones, e-readers and monitors.

Onyx Boox Max Lumi

Dasung HD-FT

Hisense A7CC

Kaliedo 2 Color e-Ink

Hisense Q5 RLCD

Kindle Paperwhite

Pocketbook Inkpad Color E-reader

And...

We are segmented...

across devices and e-ink projects

Cost...

large panels are expensive

42"

10.3"

$349

9.7"

$250

13.3"

10.3"

13.3"

$539

$1,199

$449

$4,000

UX and UI for e-ink devices are...

designed for LCD's

We can build an...

E-ink Laptop

That sounds....

Amazing!

Difficult

Fantastic

Challenging

YES!

Impossible

We cannot do

this because of X...

if not us, who, if not now, when?

RepRap project

Arduino

I'm listening...

Objectives

  • To generate interest in the idea of creating an e-ink laptop.
  • To unite and increase our numbers.
  • To iterate, test ideas, document, and show our work.
  • Create a crowdsource campaign after the successful creation of a minimum viable product.
  • Bring the MVP to a manufacturer and build at scale.

How?

Working Groups

Working Groups

  • Led by one or two people as leads.
  • Defines a metric/cost for who the device is for.
  • Working groups are time-boxed defined.
  • A "template" provided for the working groups to start and self-organize.

Working Groups Contd.

  • The working group documents its process in a designated website, forum, Github, a build log.
  • Share resources/knowledge/material/monetary.
  • Generate interest, share our work with others.
  • Iterate, iterate and iterate.

Concept #1:

Thinkpad T480 and Dasung HD-Ft

Concept #2:

E-ink, low-power CPU, and solar power:

3 Sides of the same lid

  • A laptop able to stay online for 12hrs while being re-charged daily in ambient conditions- e.g near a window or a few ceiling lights.
  • Doesn’t depend or emphasize staying online, but is capable of doing so (Encourages work/life balance)
  • Uses E-ink or Low Power Display such as Memory-In-Pixel (MIPS)
  • Converging High Tech & Low Tech (It sounds high tech today, but commonplace tomorrow)
  • What would this look like?

Pomera DM30 Digital Memo+

Concept #3:

Pi-top and E-ink Panel

What have we done so far...

Pi-Top

VIA OpenBook

Slimbook

Open Book Project

  • Continue spreading the word and bringing more folks on board.
  • Further defining and bringing clarity to the project.
  • Ramp-up state: setting up tools, forum, templates
  • Writing an article that summarizes the information shared here and share
  • Building community, building relationships, building openly

Next Steps

Thank you!