I've been hoping (in an escapist fantasy sense) for a successor to the old Microwriter MW4, a small notetaking device with 6-button chorded input. That thing had only a single line screen though, which isn't so great for quickly reviewing what you've written...
In college, a roommate had "The Brother," a word processor/printer from the early 90s with a teenie screen that, in theory, allowed for editing prior to printing. The act of printing would shake our apartment and often that printing would occur at 3 A.M. It sounded like an armada of bombers lifting off the flight deck . . . those pages felt powerful.
Did your Brother create a massive amount of noise when printing?
And did it print after each line was finished? I think I tried to write a paper on it one time and decided the crowded computer lab was definitely preferable.
Me, investing twenty minutes to read an in depth review of a product that I’ve no intention of purchasing under any circumstances and which was not marketed to me in the first place: 🙂
Yes, exactly. I enjoy everything Mr de Boer writes, even when I have no interest in the topic and even when, as is often the case, I do not agree with him. Reading good writing is its own reward.
Gotta say (and please don’t ban me), ia writer (software you pay for) plus iPad and apple keyboard / turn off all other apps = perfection for me, and easy to replace / automatic backups for when I’ve run it over w heavy equipment etc.
Sure. And a lot of people are very happy with their iPhone and a $40 Bluetooth speaker. But some people aren't, and what frustrates me constantly about the tech press is that they act as though there's only one set of priorities, theirs.
I considered these devices but the lack of arrow keys, a frustration which you noted, drove me away. I ended up realizing I could by several typewriters for the cost of one Freewrite and went down that route. I also grew concerned of the company eventually trying to "Peloton" their business model and basically bricking the devices unless you pay a monthly fee to them.
Interesting. I was thinking of getting one of those computers they sell to the Amish which don't have any internet or image capability, but this might be better.
same, love the concept but i don't think i'd be able to work without being able to see what the hell i'm actually writing and to c/p paragraphs and sentences around as needed
Right?!? I immediately began to Google alternatives once I got to that part of the review. I love the product - want it very much and have a definite use for it, that I want it for. Fix that - or provide an alternative with that issue fixed - and I buy it today.
Alas, I found nothing. This does not do what I want, and there seems to be no alternative either.
Thanks, Freddie. Along somewhat similar lines… For those of us who write longhand, “voice to text” technology has gotten so good that, after my day’s writing, I just talk it into Scrivener and it’s 95% accurate and takes five minutes. Typewriter enthusiasts could do the same. Really useful. I used to spend hours typing up my notebooks.
Yeah, I would have the same problem with the size of the screen. Five lines at that size? Reading glasses, hell - if you can make that out at arm's length, your eyes are maybe not as old as the rest of you and certainly not as old as mine!
That's definitely a possibility, but I think everyone would take an 80 hour battery and twice the screen height instead of a 100 hour battery and the screen that's included
The screen is EXACTLY the height and font size of the Alphasmart so I do wonder if that is it. As a Alphamart user 2003-2006, I can tell you that the vertical screen issue was a problem then!
I’m still salty at not getting to waste most of a day reading comment wars in response to the Taylor Swift column.
I had a great comment ready to go.
Like the concept and wonder how it will evolve. Thank you.
But what I really want to know is does it do “smart quotes” or just "dumb quotes"
dumb but I think you can do that in Markdown?
That would work great as I write everything in markdown anyway. Thanks for the review!
I've been hoping (in an escapist fantasy sense) for a successor to the old Microwriter MW4, a small notetaking device with 6-button chorded input. That thing had only a single line screen though, which isn't so great for quickly reviewing what you've written...
It's like going back in time. In the 1980s many newspapers standardized on this as a reporting tool:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Model_100
In college, a roommate had "The Brother," a word processor/printer from the early 90s with a teenie screen that, in theory, allowed for editing prior to printing. The act of printing would shake our apartment and often that printing would occur at 3 A.M. It sounded like an armada of bombers lifting off the flight deck . . . those pages felt powerful.
I had one of those in college as well. As soon as I saw the screen on that Alpha, I realized that sometimes all that is old often becomes new again!
Did your Brother create a massive amount of noise when printing?
And did it print after each line was finished? I think I tried to write a paper on it one time and decided the crowded computer lab was definitely preferable.
Yes, it did: one line at a time.
Me, investing twenty minutes to read an in depth review of a product that I’ve no intention of purchasing under any circumstances and which was not marketed to me in the first place: 🙂
Yes, exactly. I enjoy everything Mr de Boer writes, even when I have no interest in the topic and even when, as is often the case, I do not agree with him. Reading good writing is its own reward.
just did same, enjoyed immensely 🙂
Gotta say (and please don’t ban me), ia writer (software you pay for) plus iPad and apple keyboard / turn off all other apps = perfection for me, and easy to replace / automatic backups for when I’ve run it over w heavy equipment etc.
Sure. And a lot of people are very happy with their iPhone and a $40 Bluetooth speaker. But some people aren't, and what frustrates me constantly about the tech press is that they act as though there's only one set of priorities, theirs.
I considered these devices but the lack of arrow keys, a frustration which you noted, drove me away. I ended up realizing I could by several typewriters for the cost of one Freewrite and went down that route. I also grew concerned of the company eventually trying to "Peloton" their business model and basically bricking the devices unless you pay a monthly fee to them.
A unitasker makes a lot of sense for a professional.
Does it make sense for Freddie to buy this to mow his lawn?
https://www.husqvarna.com/us/zero-turn-mowers/z454/
No. But if Freddie owned a landscaping business it would.
Or if he lived on an acreage in the country, city snake. =)
Interesting. I was thinking of getting one of those computers they sell to the Amish which don't have any internet or image capability, but this might be better.
Yeah, that screen height looks like a dealbreaker to me.
same, love the concept but i don't think i'd be able to work without being able to see what the hell i'm actually writing and to c/p paragraphs and sentences around as needed
Right?!? I immediately began to Google alternatives once I got to that part of the review. I love the product - want it very much and have a definite use for it, that I want it for. Fix that - or provide an alternative with that issue fixed - and I buy it today.
Alas, I found nothing. This does not do what I want, and there seems to be no alternative either.
I'm in the same boat. I'd be all over this with a taller screen, but as it is...
Maybe they'll hear the feedback and adjust in a few years. I'll still have a use case then, I can wait.
Good, thorough review. I hadn't heard of this until you mentioned it a few weeks ago. I may pick one up!
Thanks, Freddie. Along somewhat similar lines… For those of us who write longhand, “voice to text” technology has gotten so good that, after my day’s writing, I just talk it into Scrivener and it’s 95% accurate and takes five minutes. Typewriter enthusiasts could do the same. Really useful. I used to spend hours typing up my notebooks.
Yeah, I would have the same problem with the size of the screen. Five lines at that size? Reading glasses, hell - if you can make that out at arm's length, your eyes are maybe not as old as the rest of you and certainly not as old as mine!
Maybe the reason they didn’t make the screen taller is because that would diminish the battery life?
That's definitely a possibility, but I think everyone would take an 80 hour battery and twice the screen height instead of a 100 hour battery and the screen that's included
The screen is EXACTLY the height and font size of the Alphasmart so I do wonder if that is it. As a Alphamart user 2003-2006, I can tell you that the vertical screen issue was a problem then!
The WiFi connection is likely using much more power than the screen.