The Alphasmart Neo2: Bad UI as Good UI
It’s a bit of a cult item. The device was developed in the early 2000s as a portable word processor to teach typing to children. It contains ~8 files, each of which have space for ~10,000 words. That’s it. No internet, no email.
The Alphasmart boasts a full QWERTY keyboard, and a 4cm x 20 cm LCD screen. It runs on three triple A batteries, with a 700 hour battery life.
It’s almost comically simple. A screen to see the most recent sentence you’ve typed, and a keyboard to type it. In lieu of Function keys there are eight file keys that allow you to switch from one project to another.
The lack of features reduces external distraction, and the poor user interface dissuades compulsive editing and re-editing. The device resists distraction from without and within.
As a writer, my process is to braindump in the Alphasmart, and then transfer to my computer for editing. The transfer process is even more simple. Instead of dragging a txt file, the Alphasmart quickly types everything you’ve entered—a direct streaming of your braindump, as illustrated below:
