Open-source, DRM-free Kindle alternative
I&#x27;d buy one if:<p>1) It was prebuilt, plug-and-play.<p>2) It comes as a kit. I can do it as a project with my kid. Once assembled, it&#x27;s as above. Kit is consumer-friendly.<p>Digikey parts list and PCB is a little over my laziness tolerance.<p>People confuse free-as-in-freedom with free-as-in-not-making-a-profit. I&#x27;ve done free-as-in-freedom businesses, successfully. I wish others did too.<p>A lot of manufacturers underestimate the power of 100% open. I&#x27;m not price-sensitive. I&#x27;ll pay for it. If my cheap Chinese [tablet&#x2F;keyboard&#x2F;mouse&#x2F;webcam&#x2F;etc.] comes with a PCB schematic, parts list, and open source firmware, I&#x27;ll probably pay triple and prefer it to a Logitech&#x2F;Razor&#x2F;etc. I&#x27;ll give nice online reviews too.<p>And the designs are simple enough no competitive edge is lost.<p>On the other side, projects like this, lacking a business model, rarely get mature enough for me to use. Make &#x27;em nice and sell &#x27;em, I say.<p>And yes, there will be cheaper clones, so profit margins can&#x27;t be insane, but people will pay extra for the original branded version, AND profit margins can&#x27;t be insane in competitive markets either way.