The plan is to buy these:
- https://www.eink.com/product/detail/EC133UJ1
- https://shopkits.eink.com/en/product/detail/CONCERTODrivingBoard
- https://www.costco.com/macbook-pro-13.3-inch-%E2%80%93-apple-m2-chip-8-core-cpu%252C-10-core-gpu-%E2%80%93-256gb-ssd-.product.100806152.html
And hire someone to help me write a display driver that supports partial updates similar to the DASUNG’s 25” monitor. Can any embedded engineers weigh in on how big of an ask that display driver would be?
Is there a rake on my lawn? I have flashed cards before to hack a GoPro 8, soldered on breadboards, and partitioned drives, but always as a hobbyist, never professionally; and the dream here is to have an end product that I can use professionally.
Update/Edit: Useful feedback from replies:
- 1. The age of Thinkpad Hackintoshes is sunsetting, and the chips that support it are getting long in the tooth. You can't buy recent Intel chips and expect them to work flawlessly, and the laptops old enough to work are slow and hot.
- 2. the limitations and quirks in changing e-ink pixels are enough that regular laptop software would make for a bad user experience. So you'd spend a lot of time creating workarounds like a a separate LCD line-display showing what characters someone is typing until they hit enter, etc.
- 3. You could find a properly sized USB-C based eink screen and do some very tricky rewiring and not mess with macOS software at all
- 4. Alternatively: consider finding one of these on Ebay if you can for an "official" E-ink Thinkpad: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkbook/thinkbook-plus/lenovo-thinkbook-plus-gen-4-13-inch-intel/len101b0031
And my responses:
(1) This was my primary concern, thank you. I’ll update OP with new plan accordingly—Buy a 13” M2 MacBook and get help writing a display driver
(2) IMO the limitation is no longer in the display; DASUNG’s 25” monitor satisfies my display needs perfectly, my itch is/would be scratched successfully by cramming the 13” version of that Kaliedo 3 screen into a 13” MacBook. I know it can be done in theory because this is exactly how I used the DASUNG 25” monitor—it was just HDMI’d to the MacBook, and #justworked. I’m trying to figure out how I would do it in practice though, and assuming there’s more steps involved when buying the display/driver chip and soldering them in.
(3) yes you’re understanding my intent perfectly, but the only plug-and-play screen I’ve been able to find is [B&W only](https://www.amazon.com/DASUNG-Paper-Front-Light-Touch-Monitor/dp/B09VLDK58C/), and I’d like to support color.
(4) This is very likely the best idea. In my perfect world though I’m running OSX to support iMessage, etc. Maybe this is my sign to get off of iPhone though; there are many phone-sized e-ink devices running android that I could start building on. My general theory of useability is that A4 paper and 3x5 index cards were popular before computers for a reason, and one of each of those sizes as an e-ink screen is the longer-term ideal.
- I'm working on this project right now - and I'm looking at everything from chassis to screen from scratch. (unfortunately, v0.1 here is probably going to be B&W). Hoping to have a working prototype in the next few months.
WavShare is probably my rec for e-ink screens and drivers (https://www.waveshare.com/13.3inch-e-paper.htm). You can find those with partial refreshes and HDMI driver boards.
For the driver - the Glider project has some good progress to drive the display and how-tos. See https://gitlab.com/zephray/glider
Agree with other comments - MacOS and other existing software aren't designed for this - I'm writing my own. Scrolling, mouse-dragging and dark mode are just a few of the annoyances. (I have the Dasung 25" as well and it gets frustrating).
Also happy to hop on a call and chat more about this stuff
- I have a "e-ink" tablet from Daylight Computer. It has the refresh rate of a normal screen but the look and feel of an ereader. Works without backlight. I searched for the screen on several places, even mailed the manufacturer. But I am not able to buy one.
- IIRC the limitations and quirks in changing e-ink pixels are enough that regular laptop software would make for a bad user experience.
So you'd spend a lot of time creating workarounds like a a separate LCD line-display showing what characters someone is typing until they hit enter, etc.
Random idea: Have the e-ink isplay as an additional device one on the opposite side of the regular screen. When the laptop is open, you can show things like " do not disturb" to others, and when closing the litter shutting it down, it can put up things you can read like upcoming meetings or whatever.
- > Is there a rake on my lawn
Not sure what you mean by that. Is it akin to "am i about to shoot myself in the foot?"
Also might wanna trim that lenovo link from all the tracking junk ;)
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadx/le...
- I've always wanted to try an external e-ink mounted vertically as a side monitor for documents / code views / etc. Honestly I'd be fine with an exceptionally low refresh rate if it would mean a reasonable reduction price - right now I just can't justify > $1200 for a single monitor.
On another note - unlike "streets ahead", I don't think "rake on my lawn" is going to catch on. I had to scratch my head and even after I understood what you were going for - I'm not sure how it makes sense. What's wrong with having a rake on your lawn?
- There are a few rakes there, yeah.
1. The age of Thinkpad Hackintoshes is sunsetting, and the chips that support it are getting long in the tooth. You can't buy recent Intel chips and expect them to work flawlessly, and the laptops old enough to work are slow and hot.
2. The refresh rate of E-ink screens is painfully slow and also visually distressing (since the screen inverts color temporarily). This effect isn't a real issue on Kindles or digital signage, but will absolutely be a problem for professional development.
All I'll say is this - many a fool has set out on the road to make E-ink living room televisions just because color E-ink exists. You will find no success stories on YouTube or HN or Reddit because the tech just isn't there yet (sadly).
Alternatively: consider finding one of these on Ebay if you can for an "official" E-ink Thinkpad: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkbook/thinkbook-p...