If people could stop posting photos of their reMarkable tablet, that’d be great.
@simonwoods hehe! I’m hoping for some follow-up posts though, about whether they keep using them or if they are more of a novelty item... also I’m not sure how I feel about pen tips that you have to keep buying... like what happens down the line when they stop making them? I guess I’m getting a little tired of the “disposable electronics” mentality...
@herself @simonwoods I sent mine back. Over a month and no word on my refund. Happy to discuss the shortcomings that led to my decision, feel free to ask questions!
@simonwoods I cancelled my order as I already have an iPad and didn’t want an additional device to carry with me.
@herself @simonwoods I pre-ordered the v1 several years ago, and have used it on and off since then. I love it, and was tempted to upgrade/refresh, but couldn't justify it. If you read lots of academic articles for whatever reason it is perfect. These days I pdf bookmarked longreads for later read them on the ReMarkable. Also, my kids love doodling on it.
@herself No, not much. I went through a phase of keeping it on my desk to use as a daily to-do scratch pad, but went back to my notebook. There is text recognition now but I haven't tried it.
@tingle that’s a shame. It looks really interesting, but isn’t it (also) interesting how many things just can’t compare to pencil and paper, even still?
@herself @tingle Analogue tools will always be timeless. I love tech and am as geeky as the next person, but in many ways it’s made our lives hectic, unfocused, and complicated. There’s something zen about reading paper books, or writing by hand, that makes us pause and think.
@peterimoore so true! And true too about making things feel more scattered. I wonder why that is?
@herself Not any one thing, no. Mostly it was the combo of the awkward way you get converted text off it and the pencil. I have big, awkward hands and the dainty little pencil caused major hand cramping in under a page. Beyond that, I just couldn’t justify the cost for something I wasn’t sure I could integrate into my workflow without major time invested in altering said flow.
All that said, it’s an awesome piece of tech that works incredibly well as long as it works FOR YOU.
@herself I think — for me at least — it’s a combination of information overload and decision fatigue, with dependency thrown in. Too many apps vying for our attention and focus, seemingly endless ways of doing things (which can also be good), and over-reliance on devices.
@jessekelber interesting, thanks. The last time I tried setting up a stylus/ tablet combo was with a first gen iPad...it did not meet my high expectations, hehe! I know most people here are apple people but I’ve heard the Surface Pros work pretty well on that front, but that was a while ago now.
@peterimoore yes, and you know a scrunched up piece of paper in your pocket is still going to do the job of reminding you what to get at the supermarket just as well as your encrypted, synced-across-all-devices app... maybe I should take my own advice and just stick with paper! 🙃
@herself I tried that l, too! Am now contemplating an Ipad Mini/Apple pencil/keyboard combo for a read/write device now that the tech has matured. Need that refund to show up first, however.
@herself I’m getting back to a balance of digital and analogue tools. I don’t think technology is bad, far from it. There’s something to be said for stepping away from screens sometimes and stopping the stream of distractions. Analogue keeps our attention on what we put there.
@peterimoore agreed! Everything that you write down has to be intentionally placed /copied out.
@herself I wrote a short review here. I still use mine as a daily planner, for journalling and to take notes in eBooks and PDFs. I read technical books there, no novels. For work I have to take notes on my iPad for practicality (because I can search in my handwriting there, which is something I miss on the reMarkable) and writing on it really sucks. It’s really really terrible and I hate it now. The tips aren‘t that expensive and are really tiny, I think of it kind of like mechanical pencils.
@peterimoore @herself absolutely agree. Though I will say - a big part of the appeal of the ReMarkable is how "zen" the experience of reading on it is compared to reading on the web. But I compulsively highlight text when I read on the internet, so maybe my experience is not representative ;)
@herself Right?! I still worry about hand fatigue, but would likely NOT be using it for handwriting as much as mobile typing to give my poor ailing MBP a breather.
@hutaffe just read your review, and it was really interesting (and thorough)! It seems like a very cool device. In my use though I can really only imagine using it for fiction editing perhaps? I still don’t think I could justify it for my own purposes but thanks again for the link to the review, I think it could help a lot of people make up their mind on it!
@herself yeah, it’s pretty expensive for all the shortcomings. They could do a lot better if they ramped up their software. I really love it though and for what I want out of it, it’s great! But if you have to search for a reason to justify a tool mostly means it’s not the right tool 😉
@herself @tingle Me neither, I have a Kindle Paperwhite in my Amazon cart but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Even though it’s easier on the eyes than an LCD, it’s still reading on a screen (although I may have no choice as some books seemingly only available digital on Kindle).
@herself this is the big appeal of Bullet Journalling. Since you have to take the time to write everything down either initially, or to migrate a task or item, it forces you to consider whether it’s really important enough to be there in the first place.
@peterimoore if it helps with the decision I find that my kindle (paperwhite) feels a lot different from using an iPad. It definitely has a book vibe. I hate the UI though, and prefer to manage books through calibre.
@peterimoore yes, so true! I bullet journaled for a long while before switching over to a hobonichi. I felt extremely organised while I was doing it though.
@herself Thanks for this feedback! I’m probably going to get one anyway since some books I want to read are exclusive to the platform, but it’s nice to know I can still have a book-like experience with it.
@herself I had a Techo once but found I wasn’t using it that much. What made you switch away from the Bullet Journal?
@peterimoore it’s been a few years now, but I think I wanted to go back to more of a daily structure. Having to write every day (or at least most days) was a good discipline, and I didn’t feel as though the “pressure was on” as much with the bujo because it was more free-form...
@herself That’s an interesting thought I’ve never heard before, I can totally see where you’re coming from on that. Maybe that’s why the Techo didn’t take with me, as I actually wanted something more free-form and adaptable.
@peterimoore I’ve used a bit of the bujo structure though, with notes linking and an index too. It’s messier, using dates for reference instead of page numbers. I can see myself going back to the bujo for project work, but I have last years hobonichi (cousin) that got hardly any live due to COVID, so I’m just filling it up like a regular notebook. But I got a techo for this year and have really enjoyed the small size. I have to be brief! 😁
@herself No doubt that’s the one big thing I miss from the Techo is the smaller size, and the fountain pen friendly Tomoe River paper (my Leuchtturm1917 isn’t nearly as good for that). I need to find myself a journal with better paper and then buy a lifetime supply. 😂
@peterimoore oh yes, though the leuchttrum (sp!) has pretty good paper too. I hear good things about the Nanami notebooks though, which use TR paper. Plus now Hobonichi are doing “day free” planners with just the calendar in front. So there are a few options there!
@herself I’ve heard good things about Nanami too, although I believe they’re hard to find? The day-free Techo definitely interests me though, thanks for mentioning that! The choices we pen and paper geeks have...
@peterimoore I don’t work for them, honest! But the Crossfield looks like it’s still available... www.nanamipaper.com/products/...
@herself Damn, as of last year they only ship to the U.S. unfortunately. I’ll have to check if it’s available anywhere else, but thanks for linking that just the same! 🙏
