New Yorker Article: Can "Distraction-Free" Devices Change the way we write?

Posted by MadaboutDana
Jun 10, 2022 at 07:55 AM

I loved my AlphaSmart Dana, and took it everywhere with me. I had a ton of Palm software on it, too, so it was seriously useful for all kinds of stuff, although I used it primarily for rapid writing.

It had a battery that lasted 20-30 hours. It was the kind of device you can literally “throw in a bag” – all solid-state, two SD card slots, clear (backlit) screen (albeit monochrome).

If they’d kept it up to date with modern connectivity, I’d undoubtedly still be using it. It synced perfectly with my elderly HP PC laptop, and I could use excellent Palm apps like ListPro on it.

IMHO it beats the ghastly, clunky FreeWriter hands down.