4 ms·

Could I interest you by chance in an Alphasmart word processor? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart

yamtaddle 4y ago
Right—that, but stick a big e-ink display above it. USB port and bluetooth so you can use an external keyboard (though a compact attached keyboard/stand isn't a bad idea, even if it's kinda a shitty keyboard). Like this, but instead of printing your finished line to paper it "prints" to e-ink: https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY1WDEwMjQ=/z/IA8AAOSwQ59ZZBmO/$_86.JPG https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY1WDEwMjQ=/z/IA8AAOSwQ59ZZBmO/$... But, you know, not huge.
- cstross 4y ago
  The Freewrite folks are currently doing a fundraiser on Indiegogo for Freewrite Alpha, their take on the Alphasmart concept, only using e-ink: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/freewrite-alpha-distraction-free-writing-anywhere/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/freewrite-alpha-distracti... (I personally wouldn't touch one -- I need multiple lines of text in order to frame my thoughts in context, never mind that I like being able to dive online to do impromptu research as I write -- but I can see it appealing to some folks. 100 hour battery life is the obvious draw.)
  - jawon 4y ago
    Exactly this. About 7 years ago I bought a secondhand Alphasmart and started using it. I loved it for what it was but I had to stop using it because I could not see enough of what I had written. I’m now using a Pi with a monitor in portrait mode and FocusWriter to write. It is a fantastic single purpose writing device. But I would pay money for something similar with reasonable screen real estate I could stick in a bag.
    - jawon 4y ago
      Turns out the FreeWrite team make a clamshell style device with a larger screen called the Traveler: https://getfreewrite.com/products/freewrite-traveler https://getfreewrite.com/products/freewrite-traveler But at $779 AUD I could buy a small, basic laptop and set it up as a dedicated typewriter.
  - selfhoster11 4y ago
    The mechanical keyboard is a must-have for me, but £240-320 retail is a bit much. I'm sure the cost can be reduced here.
- culopatin 4y ago
  So… an eInk laptop?
  - yamtaddle 4y ago
    Sort of, but with a one-line old-school monochrome text LCD. You type and edit your line there for near-instant input latency, and the e-ink screen only refreshes when you change lines. It's how that kind of electric typewriter worked, except instead of e-ink it printed to paper when you finished a line.
- wishfish 4y ago
  Now that I think about it, it’s a little surprising there hasn’t been a first party keyboard attachment for Kindles, Kobos, or the reMarkable tablet yet. Maybe the reMarkable at least supports keyboards via bluetooth. There’s many of us who would rather have the kb instead of the stylus. Or with the kb as main input with the stylus supplementary.

yamtaddle 4y ago

Right—that, but stick a big e-ink display above it. USB port and bluetooth so you can use an external keyboard (though a compact attached keyboard/stand isn't a bad idea, even if it's kinda a shitty keyboard). Like this, but instead of printing your finished line to paper it "prints" to e-ink: https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY1WDEwMjQ=/z/IA8AAOSwQ59ZZBmO/$_86.JPG https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzY1WDEwMjQ=/z/IA8AAOSwQ59ZZBmO/$... But, you know, not huge.

cstross 4y ago
The Freewrite folks are currently doing a fundraiser on Indiegogo for Freewrite Alpha, their take on the Alphasmart concept, only using e-ink: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/freewrite-alpha-distraction-free-writing-anywhere/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/freewrite-alpha-distracti... (I personally wouldn't touch one -- I need multiple lines of text in order to frame my thoughts in context, never mind that I like being able to dive online to do impromptu research as I write -- but I can see it appealing to some folks. 100 hour battery life is the obvious draw.)
- jawon 4y ago
  Exactly this. About 7 years ago I bought a secondhand Alphasmart and started using it. I loved it for what it was but I had to stop using it because I could not see enough of what I had written. I’m now using a Pi with a monitor in portrait mode and FocusWriter to write. It is a fantastic single purpose writing device. But I would pay money for something similar with reasonable screen real estate I could stick in a bag.
  - jawon 4y ago
    Turns out the FreeWrite team make a clamshell style device with a larger screen called the Traveler: https://getfreewrite.com/products/freewrite-traveler https://getfreewrite.com/products/freewrite-traveler But at $779 AUD I could buy a small, basic laptop and set it up as a dedicated typewriter.
- selfhoster11 4y ago
  The mechanical keyboard is a must-have for me, but £240-320 retail is a bit much. I'm sure the cost can be reduced here.
culopatin 4y ago
So… an eInk laptop?
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  Sort of, but with a one-line old-school monochrome text LCD. You type and edit your line there for near-instant input latency, and the e-ink screen only refreshes when you change lines. It's how that kind of electric typewriter worked, except instead of e-ink it printed to paper when you finished a line.
wishfish 4y ago
Now that I think about it, it’s a little surprising there hasn’t been a first party keyboard attachment for Kindles, Kobos, or the reMarkable tablet yet. Maybe the reMarkable at least supports keyboards via bluetooth. There’s many of us who would rather have the kb instead of the stylus. Or with the kb as main input with the stylus supplementary.