[HN Gopher] Engineering a modern-day typewriter in which less is...
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Engineering a modern-day typewriter in which less is more
Author : giuliomagnifico
Score : 25 points
Date : 2021-09-21 11:38 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (alum.mit.edu)
(TXT) w3m dump (alum.mit.edu)
| jaggederest wrote:
| I think it would be interesting to see a modern purely mechanical
| typewriter. CAD would make a big difference in the process of
| design, I think, and the result might have some interesting
| properties and aesthetics.
| nielsbot wrote:
| I assumed (and hoped) this was mechanical from the title. I was
| a little disappointed to find out it was electronic.
| nielsbot wrote:
| Another angle would be electro-mechanical. A la the IBM
| Selectric series.
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Selectric_typewriter
| mongol wrote:
| I understand the value of distraction-free writing. But I think
| it must be much easier to acccomplish using a regular laptop and
| special software. Something you boot into and only allows
| creative writing. No distractions, just options to edit, save or
| power off. A special writer's OS. Is there not anything like
| that?
| II2II wrote:
| It has certainly been done before, though perhaps not to the
| extent your suggesting. In the early days of Ubuntu, I ran
| across a modified live CD that included OpenOffice and little
| else. It was advertised as being a distraction free environment
| for people who needed to do writing, though it was probably
| better geared towards those writing papers for school than
| professional writers.
| kajecounterhack wrote:
| I think it exists, but it doesn't work for everyone. I have
| some writer friends who use the Freewrite and really appreciate
| it. Also the greyscale screen with no backlight is a different
| experience.
| i_am_proteus wrote:
| Get an old chromebook that can boot linux, install a minimal
| distribution without much more than a text editor,
| dictionaries, and thesauruses. Disable the wireless internet.
|
| Cheaper than one of these things.
| looki wrote:
| George RR Martin still writes his books with the DOS program
| WordStar. Given the pace he releases books at, this might more
| be out of preference than desire to focus though...
| boznz wrote:
| I still occasionally use Freedos and a wordstar compatible
| editor I wrote in 1991, I dont even go to the DOS prompt I
| just boot strait in to it. The biggest problem is still
| getting my work off this machine to a networked one so I can
| back it up or publish it, used to use a floppy when those
| were an item but now using a serial file transfer program..
| all pretty clunky.
| mongol wrote:
| "Sharp Fontwriter" could be a second hand alternative. Not cloud
| connected certainly, but plenty of options on Ebay....
| zokier wrote:
| I'm all for simple distraction-free tools. Heck, I've
| occasionally pondered about buying actual typewriter to write on.
|
| But Freewrites look pretty bad. Display that looks almost the
| size of this HN comment box does not really evoke long-form
| writing in my head. The specs say the display is about as tall as
| iPhone on landscape, but of course much narrower. Not having
| hinges really simplifies the mechanical design, but ergonomics-
| wise having display at desk-level on a shallow angle sounds like
| a recipe for neck pain. The Traveler version fixes that with a
| more traditional clamshell design allowing you to angle the
| display but then you inexplicably lose maybe the most important
| aspect of all, good keyboard. Sibling comment mentions lag, this
| is the sort of device I'd expect minimal input latency to sustain
| that immediate immersive feel.
|
| 60-80 column display, good mechanical keyboard, comfortably
| angled display. That what would make me a happy camper.
| jareklupinski wrote:
| hmm I'm guessing this form factor would be an even harder sell?
| https://www.lupin.ski/images/portfolio-full-9.jpg
|
| i can touch-type fine, but for some reason my eyes drift back
| down to the keyboard anyway.... so I stuck the display there :P
| zokier wrote:
| I do give you points for ingenuity there!
| II2II wrote:
| One piece of advice that I've run into is to turn off the
| monitor while writing. The argument was that anything can serve
| as a distraction while writing, even the writing process.
| Editing served as an example. It is best done after the writing
| is done since some writers are hindered by perfectionism while
| most writers would benefit from having a concrete version of
| their work before fine tuning it.
|
| In other words, the screen is not very important while writing
| the initial draft. (Granted, a screen is useful to ensure that
| the words are being recorded as intended.)
| AnimalMuppet wrote:
| > I'm all for simple distraction-free tools. Heck, I've
| occasionally pondered about buying actual typewriter to write
| on.
|
| I'm more old-school than you. I actually do a lot of writing on
| actual paper, with a pen. As-you-write edits are easier even
| than on a computer (I just move the pen to the spot that I
| want, rather than having to move the cursor[1]), and I can
| write anywhere - wherever I think best, not wherever I have
| power.
|
| But I don't want to write on a typewriter. Edits are
| _incredibly_ painful there.
|
| [1] Yes, I know, it feels like the cursor just goes where you
| look. It doesn't, even on an editor that you've used for 30
| years.
| spoonjim wrote:
| Apropos of nothing, if anyone has a child who is just starting to
| read, consider getting them a literal typewriter if you can. What
| I found is that my son could type entire stories and messages
| years before he had the motor skills to write anything by hand.
| Dylovell wrote:
| This is somewhat tangential. My brother had brain surgery at a
| young age, and it severely effected his communication
| negatively. He had ten years of speech therapy, and through all
| of that he was writing things in word processors (maybe 2 hours
| every few days). If it was directed at you he would print it
| out and post it somewhere you would see it. He even wrote
| "Rules for Chipmunks", and posted it at chipmunk eye level;
| when we started to have chipmunks coming into the house one
| year.
| infide1castr0 wrote:
| I have never tried out one of these, though I have seen the
| adverts before and thought they looked quite cool. I wonder how
| useful for the Art of Writing, however, going "backwards" really
| is. I am all for distraction-free writing, and think that
| ignoring some (if not all) of the attention economy is a
| wonderful life decision. However, wouldn't the lineage of writers
| look fondly upon certain aspects of technology? To put it another
| way, I would love a device like this (or even just an updated
| Alphasmart from back in the day) that could also include
| something like gemini network connectivity, allowing the fruits
| of my distraction-free writing to be incorporated into my life
| here in 2021.
|
| Will certainly be on the lookout for such 'revolutionary'
| devices.
| LanceH wrote:
| The freewrite is hugely expensive, and the software janky. I
| have had it get stuck in a reboot cycle multiple times. Beware
| the 90 day warrantee which won't help if the update throws you
| into endless reboots after 90 days.
|
| The e-ink display updates a little slow, which is fine, if
| you're writing at draft quality. If you're editing, you really
| can't jump around the page at all, and backspacing to correct
| words is cumbersome.
|
| The build quality feels like it is a generic e-ink display,
| hard plastic case, mediocre keyboard and a raspberry pi (or
| equivalent) stitched together. While it is hard, it doesn't
| feel rugged at all.
|
| When it works it does it's job well for throwing a first draft
| of writing onto the page -- which is what I've used it for. The
| long battery life from e-ink display is nice as well. Having a
| real keyboard compared to the flat-key chromebooks or small
| laptops is nice as well.
|
| I really want to like it, and it is nice when it's working and
| I'm just throwing text -- and by this I mean prose, nothing
| like markdown -- out there to see what sticks for editing
| later. For being a single task item, it failed to be hassle
| free and that just kills it for me.
| eigengrau5150 wrote:
| You'd probably be better off buying a secondhand AlphaSmart 3000
| or Neo if all you want is a battery-powered keyboard with an
| itty-bitty LCD screen that stores what you type and then feeds it
| into an editor buffer on your main computer via USB.
|
| Or, if distractions are that big an issue for you, stop dicking
| around with a computer, get a good fountain pen, and start
| writing in notebooks.
|
| A Pilot Metropolitan will cost you about $20-30.
|
| A Platinum Procyon will cost $60-80.
|
| Both take proprietary cartridges, but you can also install piston
| converters that let you refill your pen using bottled ink.
|
| Goulet Pens has a good series of "Fountain Pen 101" posts and
| videos, but the friend who persuaded me to get into using a pen
| has been getting his stuff from JetPens.
|
| https://www.gouletpens.com/pages/fountain-pen-101
| queuebert wrote:
| Vim with a lock-out mode would be enough.
| adamquek wrote:
| ShortCircuit reviewed and revealed many flaws of the Astrohaus,
| including the laggy response and the high price tag. It also bets
| the question on who is it really for? Was the product a solution
| to an existing problem or was it innovation for the sake of
| innovation?
| falcolas wrote:
| FWIW, given how so many writing programs provide "distraction-
| free" writing environments, there's definitely a niche market
| for it.
|
| This - a digital typewriter - is simply a natural extension of
| that. It's kinda like a kindle for writing - hyper optimized
| for one particular activity.
|
| That said, lag would be aggravating. Manageable (lag is one of
| the original drivers behind the VIM interaction method), but
| aggravating.
| eigengrau5150 wrote:
| > It also bets the question on who is it really for?
|
| It's for writers with more money than sense (or tech literacy)
| who aren't hipster enough to have one of those "portable"
| mechanical typewriters.
|
| https://www.typewriters101.com/store/p334/1927_Remington_Por...
|
| If a writer is really worried about avoiding distractions, they
| could start by turning off their laptop's Wifi and closing
| everything but their word processor. If their only word
| processor is Google Docs, they could install LibreOffice or try
| a plain old text editor.
| lykahb wrote:
| I regularly use Alphasmart Neo for long-form writing, so let me
| share my perspective.
|
| Having a small screen does not feel limiting. It is enough both
| for writing continuously, the focus of Freewrite, and for editing
| the last few sentences. I wish it had better contrast and
| adjustable tilt, though.
|
| Syncing via emulating a keyboard ensures that I can pair it with
| nearly any device. This gives more peace of mind than using a
| proprietary service Postbox or wondering if it will stop working
| with the next standard of WiFi. Also, wireless connectivity comes
| at a cost of autonomous time.
|
| There is a community https://www.flickr.com/groups/alphasmart
| that has many discussions of Alphasmart and other writing
| devices. It goes back more than fifteen years.
| mwcremer wrote:
| I understand the TRS-80 Model 100[1] is (still) a hot seller in
| this market.
|
| [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Model_100
| Causality1 wrote:
| A pedantic point: this is not a modern typewriter. This is a
| modern _word processor_.
| hexo wrote:
| Looks nice, could be even nicer and more modern if it used
| ortholinear keyboard <3
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