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diff --git a/2021/talks/dashboard.md b/2021/talks/dashboard.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..53572fff --- /dev/null +++ b/2021/talks/dashboard.md @@ -0,0 +1,213 @@ +[[!meta title="Productivity Dashboards with Emacs and Kindle"]] +[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2021 Mehmet Tekman"]] +[[!inline pages="internal(2021/info/dashboard-nav)" raw="yes"]] + +<!-- You can manually edit this file to update the abstract, add links, etc. ---> + + +# Productivity Dashboards with Emacs and Kindle +Mehmet Tekman + + + +[[!inline pages="internal(2021/info/dashboard-schedule)" raw="yes"]] + +[[!table header="no" class="speaker-details" data=""" +Name pronunciation: | Meh-met Teck-man +Pronouns: | He/him +Preferred contact info: | @mtekman:matrix.org +Support: | <https://liberapay.com/mtekman/donate> +"""]] + +<https://gitlab.com/mtekman/kindle-sync> + +Since 2008, Amazon have released a new Kindle device every year, +supplanting each generation with a newer model that boasts highly +promoted incremental features which greatly devalues the price of +their older models. These forgotten models are sold on Ebay and +other secondhand websites at highly discount prices by owners who +do not see the true potential of these devices: Kindles are +excellent high contrast low-refresh display rate E-Ink devices, +with Wifi capability, that run embedded Linux in the +background. Depending on the model, an idle Kindle can last weeks +before needing a recharge. This makes them ideal as passive image +devices that can be configured easily using a few shell +scripts. Indeed, efforts have been made in dedicated hacker forums +to expose the Linux filesystem and to enable features such as +custom screensavers, SSH networking, and more. By exploiting these +features, and by carefully disabling the software/bloatware that +comes with the device, these Kindles have found new life as online +dashboard devices which can fetch and display information from the +internet at timely intervals. + +Here we describe a tool to control multiple Kindle devices with a +single org-mode/shell-based tool, built initially to periodically +serve updated Emacs Org-Agenda views, but later expanded to produce +online local weather reports and work calendar, Emacs calendars +(calfw, org-gcal), daily dietary information (org-calories), +Org-Mode sparse TODO trees, miscellaneous image and text content +(via imagemagick), small messages, and much more. + +In this talk, we show how to configure multiple Kindles with any +desired custom content, following any daily/weekly schedule, all +easily managed from Emacs within a single Org-Mode file. + +# Discussion + +- Q1: I know almost nothing about this stuff so please forgive my + ignorance (Actually, I did I dip a toe into some basic jail + breakage a few years ago and was delighted/intimidated to find a + capable community on mobilereads, as you mentioned; I was living + cheaply at the time, and having KUAL and KO and kterm around + improved my QOL considerably.) As for your talk, I enjoyed it very + much. I was wondering if you'd given any thought to possible + real-world applications for your dashboards. Just spitballing a + bit, a few possibilities came to mind, like perhaps disseminating + information on a work floor or lab setting where cable runs or + temperature increases from LCD monitors might be unwelcome; or + perhaps doing so in more a public setting like a refugee or + detention camp where power might be limited and where mounting TVs + behind protective glass or restraining them with cables might be + bad for morale. Also, have you thought about putting together + and/or selling "kits" so folks with limited time could acquire a + basic setup as a turnkey solution (perhaps with some assembly + required)? Thanks. +- Hi. Lovely idea to use an ebook reader as dashboard. Are all kindle devices supported or only older ones? +- Mehmet Tekman: I recorded this in two parts: with caffeine, and without +- As soon as i can get my hands on a kindle i will give this a try. Lovely Idea. +- Are the images only pushed or can i request for an update from the kindel itself? + - Mehmet Tekman: images are usually only pushed, but it's done over ssh so pulling is also possible. the main idea is that the interaction is only Server → Client +- Thanks for you talk I have just finished watching it on youtube. +- I have some old kobo's rather than kindle's but thinking of nipping onto ebay to get some + - Mehmet Tekman: I think it would work well Kobo's, since that's likely also a linux system right? + - yes they are linux + - Mehmet Tekman: There are only a few kindle-specific commands, but you can comment them out and adapt them for the Kobo + - there was some work getting kde onto them + - Mehmet Tekman: Woah you have access to an X11 session? + - i think the developers helped, but we are talking 7 years ago for the one they helped with + - Mehmet Tekman: it's not mainline then? + - I don't think so I still use them both for reading books so not messed with them just in case they break + - Mehmet Tekman: That's the beauty of the kindle, it's from such a horrible company and it's so cheap that you have no qualms if you break it :P + - Mehmet Tekman: The kindle basically locks you out of X, which is frustrating since the Kindle Touch runs AwesomeWM. If I had money, I would definitely buy one :O +- The use concept is really useful, so thanks for pointing me in the right direction. +- as someone who easily gets distracted it will be usefull to check on what I am supposed to be doing lol + - Mehmet Tekman: Welcome! For a more stripped down version I can really heavily recommend the kindle-dashboard from Pascal Widdershoven + - Mehmet Tekman: And yep -- I can definitely relate! + +Links: + +- Main Repo : <https://gitlab.com/mtekman/kindle-sync> +- Mobile Read Forum (Kindle) : + <https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180113> +- Mentioned Repos : + - <https://gitlab.com/mtekman/org-calories.el> + - <https://github.com/takaxp/org-tree-slide> + - <https://github.com/pascalw/kindle-dash> + +# Outline + +- 5-10 minutes: + + 1-3 mins + Talk about repurposing Kindles: + + - Cheap second-hand wifi device, hackable + - Low-powered, long battery life, low refresh rate – perfect + for a dashboard + - Timely updated Org-Mode Agendas anyone? + - Reference to inspired projects (kindle-dashboard) + + 2-3 mins + Generate content + + - A static text+picture image easily generated with imagemagick + wrapper + - An image of a sparse tree of org-mode TODO file + - An image of another emacs view (e.g. Calfw, or org-calories) + - Show post-processing for optimizing image for Kindles + + 1-2 mins + Configuration in a single org-mode file + + - Defining Machines + - Defining Commands to generate content + - Defining Schedules to run Commands on multiple Machines at + specific points in the day + + 1-2 mins + Export and Run: + + - Show exported shell configs and generated cronjobs + - Witness multiple Kindles producing desired content with wakeup + timers + +<!-- +- 20 minutes: + + 4 mins + Repurposing Kindles + + - Cheap second-hand wifi device, hackable + - Low-powered, long battery life, low refresh rate – perfect + for a dashboard! + - Reference to inspired projects (kindle-dashboard) + - Discuss Use Cases: + - Dynamic content: Org-Mode Agendas, Weather Reports, Web + Calendars + - Static content: Gallery, Motivational Messages + - Untapped potential + + 3 mins + Generate content + + - A static text+picture image easily generated with imagemagick + wrapper + - An image of a sparse tree of org-mode TODO file + - An image of another emacs view (e.g. Calfw, or org-calories) + - Show post-processing for optimizing image for Kindles + + 4 mins + Configuration in a single org-mode file + + - Defining Machines + - Defining Commands to generate content + - Types of commands + - Extending the commands with custom + - Defining Schedules to run Commands on multiple Machines at + specific points in the day + + 6 mins + Export and Run: + + - Show exported shell configs and generated cronjobs + - Scripts and Design Considerations: + - Killing services (to keep amazon out) + - Iptables blocking (to keep amazon out) + - What SSH keys are shared and where (to keep amazon out) + - How the Sleep and Wakeup timers work + - Optimizing for longer battery life + - Eips and X + - Minimizing service checks + - Graph of number of screen updates per drop in battery life + - View many Kindles simultaneously in action + + 3 mins + Final Thoughts + + - Limitations: + - Cannot interrupt a device's sleep, it wakes up only when you + last told it to + - Hard to see at night, invest in some LEDs maybe? + - Take back your devices! + - Name suggestions? "kindle-sync", "kindle-cluster", + - Something that won't be forced to change at a later date if + it becomes too notorious. + - Planned features + - Acknowledgments and Resources + +- 40 minutes: N/A +--> + +[[!inline pages="internal(2021/captions/dashboard)" raw="yes"]] + +[[!inline pages="internal(2021/info/dashboard-nav)" raw="yes"]] |