A free and open e-reader using a single-board computer
piEreader is a proof-of-concept, open source, and DIY e-reader designed by Guyrandy Jean-Gilles. It uses a Raspberry Pi (with more hardware compatibility planned). Files supported include EPUB, MOBI, CBZ, PDF.
I started this project in January 2023 using Raspberry Pi boards I had laying around. Due to the supply shortage I started exploring other boards like the Pine64-LTS, SOQUARTZ, Core 3566, etc. Thanks to the ubiquitous 2×20 pin header form factor, I was able to port v2 of the project to the Pine64-LTS in this repo with no hardware changes. I suspect I could do the same with other boards. The Raspberry Pi supply chain has improved as of writing this, but in an effort to keep the design open, an additional goal is to make the project configurable for different hardware platforms.
The ultimate goal of this project is to prototype an open source and self-hostable eBook reading system. That is, a book lover can modify the physical e-reader to their needs, can modify the source code to their needs, and remotely fetch books onto the physical e-reader whether it be from a third-party or self-hosted book server.
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