[HN Gopher] Micro Journal: Distraction-Free Writing Device
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Micro Journal: Distraction-Free Writing Device
Author : skogstokig
Score : 42 points
Date : 2025-02-24 17:29 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| flakiness wrote:
| This reminded me of "Pomera" from Kingjim: https://getpomera.com/
| I tried it a long time ago but it didn't stick. Still glad to see
| a similar concept coming back here. It's just cool.
|
| What I like in this Micro Journal is the real keyboard though.
| The Pomera keyboard was very cheap (for portability.)
| smartmic wrote:
| Check out the Zerowriter Ink. Similar features/hardware but a
| slightly different form factor. Seems like a pretty attractive
| niche for startups.
|
| https://www.crowdsupply.com/zerowriter/zerowriter-ink
| carelyair wrote:
| What software is used for this?
| zokier wrote:
| depends on the edition
|
| https://github.com/unkyulee/micro-journal/tree/main/micro-jo...
| kstrauser wrote:
| I bought a Freewrite Alpha last summer and which I'd gotten
| something like this instead. The Alpha's great in many ways, but
| has _just_ enough aggravation that it makes me resent the thing a
| little:
|
| * I have a model without a backlight, and the screen's all but
| invisible unless you're under a light. Wake up and think of
| something you want to write? Either turn on the lights, or hope
| it actually turned on when you hit the power button and that
| you're not typing on a powered-off device.
|
| * Why, oh why, can it only remember 1 single Wi-Fi password? I
| write most of the time from home, but sometimes I like to go to a
| nearby coffee shop. If I connect it to the coffee shop's Wi-Fi, I
| have to manually re-enter my home password when I get back. I
| don't need it to remember thousands of networks, but maybe just
| the 3 or more most recent ones would cover the above cases, plus
| tethering to my phone.
|
| I joined the BYOK[0] Kickstarter last year. I hope it turns into
| the device I hoped the Alpha would be.
|
| [0] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/byok/byok-the-
| ultimate-...
| joseda-hg wrote:
| Not really a fix, but I encounter this regularly (Usually with
| my e reader), I just named my Phone's hotspot the same as my
| home network (Same password too) and connect the phone to the
| public WiFi
|
| It has other problems (Like security, if you're connecting
| other devices), but it makes it simple enough
|
| Edit: Maybe make it the same SSID as a guest network, that way
| you avoid your other devices thinking it's a trusted network
| kstrauser wrote:
| That's an option, for sure. I've thought about doing exactly
| that, but stopped because of the security issues. And that
| doesn't help with the coffee shop / hotel / office issues,
| unless I want to use tethering 100% of the time I'm outside
| the house, which I don't.
| smarx007 wrote:
| Pen and paper, thank me later.
| throwanem wrote:
| I have a distraction-free writing device. It's called a notebook
| and it cost eight dollars.
| kstrauser wrote:
| Lovely! I envy your ability to handwrite my thoughts as quickly
| as I can type them.
| egypturnash wrote:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shorthand
| throwanem wrote:
| > I envy your ability to handwrite my thoughts as quickly as
| I can type them.
|
| Not _your_ thoughts, certainly. But for matters of any depth,
| not only code, I find the limit on speed tends rarely to be
| set by speed of transcription.
| kstrauser wrote:
| The limit on _your_ speed, as you pointed out. There are
| times I stare at a screen for an hour and then add a comma
| to fix a bug. There are other times I 'm writing long walls
| of text as fast as I can get them out of my brain. That's
| the sort of thing the device in this article we're
| discussing is meant for. And for me, I cannot possibly put
| pen to paper as quickly as I can put chars on a screen (or
| ribbon ink onto typing paper, for that matter).
| taeric wrote:
| I'm assuming this is a bit facetious, that said, I think it
| is worth exploring.
|
| Yes, you can use short hand to learn to write words faster,
| such that you may be surprised at how fast people can
| actually write. Certainly, you'd be surprised at how slow
| some people type. Especially when thinking.
|
| More pertinent for notebooks, though, is how unstructured it
| can be. Learning to use the space of a page is a big thing
| that I could never really replicate with text on a computer.
|
| Easy places this is relevant. Math when trying to work out
| something. Anything pictorial that I don't know how to type
| out. Graphical spots where I want large parts of it
| "scratched out" such that it is not relevant for the note I
| am taking now.
| kstrauser wrote:
| I take plenty of paper notes, especially for math,
| diagrams, and other things. But we're here talking about an
| article about typewriting devices, and in the context of
| the kinds of things you'd write long-form on a typewriter,
| "just use a notebook!" is insultingly unhelpful.
|
| I've tried _for decades_ to write long-form things without
| it causing my hand to cramp up painfully. I know what 's
| wrong, and I also accept that at this point there's not
| much I can do about it. If I could use an $8 notebook
| instead of a keyboard, I'd be doing it already.
| BaudouinVH wrote:
| sounds like freewrite but in name imho
|
| https://getfreewrite.com/
| ElijahLynn wrote:
| This looks really great! I am glad you are also selling them, I
| might give it a go. Love that you can send to Google drive too!
| rkagerer wrote:
| Reminds me of a typewriter, but without the solid and satisfying
| thunks.
| lenova wrote:
| Reminds me of the Alphasmart, it was such a great device:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart
| jay-barronville wrote:
| > Reminds me of the Alphasmart, it was such a great device:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaSmart
|
| Agreed. I own one of the early AlphaSmart devices (I own and
| collect some old-school software and devices) and I plan on
| keeping it for a long time.
| walterbell wrote:
| Another option is an iPad and keyboard in Assistive (single-app)
| mode, give the password to someone else or write on paper.
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