Old gadgets can be recycled into an essential element instead of merely just throwing it away without serving any purpose. Sometimes the not working old devices can be opened, and its parts can be used to create something handy. Most of the people just toss their used and unwanted gadgets into their trash. This irresponsible throwing away leads to severe consequences on our lovely planet. It can alternatively be sold for cash to some other person who might need your not used product. Else you can sell it in wholesale gadget market who reuse the broken television, computer and other gadgets as spare parts for repairing their customer’s gadgets when it comes to service to them. So getting rid of the old devices by a proper means is quintessential.
Jaap Meijers is a hardware hacker. He has successfully used his skills to recycle an old Kindle into a digital clock along with a literary quotation. ‘Gizmodo‘ does this action of the display. Meijers has also given a detailed post on the entire direction how it can be done at home by those who wanted to try recreating the same as him. If that neglected Kindle can be converted into a clock in his living room as requested by his girl-friend who is an ardent avid reader and a literature teacher, then you can also try your luck recreating the same digital clock that shows exciting quote each time you look at it.
This newly recreated gadget doubles as a literary quiz added to a clock display. It means the clock displays merely the quote without mentioning the author or the book title. You can pick the quote as a puzzle to find its book and author name. The answer can be known by clicking the advance page of e-book button located on the side of the Kindle device.
Jaap Meijer has done hacking and jailbreaking to achieve this end product. Custom software is installed into the gadget to make the literary quote for every minute. The clock updates every minute. He has written some custom coding to convert every quote into an image for display. Meijer has also shared this database for someone who wishes to download and hack the same. Meijer had outsourced all the quotes from ‘The Guardian.’ It has a list of compiled quotes. Every hacker must try recreating the same digital clock of Meijer’s creation using his scripts but in a different style and enjoy the benefits and achievement. The instructable is available on Hackaday, Gizmodo, The Verge and Hacker News.
The materials needed are a Kindle, a handmade stand made using styrofoam or cement. Kindle is connected as a USB to a computer and put a specific file in the root folder of Kindle and connect the Kindle to wifi. With the help of Python on Kindle, install a hack file. The quotes from The Guardian is converted to a CSV file in an image format for each minute display. Some quotes are repeated in AM and PM. The clock gets on and off with a button click. Meijer is planning to inbuilt a light sensor to kindle to light up on its own when getting dark.
Amazon E ink displays are low powered. It displays static texts in higher resolution at ease. Meijer has achieved in giving a new life to the old unused gadget which is creative and a great achievement. Also, Meijer is working towards his future similar projects which are success models too. Some of them worth mentioning are battery warnings, high power management, and built-in light. Another hacker inspired by this creation has made a web version of this literature clock which is definitely a proud moment for inspiration as said by Jaap Meijer.
