How I built Timeframe, our family e-paper dashboard
Hacker News
February 22, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
Over the past decade, Joel Hawksley has developed Timeframe, a family e-paper dashboard designed to integrate essential information like calendars and weather into daily life while minimizing screen clutter. Inspired by his marriage goal of keeping screens out of the bedroom, he initially created a Magic Mirror prototype using an LCD display but found it distracting due to its backlight. After experimenting with jailbroken Kindles and custom enclosures, he realized e-paper was the right solution for its unobtrusive nature.
Joel built a Ruby on Rails backend to fetch data from Google Calendar and Dark Sky, pushing updates every five minutes to Visionect displays. These screens proved reliable, with some running without failure for months. However, high costs—both in hardware and recurring fees—limited market appeal. Despite interest from friends, the $1000 price tag and $7/month fee for each device made it challenging to attract early customers.
In 2021, a devastating fire destroyed Hawksley’s home, prompting a redesign that led to discovering the Boox Mira Pro, a high-resolution e-paper screen. This unexpected pivot highlighted the potential of larger-format e-paper displays and inspired Joel to continue refining Timeframe. His journey underscores the importance of balancing technology with minimalist living, offering insights for those seeking sustainable tech solutions for their homes.
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Originally published on Hacker News on 2/22/2026