Just my type
I’m grateful for my laptop’s versatility, but I curse the way it slows my work rate. For example, typing words should be relatively straightforward, but this very paragraph has been interrupted by diversions ranging from pop-up cricket scores to impulsive web searches for curtain fabric.
The Zerowriter Ink offers no such distractions: it’s a simple word processor with a mechanical keyboard, an e-ink display and the ability to make you a little more productive. It’s designed by Adam Wilk, an Ottawa-based tinkerer who constructed a prototype in late 2023 using a Raspberry Pi computer and 3D printer, and posted a tutorial video on YouTube. Enquiries about availability led to a successful crowdfunding campaign, and devices began shipping late last year. It’s not the only stripped-back word processor out there – Freewrite and Pomera make similar products – but Wilk’s inspiration was the AlphaSmart Neo, a low-cost device launched in 2004 for the North American education market. While the Freewrite is designed to have barely any editing capabilities, the Zerowriter Ink, like the Neo, lets you edit, cut, copy and paste if you wish. “These features are opt-in,” says Wilk. “I don’t want to tell people how to work. It’s just a tool.”
