The concept of the writedeck has been around for several years. From a certain point of view, it is the heir of the typewriter, and offers a distraction-free environment. The market has tried to fill this gap with some interesting products, but the premium they carry makes them almost prohibitive. So we come to the DIY space, and the Cyber Writer project by Darbin Orvar. With the help of a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and a custom ultra-lightweight environment, the pleasure of writing doesn't have to be tied to pop-ups and subscriptions.
More than ten years have passed since I first talked about the Hemingwrite, now called Freewrite for legal reasons. Further back in time appear AlphaSmart devices, which historically targeted primary and secondary educational environments. The interest in replacing the classic typewriter with distraction-free digital solutions is much bigger than it seems, however, they are not free of difficulties.
On one hand, AlphaSmart disappeared in 2005, and on the other, the minimum investment to access a FreeWrite is 349 dollars. Such a number is hard to justify, and beyond the affordable hardware available, we can also follow the DIY route. So we come to the Cyber Writer project by Darbin Orvar, which uses a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W as a starting point.
Cyber Writer: Write and Nothing Else
Anyone would have imagined that Darbin would look for a portable design, but he decided to combine Baltic birch and laser-cut MDF for the structure, creating a casing inspired by old terminals. The hardware is undoubtedly much simpler than the woodwork. The Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is connected to a generic 10.1-inch screen, while the 60% mechanical keyboard connects directly via USB. A series of cables, adapters and switches reduce the number of soldering points to a minimum, and the keyboard had to be removed from its casing for the final installation.
Unfortunately, Darbin kept all the advanced details about the software to himself. We only know that it is a custom word processor under a minimal X environment to reduce startup times. The processor has a basic file explorer, allows changing font size and background color... but the only way to get files out of the computer is by sending an email. I think for version 2.0, Darbin could simplify access to the microSD card...
Sources: Darbin Orvar, Hackaday
