I am hoping that someone (maybe me!) will make a "write/program in the sun"-friendly e-ink Linux computer, A5 sized.
Use cases: Patio bars in Austin Texas, sunny Medellin Colombia, outside plaza cafes in Barcelona.
Thank you!
Writerdeck.org
21–30 of 64 posts
Re: Writerdeck.org
#22I am hoping that someone (maybe me!) will make a "write/program in the sun"-friendly e-ink Linux computer, A5 sized. Use cases: Patio bars in Austin Texas, sunny Medellin Colombia, outside plaza cafes in Barcelona. Thank you!
Not a Linux machine, but 14 and 16 inch MBPs with something like the Vivid app do really well in sunlight in light mode. I enjoy working outside on mine.
Re: Writerdeck.org
#23I used to try and optimize my distraction-free writing setup, until I realized that by doing so I was distracting myself from writing. I’ve come to realize that if you want to write, then just write. It sounds oversimplified, but that’s the crux of it. Once you get over the initial hill and form the habit of writing, tools no longer matter.
There was a point in university when I was trying to find the "best" note taking system to be organized and as efficient as possible. Tried some tablets, did latex live during lectures, markdown, you name it. Each time I wanted to do something I'd get blocked on deciding where to write.
Then I realized that I spend more time about thinking about how to organize my notes than actually taking the notes, or even more importantly focus on the content.
That was a freeing realization that got me unblocked. Now I do not have a "system". My thoughts go wherever is most convenient at that moment, I have papers lying around, docs, Apple notes. If they turn out to be important, they'll naturally become structured.
That being said, whenever I see some tool like this, I still have a passing thought - ah, that's a great system I should have it, it will enable me to be more productive :)
Re: Writerdeck.org
#24I still don't get how one is supposed to easily get docs to and from this machine.
It's billed as a distraction-free writing device, but if you're supposed to quit the program, stick in a thumb drive, issue commands to mount it, copy the files from some unknown location, dismount, and return to the program, then it's a pretty distraction-full experience.
There basically needs to be a single program (an "OS" in a sense of the word even if it's based on Linux) that is launched upon boot that does more than just editing docs but can also trigger a shutdown, automates mounting of media and copies files over, show overall disk usage, dictionary, spell checking, etc.
Re: Writerdeck.org
#25It's hard for me to see the advantage of using one of these over pen and paper: - distraction free (except doodling) - lower power consumption - expressive in a way that typing can never be - tends to discourage editing as you write edit: and less eye strain
Expression is a bit distracting though, especially if the ultimate goal is to publish text. Doodles and character size changes probably won't make it into a printed manuscript. I'd argue that's why tools like Microsoft Word are bad for writing; such software displays unimportant thing front and center like changing colors and fonts when ultimately we just want to customize the semantics of text like conveying a quote or code or basic emphasis.
Re: Writerdeck.org
#26I used to try and optimize my distraction-free writing setup, until I realized that by doing so I was distracting myself from writing. I’ve come to realize that if you want to write, then just write. It sounds oversimplified, but that’s the crux of it. Once you get over the initial hill and form the habit of writing, tools no longer matter.
There are a lot of hobbies like that. More than half of woodworking discussions are not about woodworking, but how to setup a great shop and what tools to put into it. Musicians often talk about and trade guitars more than play. Sewing is often more about collecting fabric than doing something with it. That is just a short random example, there are plenty of more.
None of the above are bad things. There is nothing wrong with the above so long as you are honest about it, but it starts to consume time that you think you are spending on something else. Woodworkers need a place to work - while must great things are made in a kitchen that not an ideal location (OTHO I have a nice shop but still work in the kitchen because it is faster to get there). Likewise, your guitar is a part of your sound and so you really should try others from time to time; sewers should have some fabric to work with. Many "woodworkers" changed their goal is restoring old tools as well, which again is fine but not what the hobby it about.
So back to the question: what is the goal? If the goal is to write, then you need to write most of your time. Once in a while it is fine to ask "would a better keyboard be worth it", but if you are not spending the majority of your time on writing tasks (which is mostly editing) you are not a writer.
Re: Writerdeck.org
#27I used to try and optimize my distraction-free writing setup, until I realized that by doing so I was distracting myself from writing. I’ve come to realize that if you want to write, then just write. It sounds oversimplified, but that’s the crux of it. Once you get over the initial hill and form the habit of writing, tools no longer matter.
There was a point in university when I was trying to find the "best" note taking system to be organized and as efficient as possible. Tried some tablets, did latex live during lectures, markdown, you name it. Each time I wanted to do something I'd get blocked on deciding where to write. Then I realized that I spend more time about thinking about how to organize my notes than actually taking the notes, or even more im…
5mm (cheap) A4 Pad on my desk and a pen - nothing important/with duration longer than a day or two goes in there (but I write the date at the top right of each page and keep them on a two month sliding date window), I tried taking a photo of each page but realised I never looked back more than a couple of months so just stopped bothering.
Everything else I just throw around on the filesystem wherever makes sense for the thing I'm doing.
Re: Writerdeck.org
#28I remember that in the early 2000s, when Internet access was scarce where I lived, most of my writing (including writing software) happened offline. Everything I needed to do my work was available offline. This included physical books like K&R and the Core Java series that sat on my desk as well as entire sets of documentation such as MSDN discs, Javadoc HTML bundles, the Python documentation and whatever manuals shipped with compilers and IDEs. It was common to curate all the documentation you needed and keep it on your local disk as HTML or PDF.
In fact, back then the phrase 'online documentation' did not refer to anything hosted on the Internet. 'Online' simply meant 'on the computer' rather than 'in a printed manual'. So online documentation covered man pages, info manuals and the integrated help systems built into environments like QBASIC, Visual Studio (not to be confused with Visual Studio Code), Emacs, Vim or the WinHelp and CHM viewers on Windows.
I sometimes wonder whether that sort of entirely offline workflow is still viable with an ordinary computer with no Internet connection. In limited cases it is. Retrocomputing with something like QBASIC is an obvious example, since it comes with a complete hypertext manual accessible through Alt+H C (for Help > Contents) or F1 for looking up documentation for the current identifier. I still follow this style while working on my Emacs workflows and packages since all of Emacs documentation (including that of every single package installed) is available locally with the helpful C-h bindings. I am also glad that Go and Rust make viewing documentation on the computer so convenient.
But I'm not sure this style of development is possible, in general, anymore for the vast majority of software development since software today have so many dependencies and each dependency may have its own bespoke way of publishing documentation.
Re: Writerdeck.org
#29I am hoping that someone (maybe me!) will make a "write/program in the sun"-friendly e-ink Linux computer, A5 sized. Use cases: Patio bars in Austin Texas, sunny Medellin Colombia, outside plaza cafes in Barcelona. Thank you!
The refresh rate on e ink makes them awkward for coding. Scrolling through a text file or terminal window. Browsing files. Etc. Web dev would be very cumbersome.
Everything gets slowed by it. Even typing fluently feels rough at less than 1Hz.
We need a biiiiig improvement in e ink displays before any products like what you describe could be good.
Re: Writerdeck.org
#30I remember that in the early 2000s, when Internet access was scarce where I lived, most of my writing (including writing software) happened offline. Everything I needed to do my work was available offline. This included physical books like K&R and the Core Java series that sat on my desk as well as entire sets of documentation such as MSDN discs, Javadoc HTML bundles, the Python documentation and whatever manuals shi…
For Rust, you can generate offline documentation (as HTML and JS files) for your crate and all dependencies. I’ve used this for working in airgapped environments.