im thinking of getting an ereader, but cant find many foss devices. i dont plan on connecting it to the internet, so i suppose it doesnt matter if its controlled by amazon right? love to hear your thoughts…

  • Shin@lemmy.world
    1·
    1 year ago

    Kobo devices are the way to go. Easy sideloading, multiple FOSS operating system alternatives, and generally they’ve got some nice n’ cheap options.

  • Tiuku@sopuli.xyz
    1·
    1 year ago

    All in all I would recommend to stay away from devices made by ebook vendors (Kindle and Kobo most notably). They tend to force their shops and limit interoperability.

  • oriond@lemmy.ml
    11·
    1 year ago

    I am using my normal Android Phone with Librera Reader, it works great.

    • TrustingZebra@lemmy.one
      1·
      1 year ago

      Kindle devices are nice but not at all FOSS, and not very open either. Although you can sideload books, EPUB files are still not directly supported, you have to convert them. Converting is easy with Calibre but it’s still a hassle that is not needed on any other ereader.

      There’s a vibrant jailbreak community on MobileRead, however Amazon keeps blocking jailbreaks.

      After my Kindle died I got a Kobo instead. Costs about the same as Kindle (maybe slightly more?). Still not fully open, but supports EPUB and its MobileRead community is just as vibrant (and Kobo doesn’t block you from doing this).

            • Prunebutt@feddit.de
              0·
              1 year ago

              Sideloading ebooks is not the same thing as running alternative FOSS software on a device.

              • photonic_sorcerer@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
                01·
                1 year ago

                Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I don’t have the will to find out how to upload an alt OS to a kindle, but the Internet is vast and if ye seek, ye shall find.

                • Prunebutt@feddit.de
                  0·
                  1 year ago

                  I did look into it and I’ve yet to find a way to do this.

                  The FOSS community is not limitless and while some community might develop a way in the future, it most definetly is not trivial to do, just by googling. This is a niche topic and AFAIK quite hard to do (first getting custom firmware to run and then develop a FOSS OS for it… While probably not being paid to do so).

                  Your comments seem quite condescending. I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt but I’d kindly advice you to adjust your tone a bit.

  • Scrof@sopuli.xyz
    11·
    1 year ago

    I use Kobo Forma with a 8" screen. Has physical buttons. Perfect for books and manga. Never connected it to the internet.

  • loathsome dongeater@lemmygrad.mlEnglish
    01·
    1 year ago

    Kobo ones are great because you can install Koreader or Plato on it without requiring any hacks or jailbreaking. I much prefer Koreader than the standard Kobo interface and it is completely devoid of any unnecessary online integration. I sync my little library of books using rsync over ssh.