I turned my RSS feeds into an e-ink newspaper to stop reading on my phone

I really for illustration individual blogs. I publication them for entertainment, learning, and to support myself updated connected the latest trends successful package engineering. I for illustration to publication them successful a horizontal position, for illustration connected a sofa aliases a deckchair extracurricular successful the sun. That explains why I almost ne'er publication them connected my machine and ever connected my phone. I don’t needfully bask that, though, since it makes my eyes tired.

This ne'er bothered maine capable to actively do thing astir it. But erstwhile I came crossed a pocket-sized e-reader called the X4 by Xteink, I sewage an idea. At only 4.3 inches, the X4 fits nicely successful the thenar of your hand. It besides has nary touchscreen and nary backlight, and doesn’t vessel pinch a preinstalled bookstore. While astir group astir apt deliberation of this arsenic inconvenient aliases old-fashioned, a mini organization has gathered astir this device. They moreover created an unfastened root firmware for it called Crosspoint.¹

At this constituent I already fell successful emotion pinch the full thought and ordered myself one. It took immoderate clip to vessel it from China to Germany, and I worried the package mightiness get stuck successful customs. Luckily it didn’t. Once I sewage it, I wanted to effort the banal firmware first, but it near truthful small belief that I tin hardly retrieve what it looked like. Within a fewer seconds I disliked it and wanted to instal Crosspoint. To my top surprise, I had it installed aft conscionable 3 clicks. I past bought a DRM-free e-book, copied it to the X4, and started reading. I expected a batch much fiddling, but it conscionable worked. Big outcry retired to each the contributors, you really nailed this.

But the existent logic I wanted the X4 was to publication my blog posts connected it alternatively of my phone. I would conscionable request to create an e-pub from them and load them onto the X4. My ain small newspaper. With the thief of AI, I could build it successful a mates of minutes.

I usage Feedbin arsenic my RSS reader, which comes pinch a useful API. I conscionable had to fetch each my unread posts, people them arsenic read, and create an e-pub from them. I besides needed to select retired immoderate feeds, since I subscribe to YouTube channels, JS-heavy blogs, and link-only newsletters that don’t make consciousness to publication connected e-ink. I won’t annoy you pinch the details, but if you want to return a look, you tin find the task connected GitHub. I called it feedpaper and you tin instal it via Homebrew.²

With a freshly printed feedpaper connected my X4 (and my telephone astatine home), I drove to 1 of my favourite outdoor cafés and enjoyed a bully publication pinch a latte. If you make your ain feedpaper someday, I’d emotion to spot a image of it.