[bloggie]

Small computers like RPi make it easy to access the low-level peripherals such as SPI, which this small screen uses, and others like GPIOs. If your big-computer has such peripherals available to the OS, you can use them also. Before small computers, you could use the parallel port (and some small program) to talk to your own peripherals via the same low-level signalling.

[Animats]

The other extreme would be nice. Something very low powered that can spend 99% of its time in standby. Then you could run the whole thing on a battery for months. For a weather display, waking up for a few milliseconds per minute should be enough.

The 7" E-Ink display is US$86, which is not too bad.

[kfogel]

Got it -- I appreciate the explanation.