171 karma · joined March 25, 2013
you don't need to host per se, however. you can deploy one of our BYOS options on a local network and let your device(s) ping 192.168/api/display. just about zero config required, just docker up and input your local network domain into the FW > captive portal UI during setup.
1/2. hardware is the same, just a permissions switch. you can upgrade any time in-app.
3. one account can manage them all, there is a device switcher in top corner that makes it easy to jump between playlists, content orderings, preferences etc. you can also “mirror” a device like child<>parent but they are independent by default. dev edition currently device specific but if you say “hey not cool” we can bump both your devices on the same account. ;)
4. yes and yes and yes. you can choose from several layouts (full screen, split, 3-way split etc) and you configure refresh intervals per device, per plugin, per time of day. so maybe you want calendar only from 8-9a, or reddit / hn only in the evening. there is a skip btn on the device which can also be double-clicked to do other stuff (go backwards, email me this, etc).
5. res is 800x480. not amazing but we make it work. built our own design system with special fonts. preview: https://usetrmnl.com/framework. yes we have calendar in Month view and it looks fine IMO. you can fit in /read a lot of text. for overflow we have some JS magic that auto truncates and you can control these params as well. see “Overflow” section in Framework docs above.
6. connects via wifi, yes supports multiple SSID, and receives OTA updates automatically (which you can disable). firmware is open source as well.
hope to see you on the inside!
Ryan
we included magnets for VIP backers on our crowdfunding campaign and may start selling them again. device has a mounting hole on the back for nails / hooks, we’ll probably release mechanical specs so people can 3D print or otherwise fabricate their own mounts. for example some people want to mash up an array of them. but until then, adhesive magnets work great for the fridge use case.
brief post here outlining more of the benefits: https://usetrmnl.com/blog/developer-edition
need to update docs too, thanks for the call out. we were writing docs before this piece was ironed out.
if you think about it, we are incentivized to do this. no subscription fees means the more you ping our server, the lower our margin. but for now we're wrapping up fulfilling all pre-orders, scaling, etc typical new product issues.
even without BYOS (bring your own server) docs however, it's already possible to point TRMNL to your own stack if you 1) fork our OSS firmware + b) have some experience with e-ink.
our intent is to help you stay informed on stuff without needing a bunch of open browser tabs, push notifications, etc.
(disclaimer, i'm the founder)
no longer a Kickstarter btw, shipping same-day now (see homepage)
i still stand by what i wrote here 5 years ago, however i’ll add that the Renaissance Man maker can mitigate their analysis paralysis by, say, picking different days of the week for each aspect of their job. so writing code M/W, marketing Tu, support Th/Fr, and so on.
for open source projects it's 100% free forever, with all features included.
FWIW we're an official app on the GitHub marketplace, and we have NO access to your code if you wanna try it.
i'm not really trying to make $ from this so if you want a free account, just add "?coupon=free" to the billing page URL (then refresh the page).
Ryan (@ryanckulp)
(aka the problem is you)
spoke more in depth about this stylistic decision, with context, here: https://www.everyonehatesmarketers.com/marketing-without-bud...