(Not OP)

I think Kobo is not too closed, is it? Not saying it's open source, but not hard to install KoReader or other stuff it may support.

I have a PocketBook reader, more specifically a pocketbook touch hd 3.

When plugged into a pc the thing seems open source but I am not sure if everything it runs is visible there. Installing KoReader on by device was just a matter of copying 2 folders to specific places in the existing hierarchy, and not a single file replaced a previously existing one.

This is an older device, I hope newer ones are still as open as this one seems to be.

I don't expect to need to buy another e-reader anytime soon but Kobo would be on my radar if I would.

What is wrong with yours?

Been waiting for Slay the Spire and Undertale sales on GoG. The history shows those have not been on sale in GoG for years now or whatever.

I guess they will never come.

And also hoping to one day be able to get Slay the Spire 2, Balatro and maybe Deltarune in GoG..

Great job to all volunteers who organized and participated in this initiative. And also, a big thank you to Myrient for having had so many games preserved all this time and for giving the community a chance to prepare for a time when it will no longer be around.

Firefox. Shouldn't need introduction.

Yes there are forks that may be better to use but let us not forget the one main browser family who's been giving us a chance at fighting against Malware browsers with zero respect for our privacy.

I just found out Netflix has games. Think I'll keep not using it.

Another reminder that if enacted, in practice this is not only for Europeans.

If games have to be reasonably playable in Europe then they will be reasonably playable everywhere.

This benefits all consumers one way or another.

More importantly though, for everything, like the comment I'm replying to mentions: If you buy something you should own it.

TLDR

Probably anything will serve, but I would recommend either a Kobo or a Pocketbook for they seem more open. I only ever dabbled with two devices though so I won't claim I know a lot about the subject. You want to read books with ideally the epub format.

How to read pirated books

Download the book, connect the e-reader via USB (maybe can be connected in other ways but wtv), copy and paste file, done. (Or use Calibre to manage your library and not do this "hard" step manually).

When you open your device, you will find the book there and you can read it. For any practical purposes this is the most straight forward and means it may not matter that much what you choose. This is to say, provided you find the books you want to read somewhere online, you shouldn't have troubles reading it in an e-reader.

E-book formats

Kindles used to support less formats, specifically not epub which is a book format. They did support mobi which was a good alternative. I read a while ago that they were going to start supporting epub but no idea if it's the case or not.

Epub is the open format that I go for and probably the best and most compatible. You can edit epubs by modifying HTML and CSS actually, if you know how to open them (hint: Calibre). This, to say, I considered supported book formats to be relevant but maybe they're not a big problem either.

Openness/customization (KOReader)

KOReader is a third-party software that you can install on e-readers to provide a more customizable experience. I'm not going to try to convince you it's good or not, nor that you should install it. I installed it only a couple of months ago.

I'm mentioning it first of because you may be interested but also to point out at its installation method in Kindle, Kobo and Pocketbook. (They also have installation method for Android which I'll leave out because Android, and Cervantes and reMarkable which I'll leave out because I don't even know what these are).

Kindle has to be jailbroken, Kobo seems fairly straightforward with maybe a minor annoyance step and Pocketbook seems straightforward. I have a very old Kindle that I don't know if it's supported (didn't check, cba), and a Pocketbook Touch HD 3. I delayed trying KOReader for a long time because I assumed that it would replace my Pocketbook's stock software and it serves my purpose well, but on a second glance more recently I realized that the installation steps (copy + paste) didn't override a single file in my device and KOReader lives side by side as an app in my reader.

For that reason I would suggest either Kobo or Pocketreader.

Models

I don't have specific models in mind.

For my more recent Pocketbook purchase, I wanted something closer to 6-7 inches, 10 is too much and I wanted to have physical buttons to turn pages and not just a touch screen. The button requirement limited my choices heavily. Looking back in hindsight I don't use these buttons, I don't need them, but my first device had no touchscreen so... :).

I didn't like the position of these buttons on the Kobo Libra 2 or whatever (and maybe it was also too big?), and those were pretty much my concerns.

My model of the Pocketbook was already an "old" model when I got it. My only concern mildly related to piracy was: Does it support epub?

Didn't they add copilot to notepad, to the file Explorer, to windows I assume as a non removable service (internet explorer anyone?), and to who knows how many more places?

Whatever metrics they claim to have are for sure not inflated. /s

If people are indeed using copilot a lot then great: good for you, please shut up, you don't need me on-board.

Good write up. I agree with several points

And it pains me too that everything is damn electron. Can we please go back to writing stuff that doesn't require that?

I don't mind an old style interface. Hell, in many cases I'll welcome it with open arms. Modern UI is not necessarily better. Both tech wise and also style wise.

Mistborn: The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson. An epic fantasy.

I loved it and just started the second book.

Well that depends on a lot of factors. One of them being the distance of dick to floor of every one they would jerk. Call that D2F.

Hopefully they thought of it.

Not a celebrity, kind of like @pedz@lemmy.ca, but Daniel Naroditsky.

I did not expect his death would affect me as much as it did. Fuck K.

Has it been two years?! .. Damn

Yes! Exactly the same. I can only hear it when laying down, mostly at night only when trying to sleep. If I sit or stand up I can't hear it anymore. Not every night but I sure hear it often.

It does make sleeping harder.

Try RustDesk.

It seems to have sound support. I can't vouch for any of the qualities you are asking otherwise, honestly I just installed it recently to replace TeamViewer on the machine of someone who occasionally needs some basic remote help from me.

OBS, which others mentioned, is, as far as I know, the most popular software for streaming otherwise.

Thank you for the warning and source. I think I had read about this. Personally I use IronFox on Android, but Firefox otherwise.

Even if we take this at worst case scenario, it is a much lesser evil than Google in my opinion. And they still open source everything (I think?) and as far as I'm aware allow 100% configuration to remove or tweak anything we don't like one way or another.

More recently I was also not happy with their introduction of AI crap in the browser which can also be disabled.

It would be better to be disabled by default and even better not to be present, yes, but well...

As long as it does not get too out of hand and as long as they keep it open so anyone con remove that crap from forks and/or through configuration... Given our choices, I think they deserve recognition for their work. Even if we don't agree with everything they do.

I never donated for them and used Firefox for over 20 years. Even if it goes downhill really fast starting now (Which I hope it won't, and the future would suddenly turn much bleaker in this regard), I think I should be thankful for 20+ years of good service.

I never switched away from Firefox except for 2-3 of its forks on Android. And Librewolf as non main browser on pc.

I'm also keeping an eye on ladybird but not keeping my hopes up yet.

All that being said, your concerns are valid and I do share them. I just want to reinforce that when all is said and done.. No matter what the future looks like..

They were here for us for at least 20 years.

How did that banana become green?!

Thank you!

Ah yes, I forgot this was a feature Calibre has! When I had only my Kindle I managed to always find mobi for the books I wanted so I only converted one or two books, those for which which I thought the version I found was not good enough.

Assuming the source epub is decent, how good is the converted mobi? Does it ever screw up?

Things like, a chapter heading or paragraphs losing their spacing and/or alignment.

You purchase the book written 30 years ago. It still is as it was 30 years ago. The writer is dead.

Tomorrow Amazon decides some terms don't conform to today's society and changes the book you already purchased, changes the text. Without the writer's or anyone else's permission. Maybe even if the writer is not dead, who knows.

If you had bought a device you control or the physical book, you'd have kept the original thing you purchased.

The day after Trump has a Trump moment and decides you should only read the Bible. Amazon removes the book from your device. Maybe you're refunded, maybe not, but you have no book.

You cannot read books from open formats with it but only Kindle's. Possibly you cannot add books to it, only read books purchased from Amazon (I think they still allow you to add books via USB but maybe tomorrow you have a "surprise firmware update").

Disclaimer : I don't know your device, your habits, your values, or how to jailbreak it. I'm not telling you you should jailbreak it.

I'm giving you arguments for, from now on, try to purchase things that don't lock you in, that give you as much control as possible, and if you have no such choice, try to limit their ability to control you and / or minimize your risk of losses however you can.

I already keep notes in markdown format but didn't know of Silverbullet.

I reject Obsidian and Joplin because they're based on electron but it looks like it's not the case for Silverbullet. Don't know if these even support markdown tbh.

I'll need to look into it further, looks really nice!