The idea of a low-distraction laptop OS is a good one, but I'm not sure that this is necessarily the best approach.
If I mentally model such a thing myself, I end up with something that looks a lot like Classic (pre-OS-X) Mac OS. It's simplified and has just enough presence to properly host graphical applications. No taskbar, no notifications (or associated drawer), no self-populated launcher menu. File manager is spatial so it doesn't need a sidebar or navigation chrome. Multitasking is technically possible, but high-friction since the only way to switch between running apps is the little app switcher menu in the top right corner and becomes more cumbersome the more apps/windows you open. Included browser does not support tabs, only windows. Shortcuts to frequently used apps must be added intentionally (to your desktop as aliases/shortcuts or to the launcher menu).
This design strongly encourages singular focus without forcing it. If you want to have music playing in the background or need to open a browser window for research you can, but gravity is constantly pulling you back towards your task since the machine isn't pleasant to use for goofing off.
This is intended for people who want to use a laptop as a single use device for the purpose of writing. So basic file management and a word processor is all that is needed.
WriterdeckOS is not meant to be an OS for general computing.
Purppose built writerdecks are quite expensive. WriterdeckOS is a practical, inexpensive and resourceful alternative to a purpose build device.
The idea is fine, though the execution seems obnoxious for getting your writing out of your system. The trouble is, depending on what you’re writing, Tilde might be a massive downgrade. For novels, I find something like Scrivener essential.
I’ve looked into a few options like this over the years (e.g. the Freewrite, or even an old Alphasmart), but always came to the conclusion they added more friction to my writing process, not less.
While I don't have a use for this, I do like the idea of purposeful modes in computing. Obviously there is a lot you can do with shortcuts and preferences, but its nice to have a limited to base to start with.
I think this is even more important with a mobile platform since for one, battery and processing power is at a premium, and two anything with notifications could take you out of your desired "mode" if you don't wrangle them properly.
Something I've always wanted in a smartphone is to be able to boot into a "camera only" mode. There have been many times where all I need my phone for is as a camera, and I don't want it wasting resources/battery doing anything else. If this mode were light enough, it could boot up in the same amount of time as a normal digital camera, allowing your the phone to be truly off while you're not taking pictures. I do often take a digital camera with me, but sometimes I don't want the bulk or maybe I didn't initially plan to take a lot of pictures.
Running a linux-kernel on the bare-bones pre-bootstrapped UX, whixh is hotplugged as prior OS compilation either as .py scripts or extricating numpy functions.
I've created something in a similar fashion. I have a dedicated machine for writing with ArchLinux, nvim+plugins, zk and kiwix. Not much else to it really. I've been thinking about pulling the wireless card out of it, but so far internet discipline hasn't been a huge issue, the main thing is that I know when I'm using that machine it's time to work.
I really enjoyed using CherryTree on top of Git with automatic commit and sync. Getting readable diffs (via using XML as an output format) is meaningful.
I like the idea of a distraction-free writing environment.
However, when I'm writing, I find I sometimes need to do research. I suppose for the best writing flow I should block time for research and time for pure writing. However, if I discover I need to look something up, a hard block on internet access would be a problem. Of course it's a slippery slope from researching something on Wikipedia to navigating to related articles. Timed access per hour?
> However, if I discover I need to look something up, a hard block on internet access would be a problem.
When I'm in "writing mode", I forbid myself from doing quick lookups, because I can almost never stick to the "quick" part of the process, and end up chasing rabbits. Instead, I just put something like (verify) or (research to confirm yay/nay) while writing, and move on to what I can do in the moment. Then much later do I go through with a "editor" mindset and address all those things in one go, rather than in the moment.
I guess kind of like picking work into a queue rather than doing it immediately, and leaving it hanging until I can work through the entire queue in one go.
The old timey trick is to write “TK”, for “look this up later”. It’s not a common letter combination so it’s easy to visually or automatically scan for. Example:
> The moon is TK miles from earth.
Write away, don’t get distracted by the details, and catch up afterward when you’ve shifted to editor mode.
They do, I use a custom one that has <NAME>TODO: so I can find stuff before I rebase, nothing should be pushed with that one, IntelliJ let’s you customise the colour by matching on a regex.
The solution is simple -- switch to another device!
Our minds are hard-wired to build habits via physical association. Having a single-purpose device very much fits with how our minds work. If we want to do research, then go to a research enabled device. If we want to focus on writing, then open the writing focused device.
Even more basic, I will often use the Lookup option in the macOS right-click menu to get a quick definition just to make sure I have the right spelling correction. If it’s a correct spelling of a wrong word, that can be harder to find later and difficult to remember the intended word later.
For example…
Whether - expressing a doubt or choice between two alternatives.
I like https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/ and have used it for years and years, you can configure the look and feel pretty extensively.
Lots of ways to skin that cat (especially if you are a linux user) but focuswriter does everything I need, very little I don't and there is a frame/mindset shift to using the same tool for a specific task.
* There's definitely a place for well-designed and genuine solutions for these, when most of the tech application and platform space is dominated by design for engagement, sales, and flashiness, with what might be considered pervasive dark patterns.
* The choice of using shell commands for file management, and for getting files onto and off the device, seems like it could increase distraction, or make the device uninviting.
* Many writers -- whether they're bloggers/substack-like, newsletter writers, self-published books-writing, or working with a traditional publisher -- have many other writing and non-writing professional tasks that they might like to do without juggling multiple devices. So they might want a single that is designed for low-distraction, but that can run ordinary GUI apps like Web and email, when needed. The low-distraction design might include modes, in which you can set the device for writing-only mode, and then sometimes enable Web&email research functions, Web&email administrative functions, Web&email social-marketing functions, etc.
(A lot of that last function set, for social-marketing, involves accessing engagement/cesspool-oriented social media directly rather than through automation, if you're engaging genuinely, which is massive distraction, and maybe you just don't want to have possible from this device, and keep it on a phone or tablet instead. But for self-publishers, there are also some professional marketing Web sites that you are more likely to want to access directly from this professional low-distraction device, when in that mode.)
Probably to help you avoid being distracted given the higher friction of rebooting if your dual booting or going to another device vs just launching another browser tab..
Kind of a sidenote, but I really hate these page transitions. They're way too slow. Especially because the site has a 114-kilobyte 908-rule inline CSS stylesheet. If you're going to make me download this much CSS, at least make sure it doesn't render your site unusable for nearly a full second even after the page loads.
This is my first time hearing of the "WriterDeck" concept, so it's very possible that I am missing some context, but... While booting to text requires less work and less packages, it seems like it has a lot of caveats. Firstly, it will likely be unreadable on any laptop that has a high resolution screen, and frankly even some old cheap laptops have one at this point, at least 1.5x~ish-scale DPI. Secondly, obviously better typography can be done in a graphical user interface, which seems like something you'd want if you're going to be writing on something. Thirdly, while the utter lack of distractions is admirable, this will also lack even the most crucial features and information. For example, I don't think you will even realize if your battery is about to die, which seems like it is a good way to accidentally lose a bunch of work. Battery state is probably the only thing that I really think it must show you.
It would definitely take a bit more work but a tiny dedicated graphical environment that functions as a basic text editor seems like it could go further. No particular need for Wayland or X11 here, either; you could get away with a simple Qt application directly on KMS/DRM.
a single fucking screenshot would go a long way to convincing me this is real. considering I lost an hour yesterday trying to use an open source library that turned out to be vibe coded non-functional slop, I have to ask for evidence that the project is real and functional be presented front and center
No guarantee what is in the ISO is the result of applying that shell script to a fresh debian ISO and repacking (no guarantee the other way but eh not taking the time to dig into it).
My critique as a designer is that no typographic measure has been added (eg max-width), so it’s very hard to read.
I’d suggest to them that they make a column in the middle for the text that is around 40 characters wide and Lee text flow in that.
This is used by many text editions for their distraction free mode. It’d add more typographic ‘white space’ around the outside also, contributing to the calm and focussed intentions.
I don't understand why they don't release it as a simple script, or better a config from a tool like puppet achieving idempotency.
That opinion can also apply to many distro derivatives using the same packages as the original. Releasing images for what are just minor changes of configuration seems like a waste of storage, bandwith and energy in general.
Make a new user. Login. Uninstall the apps you don’t want. Uninstall the web browser.
You don’t really even have to set up an autostart script to turn off WiFi for this user, but you can if you want. The user not having a web browser installed should be enough.
If I mentally model such a thing myself, I end up with something that looks a lot like Classic (pre-OS-X) Mac OS. It's simplified and has just enough presence to properly host graphical applications. No taskbar, no notifications (or associated drawer), no self-populated launcher menu. File manager is spatial so it doesn't need a sidebar or navigation chrome. Multitasking is technically possible, but high-friction since the only way to switch between running apps is the little app switcher menu in the top right corner and becomes more cumbersome the more apps/windows you open. Included browser does not support tabs, only windows. Shortcuts to frequently used apps must be added intentionally (to your desktop as aliases/shortcuts or to the launcher menu).
This design strongly encourages singular focus without forcing it. If you want to have music playing in the background or need to open a browser window for research you can, but gravity is constantly pulling you back towards your task since the machine isn't pleasant to use for goofing off.
WriterdeckOS is not meant to be an OS for general computing.
Purppose built writerdecks are quite expensive. WriterdeckOS is a practical, inexpensive and resourceful alternative to a purpose build device.
For more information on writerdecks check out:
https://www.reddit.com/r/writerDeck/
Was for my kid in this case. Loaded a few education-friendly games and then disabled the wifi. Now it’s a simple, focused, and relatively safe box.
Could easily do the same for writing or any other activity.
I’ve looked into a few options like this over the years (e.g. the Freewrite, or even an old Alphasmart), but always came to the conclusion they added more friction to my writing process, not less.
I think this is even more important with a mobile platform since for one, battery and processing power is at a premium, and two anything with notifications could take you out of your desired "mode" if you don't wrangle them properly.
Something I've always wanted in a smartphone is to be able to boot into a "camera only" mode. There have been many times where all I need my phone for is as a camera, and I don't want it wasting resources/battery doing anything else. If this mode were light enough, it could boot up in the same amount of time as a normal digital camera, allowing your the phone to be truly off while you're not taking pictures. I do often take a digital camera with me, but sometimes I don't want the bulk or maybe I didn't initially plan to take a lot of pictures.
https://terminaltrove.com/categories/text-editors/
Something GUI with nice enough proportional fonts and autosave seems like a very bare minimum here.
It's targeting people who want to write without distraction who might have never used Linux before.
However, when I'm writing, I find I sometimes need to do research. I suppose for the best writing flow I should block time for research and time for pure writing. However, if I discover I need to look something up, a hard block on internet access would be a problem. Of course it's a slippery slope from researching something on Wikipedia to navigating to related articles. Timed access per hour?
When I'm in "writing mode", I forbid myself from doing quick lookups, because I can almost never stick to the "quick" part of the process, and end up chasing rabbits. Instead, I just put something like (verify) or (research to confirm yay/nay) while writing, and move on to what I can do in the moment. Then much later do I go through with a "editor" mindset and address all those things in one go, rather than in the moment.
I guess kind of like picking work into a queue rather than doing it immediately, and leaving it hanging until I can work through the entire queue in one go.
> The moon is TK miles from earth.
Write away, don’t get distracted by the details, and catch up afterward when you’ve shifted to editor mode.
Our minds are hard-wired to build habits via physical association. Having a single-purpose device very much fits with how our minds work. If we want to do research, then go to a research enabled device. If we want to focus on writing, then open the writing focused device.
For example…
Whether - expressing a doubt or choice between two alternatives.
Wether - a castrated ram
That one letter makes a big difference.
Lots of ways to skin that cat (especially if you are a linux user) but focuswriter does everything I need, very little I don't and there is a frame/mindset shift to using the same tool for a specific task.
* The choice of using shell commands for file management, and for getting files onto and off the device, seems like it could increase distraction, or make the device uninviting.
* Many writers -- whether they're bloggers/substack-like, newsletter writers, self-published books-writing, or working with a traditional publisher -- have many other writing and non-writing professional tasks that they might like to do without juggling multiple devices. So they might want a single that is designed for low-distraction, but that can run ordinary GUI apps like Web and email, when needed. The low-distraction design might include modes, in which you can set the device for writing-only mode, and then sometimes enable Web&email research functions, Web&email administrative functions, Web&email social-marketing functions, etc.
(A lot of that last function set, for social-marketing, involves accessing engagement/cesspool-oriented social media directly rather than through automation, if you're engaging genuinely, which is massive distraction, and maybe you just don't want to have possible from this device, and keep it on a phone or tablet instead. But for self-publishers, there are also some professional marketing Web sites that you are more likely to want to access directly from this professional low-distraction device, when in that mode.)
Being able to toggle a mode in your desktop environment / window manager / etc would do a lot
It would definitely take a bit more work but a tiny dedicated graphical environment that functions as a basic text editor seems like it could go further. No particular need for Wayland or X11 here, either; you could get away with a simple Qt application directly on KMS/DRM.
The screenshot provided does show a battery indicator in the top right of the UI (Usage section).
https://github.com/tinkersec/writerdeckOS/blob/main/initialC...
Also I'd be semi-wary about downloading ISO files from somewhere like this and running those on hardware on my network (in fairness always should be) but especially given this https://github.com/tinkersec/TwitterAccountTakeover/tree/mas...
No guarantee what is in the ISO is the result of applying that shell script to a fresh debian ISO and repacking (no guarantee the other way but eh not taking the time to dig into it).
Not sure why such over-the-top presentation, marketing, and community building, for what is basically auto-logging in to a text editor.
My critique as a designer is that no typographic measure has been added (eg max-width), so it’s very hard to read.
I’d suggest to them that they make a column in the middle for the text that is around 40 characters wide and Lee text flow in that.
This is used by many text editions for their distraction free mode. It’d add more typographic ‘white space’ around the outside also, contributing to the calm and focussed intentions.
That opinion can also apply to many distro derivatives using the same packages as the original. Releasing images for what are just minor changes of configuration seems like a waste of storage, bandwith and energy in general.
Take your standard Linux distro…
Make a new user. Login. Uninstall the apps you don’t want. Uninstall the web browser.
You don’t really even have to set up an autostart script to turn off WiFi for this user, but you can if you want. The user not having a web browser installed should be enough.
That’s it, you’re done.