5 ms·

The Pleasure of the Text

24 points by sp4rki 16y ago

djacobs 16y ago
Is the title alluding to Barthes' book of the same name?
- oloolo 16y ago
  Yes. Barthes discerns between texte lisibles (readable) and texte scriptible (writable). Which was one of the inspirations to switch our focus from readablity to writability and create Writer. In Barthes' theory things are a little bit different, though ("readable" and "writable" indicate different kinds of written texts, not text in and post creation).
  - davnola 16y ago
    His distinction is maybe analogous to binary (readable) and source+makefile (writable). Minor point: "text" here covers all sorts of artistic creations (TV, music, fine art), not just the written word.
fbcocq 16y ago
"this application turns this flat thing on the lap into the most efficient tool for writing that I know of." Writing using your index finger on a touchscreen seems like a huge step back in terms of productivity and ergonomy to me.
- oloolo 16y ago
  You'd be surprised.
  - fbcocq 16y ago
    Sure, suprise me. I'd really like to see a video of someone typing for an hour or two on an iPad without needing a chiropractor afterwards and in the end producing more text than he'd produce on a laptop or netbook with a stock text editor. If you have trouble focusing, maybe it's because your body is in an awkward posture. I don't own an iPad, but even thinking about the angle, that I'd have to look at it from while it rests on my lap, hurts my neck.
    - oloolo 16y ago
      "I don't own an iPad" — but you know better than those who have used it for hours and hours (http://twitter.com/#!/iA/favorites http://twitter.com/#!/iA/favorites)...
    - maxawaytoolong 16y ago
      I don't own an iPad, but even thinking about the angle, that I'd have to look at it from while it rests on my lap, hurts my neck. The iPad's form factor is exactly the same as reading a book or writing on a tablet of paper, two activities that have been going on for centuries. Not that reading and writing are the most ergonomically correct activities, either... but the notion that the iPad is contributing to a new form of neck pain is a bit ridiculous.
      - oloolo 16y ago
        And then there is that black thing that puts it at an angle...
      - achompas 16y ago
        You can write on a tablet with one hand. You need two hands to type on the iPad, unless you're reclined in the "Steve Jobs-on-a-couch position" or hunched over a table.
- achompas 16y ago
  The buzz around Writer comes from Focus Mode, not necessarily the WPM you churn out. Your WPM is lower because of iPad ergonomics, but it seems writers backtrack less with this app, so their realized WPM improves a ton. At least that's what iA says.
achompas 16y ago
This app really bothers me. Writer is sold to people "who can't concentrate while writing," and it seems iA believes the success of the app means the app really helps people focus. But as anyone on OSX knows, people have a voracious appetite for these kinds of apps (WriteRoom, Ommwriter, ZenWriter). This doesn't mean these apps help anyone write. Rather, it says people who want to write spend a lot of time thinking about their tools. Instead of, you know, actually writing anything. So there's a market of aspiring writers who obsess over text editors. iA releases Writer, and expands the "zen text editor" market to iPads. Now these aspiring writers can "focus only on their words" on the go! Only, they spend time complaining how, in landscape, you can only see 6 lines of text. Or how it's hard to move around your doc and regain context. If you really enjoy writing, any other app would get the job done. Hell, pen and paper or a typewriter would get the job done. Instead, iA's tapped into this market of people who want to write but "can't focus." And I feel for them, because their writing tools aren't the problem.
- oloolo 16y ago
  Maybe you should actually try the app before you judge it. There are better and there are worse tools to work with, believe it or not. Besides Burroughs there are literally hundreds of people that tried it and love it emphatically: http://twitter.com/#!/iA/favorites http://twitter.com/#!/iA/favorites They're not all idiots.
  - achompas 16y ago
    I've seen your Twitter feed--it's full of accolades. Congrats on a great app release. I'm not picking nits with Writer, though. My problem is with the family of "zen apps" that help writers "get in the zone," including yours. If someone is frequently distracted when they write, they either (a) need to get away from the internet when writing, or (b) reevaluate whether they enjoy writing. It's like the programmer that can't decide between Emacs, Vim, TextEdit, or other IDEs. Stop making excuses, pick something, and work. The fact that people will buy this app because it'll finally help them write without distraction just...bothers me. Maybe because I was there before. Anyway, don't take it personally--your app is selling like gangbusters, and it looks like a great user experience.

24 points by sp4rki 16y ago

djacobs 16y ago

Is the title alluding to Barthes' book of the same name?

oloolo 16y ago
Yes. Barthes discerns between texte lisibles (readable) and texte scriptible (writable). Which was one of the inspirations to switch our focus from readablity to writability and create Writer. In Barthes' theory things are a little bit different, though ("readable" and "writable" indicate different kinds of written texts, not text in and post creation).
- davnola 16y ago
  His distinction is maybe analogous to binary (readable) and source+makefile (writable). Minor point: "text" here covers all sorts of artistic creations (TV, music, fine art), not just the written word.

fbcocq 16y ago

"this application turns this flat thing on the lap into the most efficient tool for writing that I know of." Writing using your index finger on a touchscreen seems like a huge step back in terms of productivity and ergonomy to me.

oloolo 16y ago
You'd be surprised.
- fbcocq 16y ago
  Sure, suprise me. I'd really like to see a video of someone typing for an hour or two on an iPad without needing a chiropractor afterwards and in the end producing more text than he'd produce on a laptop or netbook with a stock text editor. If you have trouble focusing, maybe it's because your body is in an awkward posture. I don't own an iPad, but even thinking about the angle, that I'd have to look at it from while it rests on my lap, hurts my neck.
  - oloolo 16y ago
    "I don't own an iPad" — but you know better than those who have used it for hours and hours (http://twitter.com/#!/iA/favorites http://twitter.com/#!/iA/favorites)...
  - maxawaytoolong 16y ago
    I don't own an iPad, but even thinking about the angle, that I'd have to look at it from while it rests on my lap, hurts my neck. The iPad's form factor is exactly the same as reading a book or writing on a tablet of paper, two activities that have been going on for centuries. Not that reading and writing are the most ergonomically correct activities, either... but the notion that the iPad is contributing to a new form of neck pain is a bit ridiculous.
    - oloolo 16y ago
      And then there is that black thing that puts it at an angle...
    - achompas 16y ago
      You can write on a tablet with one hand. You need two hands to type on the iPad, unless you're reclined in the "Steve Jobs-on-a-couch position" or hunched over a table.
achompas 16y ago
The buzz around Writer comes from Focus Mode, not necessarily the WPM you churn out. Your WPM is lower because of iPad ergonomics, but it seems writers backtrack less with this app, so their realized WPM improves a ton. At least that's what iA says.

achompas 16y ago

This app really bothers me. Writer is sold to people "who can't concentrate while writing," and it seems iA believes the success of the app means the app really helps people focus. But as anyone on OSX knows, people have a voracious appetite for these kinds of apps (WriteRoom, Ommwriter, ZenWriter). This doesn't mean these apps help anyone write. Rather, it says people who want to write spend a lot of time thinking about their tools. Instead of, you know, actually writing anything. So there's a market of aspiring writers who obsess over text editors. iA releases Writer, and expands the "zen text editor" market to iPads. Now these aspiring writers can "focus only on their words" on the go! Only, they spend time complaining how, in landscape, you can only see 6 lines of text. Or how it's hard to move around your doc and regain context. If you really enjoy writing, any other app would get the job done. Hell, pen and paper or a typewriter would get the job done. Instead, iA's tapped into this market of people who want to write but "can't focus." And I feel for them, because their writing tools aren't the problem.

oloolo 16y ago
Maybe you should actually try the app before you judge it. There are better and there are worse tools to work with, believe it or not. Besides Burroughs there are literally hundreds of people that tried it and love it emphatically: http://twitter.com/#!/iA/favorites http://twitter.com/#!/iA/favorites They're not all idiots.
- achompas 16y ago
  I've seen your Twitter feed--it's full of accolades. Congrats on a great app release. I'm not picking nits with Writer, though. My problem is with the family of "zen apps" that help writers "get in the zone," including yours. If someone is frequently distracted when they write, they either (a) need to get away from the internet when writing, or (b) reevaluate whether they enjoy writing. It's like the programmer that can't decide between Emacs, Vim, TextEdit, or other IDEs. Stop making excuses, pick something, and work. The fact that people will buy this app because it'll finally help them write without distraction just...bothers me. Maybe because I was there before. Anyway, don't take it personally--your app is selling like gangbusters, and it looks like a great user experience.