[HN Gopher] Enso: design constraints of a focussed writing tool
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Enso: design constraints of a focussed writing tool
Author : rpastuszak
Score : 48 points
Date : 2024-11-20 13:45 UTC (9 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (untested.sonnet.io)
(TXT) w3m dump (untested.sonnet.io)
| luqtas wrote:
| you can always install Emacs and put this at your init.el file;
|
| (menu-bar-mode -1)
|
| (scroll-bar-mode -1)
|
| (tool-bar-mode -1)
|
| pronto, a solid decades old platform that is privacy oriented
| (whatever that means on text editors); runs flawlessly on Android
| too, has an easy sync with Syncthing (just add (global-auto-
| revert-mode) for real-time synchronization) to your
| computer/server; ALL shortcuts are customizable so you can set
| Copy/Paste/Cut to whatever is most ergonomic and crazy stuff like
| accessing your ibuffer with i-search mode for an easy navigation
| at your files that's keyboard-centric but you can use your mouse
| with its buttons doing whatever you want/set, just fine; org-
| mode...
|
| it can even run on a, distraction free, terminal ^-^
| methyl wrote:
| This is truly an infamous Dropbox comment moment
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224
| rpastuszak wrote:
| I get this comment quite often tbf, but I enjoy the slight
| variations of configs people share :)
| spudlyo wrote:
| Is it though? That comment recommended a hodge-podge of open
| source tools to approximate what Dropbox offered in as a
| complete solution. GNU Emacs literally has a several decades
| head start on any new niche electronic writing tools and is,
| in my estimation, a towering achievement in this space.
| DoingIsLearning wrote:
| Warning: this comment may offend some in the Emacs
| community.
|
| > GNU Emacs literally has a several decades head start on
| any new niche electronic writing tools and is, in my
| estimation, a towering achievement in this space.
|
| I love Emacs but I had to spend more time that I would like
| to admit making changes to my init file in the first months
| of seriously using it. The 'average' user expects to be
| able to hit the ground running with reasonable defaults.
|
| A large fraction of my (blasphemous) changes was of course
| overriding keyboard shortcuts to match the expectations
| that average users have of what keyboard shortcuts should
| do, in at least the last 40 years of software. I don't have
| the mental bandwidth or appetite to learn incantations.
|
| So to me I see emacs as a tool no different from
| Notepad++/VS Code but a tool I can actually open the hood
| and mod to my needs/preferences that also happens to have a
| huge community that I can leverage with all the packages
| and minor modes.
|
| However, neither of this is realistic or practical as a key
| turn solution for the 'average' user looking for a
| distraction free editor.
| fipar wrote:
| I second your suggestion.
|
| Or, alternatively, do as I did and just have an entry for
| darkroom-mode in your visibility Hydra :)
| luqtas wrote:
| this 10 year old package was updated only 4 years ago! does
| it still works? /s
| jpcom wrote:
| in Clojure we come across this question all the time, it's
| really quite a delight when you realize that packages do
| not have a "Done" category on github; for some languages
| they need it.
| spudlyo wrote:
| There is also the writeroom[0] and olivetti[1] modes for Emacs
| that focus on a distraction free writing experience.
|
| [0]: https://github.com/joostkremers/writeroom-mode
|
| [1]: https://github.com/rnkn/olivetti
| ashton314 wrote:
| I use Olivetti whenever I have a single window visible. So
| nice.
| teddyh wrote:
| Emacs?
| fyt2024 wrote:
| I would use emacs in a blink of an eye. It is such an
| incredible and powerful software. Unfortunately it lacks a
| decent editor.
| ashton314 wrote:
| Alt-x package-install RET evil RET Alt-x evil-mode RET
|
| Har har, and I'm sure you know about that. What's neat though
| is that snippet should work _in plain stock vanilla Emacs--no
| need to setup package sources!_ Emacs 29 has gotten some
| much-needed improvements.
| thih9 wrote:
| For those who prefer vim:
|
| - https://github.com/junegunn/goyo.vim
|
| - https://github.com/folke/zen-mode.nvim
|
| - https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/140899
| turnsout wrote:
| Man, best of luck: "simplicity" and "personalization" are in
| pretty tight tension. Should inspire some interesting solutions!
| rpastuszak wrote:
| Yup, that's one of the reasons I've been quite hesitant to add
| any features of the past few years!
|
| I think it boils down to:
|
| - intuitive vs. learned design (think: a window with a big X
| button vs. a terminal;) - limiting scope creep (so far I've
| been ok with that in Enso)
|
| So:
|
| - the UI will have a hint of the additional features (more
| visible on the first load), BUT - it should be perfectly
| accessible, intuitive and visually appealing to new users
| (that's easy, because this app from a technical pov is a
| dumbed-down text field with autofocus on)
|
| An almost perfect example for me would be Winamp/WMP in
| 2000-2010s. You'd know instantly how to play your MP3s on it,
| but if you're curious/bored enough, you could customize the
| hell out of it, make it yours.
|
| Another one would be... a wallet with custom artwork! or, any
| small practical item that is often customized or personalized.
|
| So, something that feels mine but is also transparent, doesn't
| get in my way.
|
| (I'm still thinking about finding the right way to describe
| this concisely. If you have better examples -- shout)
| jpcom wrote:
| "It doesn't get in my way, it doesn't try to extract value from
| me."
|
| How am I supposed to pay my internet
| listenfaster wrote:
| I really like your esthetic, and look forward to reading more of
| your open garage thoughts!
|
| Unpacking your state of mind as you try to be vulnerable in your
| journaling in your coffee shop mode post - something I deeply
| relate to. Nice to see this up front this morning.
| https://untested.sonnet.io/notes/sketch-enso-coffeeshop-mode...
| uoaei wrote:
| like a toy -> inspires play?
| maxace wrote:
| fun
| alganet wrote:
| ludic, then
| rpastuszak wrote:
| I like that. I like the word "plaything", but it doesn't
| capture practical things that feel playful.
|
| https://untested.sonnet.io/notes/why-make-toys-why-play/
| w-m wrote:
| I like the app and don't need any customization options.
| Downloaded it after an earlier HN discussion I think.
|
| The workflow of typing, then selecting a file name to save at the
| very end makes me somewhat uncomfortable. What happens if the app
| or the computer crashes? Will everything be gone?
|
| This stops me from writing for really long sessions in there.
| Don't want to type for an hour only to find everything is gone.
| rpastuszak wrote:
| OK, so:
|
| - almost _every_ keypress is saved (+ the size limit is in
| MBs), so there 's no need to worry.
|
| Having said that, this is really useful feedback - somehow it
| has never occurred to me that this is not obvious, which is
| silly. That's on me of course. Thanks!
|
| I'll: - add a save shortcut (for forced save) with a visual cue
| (e.g. a toast saying "saved") - add better copy + another way
| of marking occasional save points
|
| If you have more suggestions, shout.
| James_K wrote:
| A lot of the elements on this website overlap eachother.
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