Building an Open E-Ink Ecosystem

Explore a conference talk from the Linux App Summit 2025 where Alexander Soto presents "Caster," an open-hardware electrophoretic display controller designed to improve e-ink integration with Linux systems. Learn how e-ink displays, despite their power efficiency and readability advantages, face challenges with modern Linux desktops and Wayland compositors that assume high-refresh-rate displays. Discover how Caster addresses issues like ghosting and unnecessary power consumption by extending the Wayland Content Type Hint protocol, allowing applications to signal different content types for optimized refresh rates. The 25-minute presentation includes a live demonstration and discussion on making e-ink a first-class citizen in the Linux ecosystem. Soto, a community organizer, educator, software engineer, and founder of Modos, brings his expertise in community-building and technology for social good to this important conversation about open hardware and software integration.