I have a Remarkable 2 tablet and use it at conferences when the proceedings are semi-compatible.
You and others have Zotero's attention (and then some). You also have the attention of people who create Zotero plugins. The issue is likely getting the developers of Remarkable, Boox, and similar projects to better enable their software and hardware to allow cooperation of programs such as Zotero.
Are you aware of the extraordinary note-taking, e-reader, and pdf annotation capabilities of Zotero 7?
Is this mainly a question about note-tablet hardware? Do you want to have Zotero work within the e-reader tablet? Want to integrate your online Zotero library with your note-taking device? Want to move the e-reader notes into the Zotero program? Are you using Zotero on a computer and want the note-taking abilities of your Remarkable tablet to be exported/imported to Zotero?
Note-taking tablets are handy and economical but their inherent computing power is limited. Some answers to my questions might be possible but others not--simply because of the tablet hardware limitations and their closed proprietary nature.
Thank you very much for confirming that we have Zotero's attention!
The note taking, the highlighting of text, etc (i.e. those features of Zotero we love) need to be accessible / usable within the e-reader.
Here is my challenge - I really like to read and make notes with my pencil in the margins. I see I have two options:
1) I spend money on paper, toner ink, and storage of all that paper.
2) I buy an e-reader (remarkable 2 is what I am leaning towards), saving the need for toner ink, paper, and storage. but the cost is about the same in the end.
Thing is I DO NOT want to invest in an e-reader and be disapointed that I cannot take notes, make highlights, etc. And have those syncronized with Zotero.
As another fervent user of a Remarkable 2 and longtime user of Zotero, I think the burden here lies with Remarkable more than with Zotero. For instance, if Remarkable provided proper support and integration for Dropbox and other cloud services (rather than the crippled import-one-at-a-time 'support' they offer) it would be much easier to interface with tools like Zotero.
From the Zotero side I would say basically everything is in place. E.g. if Remarkable wanted, they could even set things up so that there is REST API access directly to your Zotero library; or they could at least support asynchronous and bidirectional syncing with a cloud-based folder system so that we could use existing Zotero plugins like Zotfile and Zutilo.
They might sell more Connect subscriptions if they provided meaningful support for these kinds of power user features — but the economic reality is probably that they need to reach scale by catering primarily to non-power users, and that folks like us are a relative minority in their user base.
@kentonf: I am a boox user, and since there is now an official android app, I would assume that anyone looking into an e-reader with annotation/pen function better look into boox e-readers as these run android. Remarkable does not, and hence you are at the mercy of the remarkable developers. As you can see from the zotero android announcement thread, it looks like a large percentage of zotero android users are boox users. remarkable is pitched more towards note-taking and drawing (design and business use). Boox is more geared towards pdf-reading and annotating, and academic use. And I can confirm that the new android app runs well enough to make all of this viable on a boox, and if there will be further improvements down the line, it will be great.
I agree with @DWL-SDCA that this is the responsibility of Remarkable. I have a Remarkable 1 that I bought for its relative openness. I was hoping for a Zotero integration feature to be developed. But from this discussion I lost the hope a bit. It is a pity that they don't open up more to be able to integrate Zotero and other open source software. Only other proprietary cloud services, it seems. Did anyone try to run the Parabola GNUlinux version on Remarkable with Zotero? http://www.davisr.me/projects/parabola-rm/ Is it fast enough to manage Zotero?
@andersculturastudies, I doubt that Parabola rM would be fast enough to run Zotero. FWIW, I bought the rM2 both for its relative openness (I like that I can SSH into it) but also for its gorgeous no-frills UI design. The latter is the reason I'm not especially interested in running a fullblown OS on it, or even having my full (>20k item) Zotero library on it.
That said, I'll write to them to request that they consider supporting file exchange methods that are more open and more streamlined than the current clunky Dropbox integration.
I might try the Parabola version when they stop updating the RM. Promise to report back if it works with Zotero. I already wrote to Remarkable. I think the following address is the best option: https://support.remarkable.com/s/contactsupport/wishes-and-ideas. Perhaps lots of requests will make them change their mind.
I am now convinced to go with Boox and not Remarkable.
I agree with others on this thread, that the issue is with Remarable, and not with Zotero.
My decision making on this reminds me of Palm Pilot. Remarkable is on a path similar to Palm Pilot. Restrictive and limited applications. A proprietary OS and they also charge you to connect. The comparison in the link above is leading me to believe that Remarkable is on a restrictive path, where as Boox is a more flexible option, that will last longer.
Unfortunately, the ZRMConnector at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV1IQmUHl_A no longer works and the developer is not maintaining it. The problem is that Remarkable changed their API. Is there anyone with node.js skills that could update it? It is available at: https://github.com/hugodecasta/ZRMconnector.git Unfortunately, I do not have skills in that area.
Upgrade Storage
You and others have Zotero's attention (and then some). You also have the attention of people who create Zotero plugins. The issue is likely getting the developers of Remarkable, Boox, and similar projects to better enable their software and hardware to allow cooperation of programs such as Zotero.
Are you aware of the extraordinary note-taking, e-reader, and pdf annotation capabilities of Zotero 7?
Is this mainly a question about note-tablet hardware? Do you want to have Zotero work within the e-reader tablet? Want to integrate your online Zotero library with your note-taking device? Want to move the e-reader notes into the Zotero program? Are you using Zotero on a computer and want the note-taking abilities of your Remarkable tablet to be exported/imported to Zotero?
Note-taking tablets are handy and economical but their inherent computing power is limited. Some answers to my questions might be possible but others not--simply because of the tablet hardware limitations and their closed proprietary nature.
Thank you very much for confirming that we have Zotero's attention!
The note taking, the highlighting of text, etc (i.e. those features of Zotero we love) need to be accessible / usable within the e-reader.
Here is my challenge - I really like to read and make notes with my pencil in the margins. I see I have two options:
1) I spend money on paper, toner ink, and storage of all that paper.
2) I buy an e-reader (remarkable 2 is what I am leaning towards), saving the need for toner ink, paper, and storage. but the cost is about the same in the end.
Thing is I DO NOT want to invest in an e-reader and be disapointed that I cannot take notes, make highlights, etc. And have those syncronized with Zotero.
From the Zotero side I would say basically everything is in place. E.g. if Remarkable wanted, they could even set things up so that there is REST API access directly to your Zotero library; or they could at least support asynchronous and bidirectional syncing with a cloud-based folder system so that we could use existing Zotero plugins like Zotfile and Zutilo.
They might sell more Connect subscriptions if they provided meaningful support for these kinds of power user features — but the economic reality is probably that they need to reach scale by catering primarily to non-power users, and that folks like us are a relative minority in their user base.
As you can see from the zotero android announcement thread, it looks like a large percentage of zotero android users are boox users.
remarkable is pitched more towards note-taking and drawing (design and business use). Boox is more geared towards pdf-reading and annotating, and academic use.
And I can confirm that the new android app runs well enough to make all of this viable on a boox, and if there will be further improvements down the line, it will be great.
Is it fast enough to manage Zotero?
That said, I'll write to them to request that they consider supporting file exchange methods that are more open and more streamlined than the current clunky Dropbox integration.
I also wrote a blog post about some simple tips and tricks that make life easier for users of Zotero + reMarkable: https://ideophone.org/zotero-and-the-remarkable-some-simple-hacks/
I am now convinced to go with Boox and not Remarkable.
I agree with others on this thread, that the issue is with Remarable, and not with Zotero.
My decision making on this reminds me of Palm Pilot. Remarkable is on a path similar to Palm Pilot. Restrictive and limited applications. A proprietary OS and they also charge you to connect. The comparison in the link above is leading me to believe that Remarkable is on a restrictive path, where as Boox is a more flexible option, that will last longer.
Now do I get the b/w or colour!
The problem is that Remarkable changed their API.
Is there anyone with node.js skills that could update it?
It is available at: https://github.com/hugodecasta/ZRMconnector.git
Unfortunately, I do not have skills in that area.