Ask HN: What are you working on? (February 2025)

I’ve always wanted a large wall mountable e-ink display that I could update periodically - and it didn’t need to be plugged in (or drill holes in a wall to hide the power cable).

The displays are really expensive so I’m looking at taking 12 kindles apart and mounting them in a 3x4 grid. They cannot seamlessly touch at the edges so I’m looking to include that as part of the larger aesthetic then ignore it.

I’ve figured out a few possible approaches and the software/service side - next step is to order 10 more kindles and get to work.

Hey, this sounds cool.

I played around with turning an old kindle into a wall mounted display a while back and got frustrated at how buggy the process was.

I managed to get my own image displayed on the device but sometimes it wouldn't update, sometimes it would drop power way too fast after a full charge.

I think I would use an eink display and a raspberry pi if I ever revive this project.

Dang this is a cool project, I'd love to follow along anywhere. Are you posting about your progress online?

Yeah, I setup a Kindle that relied on the experimental web browser to open a web page over HTTP (for subway updates). The reliance on wifi meant I had to charge it often but since it was on kitchen counter that was ok.

For this I am jailbreaking the Kindles and relying on the screensaver functionality to pull down an image every 3 hours (will adjust based on power usage - only need 1 update per day tbh). This should require less power than the experimental browser using a web page with Javascript to refresh.

Collectively this will be a bit more abstract (no seamless NYT front-page experience) but I think I can get creative.

I need to see if 12 Kindles with USB cables across 1 or 2 hubs, each hub powered by a removable battery-pack is safe to hang on a wall :)

No, but maybe I will. All my notes are in a messy Google Doc right now.

I have a month sabbatical coming up and that was when I was planning to do all the physical work. Right now just validating the idea on paper and working with 2 kindles to ensure the approach is somewhat viable before I try and get 7 or 10 more Kindles of the same model

If I actually move forward in a meaningful way I'll do a write up and follow-up here.