quite unfortunate -- i think they needed a little more hype.
It would be nice to have an e-ink display, but I can also buy a thinkpad x201/x220 for <$70/<$100 usd on ebay right now. It's not the smallest thing ever, but the x201 is pretty dang small for a "writing only" machine with a good keyboard. And I can still do basic web browsing or email if I really want to.
I have a better idea for an OS that runs off a stick and only has text editor capabilities and nothing more. Once can reuse their own laptop for writing. Once they boot in the writing mode with the memory stick on there's nothing else to access. The only problem is that as of now no such OS exists.
I'd also love to boot off a stick and only have access to a repl of my favorite language, nothing more.
Anybody out there up for the challenge of creating such an OS?
"n this way, the AlphaSmart provides an almost Pavlovian space in which to write: Get the device out, and the brain immediately moves into writing mode. This is another reason why I’ve been resistant to software on my computer that’s supposed to compel creativity and productivity. Because I do such a wide variety of tasks on my computer, my brain isn’t primed by the space to focus on one particular job. In this way, my computer’s all-purpose abilities, which is the main selling point of most laptops, actually becomes a liability. But the absolute simplicity of the AlphaSmart means that when I bring it out, I subconsciously know exactly what it is I need to do: write."
Yes, you can buy a laptop that is as much different from the other laptop you use, but it will still be that, a laptop. Not a mere writing device. I instantly get how that makes a big psychological difference, even if the machine is crippled in a way that would make it "impossible" to do anything else with it.
So, it is exactly NOT about any form of possible reuse for other purposes.
In one sense, sure. In another sense, it's just marketing for people who are unable to control their impulses and have a lot of money to spend.
> but it will still be that, a laptop
A laptop that isn't connected to the internet is a writing device.
There are numerous word processors based around this concept as well.
Spending $$$ on niche products won't make you write any more than figuring out a space to write in + a routine will. But people can't sell that for $400.
You don't have to spend -anything- to have bouts of focus for writing. Zero. Nada. But it's easier to spend money than to figure out why ignoring notifications is so impossible.
If you have the magical secret to impulse control, please share with the rest of us. Otherwise get off your high horse and shut up.
Parent comment never claimed to have this. Parent comment, and I, will retain the right to criticize overpriced products like this.
I would like proof that $$$ products like this are more effective at getting people to write than, say, creating a consistent routine, working out, dedicating a space/time just for writing, etc.
If we're just going to use anecdata, the most consistent advice I've seen from prolific authors is to "write something, even a little, every day, and read a lot". If you have lack of impulse control, then you need to sit down and reflect on why that might be the case. Maybe consult a medical professional if it's that dire. But those take work and introspection instead of just spending $$$ on a neat-looking product.
For the record, I -would- pay a lot of money for a laptop built like a thinkpad x201/x220, that had a good keyboard and an e-ink display! ...not for notifications, but I find e-ink displays significantly help me with eye strain.
I have zero issues with people criticizing a product for being overpriced. GP however in addition criticized people, implying that if you buy this product you should instead start practicing impulse control.
That's a comment very dismissive towards people with impulse control. Maybe things are different now, but when I was a kid, having poor impulse control was something that one would be criticized and shamed for regularly. It's very condescending to just say "have you tried improving your impulse control" as if that's going to be some revelation.
As a similar issue, a friend of mine has an autistic kid. She gets annoyed any time a pop-science article appears with some new treatment/method/etc. appears for autism because for the next year lots of well meaning people she meets will mention it when they find out her son is autistic. She doesn't typically say it, but her desired response is along the lines of: "Yes, I've been raising an austistic son for 12 years and yet I haven't done enough research about it to stumble across something that was published widely in the mainstream media."
> I would like proof that $$$ products like this are more effective at getting people to write than, say, creating a consistent routine, working out, dedicating a space/time just for writing, etc.
It's not an either/or proposition. As you mention, having a dedicated space and time make a big difference, but I think a computing device helps define the space. I will sometimes watch a youtube video in one window while reading an article in another window, but that doesn't happen when I'm watching a movie on my TV. Would people be equally well served with an old laptop with broken WiFi and no games installed? Probably. That doesn't make this device useless though, and if you don't already have an old laptop with broken WiFi, then $250 isn't that expensive, and this is probably much easier on the eyes if you want to, say, write outside.
> If you have lack of impulse control, then you need to sit down and reflect on why that might be the case. Maybe consult a medical professional if it's that dire. But those take work and introspection instead of just spending $$$ on a neat-looking product
I agree with this entire sentence! If all your problems can be completely fixed by spending $300 on a word-processor then your problems probably weren't that serious to begin with. However, I do think it can help create a dedicated space and time just for writing.
[edit]
Just noticed that you wrote the GP comment to what I originally responded to:
> It would be nice to have an e-ink display, but I can also buy a thinkpad x201/x220 for <$70/<$100 usd on ebay right now. It's not the smallest thing ever, but the x201 is pretty dang small for a "writing only" machine with a good keyboard. And I can still do basic web browsing or email if I really want to.
This is totally a fair criticism of the product. I didn't feel a need to respond to it when I read it earlier, but since you got me hooked ;) I'll respond:
1. A new x201 display would be better in some conditions, worse in others than an e-ink display; I don't know how they age, but if you plan on primarily indoors work with not a lot of natural light, then we can call it a win for the x201; if you plan on working out side during the day it's a win for an e-ink display
2. "basic web browsing or email" is a downside for some people, but you could probably pull the wifi card (or cut traces if it's on the motherboard), or just buy one with broken wifi if needed, so inasmuch as an x201 could be modified to work this way, but a wordprocessor could not be modified to do web-browsing, that's a win for the x201.
3. For the freewrite traveler in specific, we don't know yet how good the keyboard is since it's not yet released. The x201 seems to have the traditional thinkpad keyboard that is arguably best-in-class for laptops. Some wordprocessors do use microswitch keyboards, but the freewrite does not.
4. All this reflection has made me think that an e-ink display running wordprocessing software with a USB port might be a great device; you can bring whatever keyboard you like and you can position the screen and keyboard independently. You would sacrifice some portability though.
Maybe, one could do some introspection about why they are unable to put notifications on hold?
Nah. Better spend a lot of money instead, because that will fix the root issue, assuredly.
---
W.r.t my original comment: For $70-$100 (at most!) I can take a laptop, disable the wifi, and open a word processor.
It is admittedly a splurge, as I already have a desktop pc and a perfectly capable macbook. However, that price point for a dedicated writing machine with a great keyboard was worth it to me. I did it for the keyboard, not the (lack of) notifications, but one could easily do it for that purpose.
A laptop with a keyboard is not going to give you different writing properties than a screen + a keyboard. They both will write text just the same. One can turn off notifications/connection to the internet if desired, and now they're both quiet devices.
I bought one of these things within 2 minutes of reading the blog post we're commenting on. I don't really need to "reflect" on the reasons that I sometimes have poor impulse control. It's not like not knowing why I'm sometimes tempted means that I'm no longer tempted.
And part of impulse control is "tying yourself to the mast" to avoid temptation in the future. It'd be stupid to keep piles of tempting junk food within arms length at all times and then berate yourself for "poor impulse control".
Similarly, it'd be stupid to put tons of social media, notifications, and games just a click or two away from where you're trying to do something hard and meaningful, and then berate yourself (or others) for your lack of reflection on your poor impulse control.
Which probably says something about the rise of keyboards and the fall of handwriting; I get that ASCII is more useful than paper, but $400 buys a lot of luxurious pens and paper.
Granted I’m a huge user of fountain pens and note books already :)
Wonder how much trouble it would be for them to integrate RIME, I'd buy that in an instant.
Would you happen to know any details on the OS/processor of the old sony PRS-350 e-readers?
There are two quirks in the older model I have. First, when opening the cover, it always starts in Japanese, so you have to press a key to get it to English. Second, some of the characters are in different slots; e.g. the apostrophe is inconvenient. Third, the keyboard is a tad scrunched.