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The $50 ReTerminal "Sticky" Is An E-Paper Display Begging You To Hack It, And Turn It Into An E-Reader (aftermath.site)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/ebookreaders@lemmy.zip
12 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

It's about the same size as an Xteink while being a more capable device that features a touch screen, a mic, and higher pixel density, only costs $50, and Crosspoint OS (eReader software made for the Xteink X4) supports it. So it can be turned into a great little e-reader.

E-paper has been having a bit of a moment recently. First, the Boox Palma shrank the form factor of eReaders down to something a bit more pocketable and less proprietary than the Kindle. Then, open source developers seized upon and installed custom firmware on the Xteink X4 and X3, cheap no-frills eReaders that snap to the back of your phone and are just enough for many people.

The X4 was clearly a huge success, as Xteink is following this up with the X3 Pro and X4 Pro and Boox has announced their micro ereader competitor the Boox Picco.

But bare bones e-paper is anyone’s game at this point, and so Seeed Studio has thrown their hat in the game with the reTerminal Sticky, an even cheaper and more capable small magnetic eInk display that leans in on the entire angle that made the X4 a viral sensation.

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[–] 12 points 1 month ago (4 children)

I just use repurposed surge-pricing grocery store shelf price tags signs as my e-readers. Whatever barcode you get them to display is what they’ll ring up as.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 month ago* (2 children)

    I used to put literally everything through as onions when self checkout became a thing. Fruit? Onions. Meat? Onions. 15 litres of olive oil? Onions.

    I was broke and the supermarkets here have a duopoly where they game the prices with each other so I felt morally neutral about stealing from them. The staff just watched me do it, they didn't give a shit. They were broke too. Staff discount is only 5%. The rewards program is the lowest in the world with 0.5% return rate.

    Now our (Australian) supermarket has a contract with Palantir and the roof is literally a forest of cameras dangling from the ceiling and cameras in the screens looking up at your face, and cameras in the scanner/scale that will stop the checkout and say "that looks like this item!" And prefills the selection for you. Always with the just expensive produce of that colour of course, so if you're not paying attention you pay extra. If you want to put the correct item in you have to call a staff member over so they can scan their ID and override the machine. They also have automatic gates on the exits that check your face and shut if they think you haven't paid.

    They've paid more for all of this than they were losing to theft, and prices continue to rise. They've just implemented the e ink barcodes and claim is to help the employees out, meanwhile the prices no longer match the online store when you're shopping in store so there's zero chance that's true.

    I didn't mean for that to become a huge rant after sharing my onion theft anecdote, but here we are.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago* (1 child)

    I'd grab the big box of cashews and "forget" to scan it. Now I just go to places without self checkout. It's way more efficient with the cashier. I don't get why stores think they can raise prices, cut staff and waste more of my time on top of it.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 month ago

    I've found ordering groceries from on doordash from ALDI to be quicker, easier, and the same price as shopping at colesworth even with the delivery fees. I hate going into the supermarket these days so I do a big online shop once a week now. I also don't feel like being scanned by Palantir just because I needed milk.

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    • [–] 5 points 1 month ago

    Devices like the Xteink X4 family and the reTerminal Sticky are for people who have a loose folder of ePubs on a Dropbox or hard drive. It is for people who want to fill a 32gb microSD card up with erotica downloaded from AoE3.

    But I don't play Age of Empires.

    (Yes, I know they meant AO3.)

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    [–] 4 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    Backordered.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 1 month ago

    Good to know. I was just about to go and order one. But I don't need yet another ereader, so this is a good reason to stop me. My Xteink x4 is my daily reader anyway.

    I was just in the mood to get something to hack. lol

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    • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (2 children)

    Could be fun. But is the battery replaceable.

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    • [–] -1 points 4 days ago*

    Palma was not the first, they were a couple years late to the party.

    Crosspoint was made for the what now?

    What universe are you living in?

    I'm not reading any further...

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