Fable turned reMarkable into Tom Riddle's diary from Harry Potter

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Demo, UX, and Twitter/X Friction

  • Many commenters want an embedded gif/video or screenshots in the README; linking only to an external video is seen as a poor “elevator pitch.”
  • Heavy criticism of using X/Twitter as the primary demo host: videos often require log‑in, are blocked or nagged, and some refuse to visit the platform at all.
  • People share workarounds (xcancel, Nitter, downloaders, browser extensions), but several say they lose interest before bothering.

Is the Interaction Novel?

  • Enthusiasts love the “magic diary” feel: a pen-and-paper‑like journal that answers in handwriting feels more personal and less “chatbot UI.”
  • Skeptics see it as just a slower, worse chat interface combining old handwriting recognition with an LLM.
  • Some are disappointed the response is simply text wiping in quickly, not strokes that “emerge” like in the movie; the README language is called oversold.

Harry Potter Metaphor and Ethics

  • Debate over comparing a product to a cursed object that manipulates users; some call this tone-deaf, others say it’s an apt or intentionally spooky analogy.
  • More broadly, people riff on the “Torment Nexus” trope: tech recreating fictional cautionary devices as products.

LLMs, Safety, and Censorship

  • Long subthreads discuss chatbots and suicide: real-world cases, lawsuits, bans for “risky” queries, and how easily accounts can be flagged.
  • Some argue strong safeguards are necessary; others find blanket bans dystopian, worry about “wrongthink” detection, and advocate uncensored local models.
  • Comparisons made to cars, tobacco, and past tech harms; disagreement on how exceptional AI risk is and what regulation should look like.

Implementation Details and Extensions

  • Interest in porting to other e‑ink devices (Kindle Scribe, Boox, Supernote) and in running local models with custom personalities.
  • Technically minded commenters note the project bypasses the standard reMarkable stack to get smooth fades and suggest improvements (handwriting-like animation, richer tutoring/diagramming).

Community Tone

  • Thread is polarized: some praise it as a fun, inspiring side project and a “cool use case” for Fable; others call it clickbait, derivative, or tacky, and question the hype around both Fable and Harry Potter.