WordGrinder: A terminal-based distraction-free word processor for writers

6

WordGrinder: A terminal-based distraction-free word processor for writers ☶ release cowlark.com
via zem 2 years ago | cached | 8 comments

8

I believe this is interesting-to-lobsters, despite the lack of a tag that would accurately apply to it (wishlist: [user-interface]). There are lots of distraction-free writing tools, but this is the first terminal-based one I’ve seen.

2

rodolfo 2 years ago | link

Reading the comments on the page, I found it odd that you have to import a txt file to edit it
2

calvin 2 years ago | link

despite the lack of a tag that would accurately apply to it (wishlist: [user-interface]).

I’ve suggested this, but the common opinion is to use design.

Anyways, it seems anyone using the terminal would likely be using non-WYSIWYG type word processors, rather text editors and markup of their choosing.
1. 2
  
  zem 2 years ago | link
  
  text editors are optimised for programmers, and markup for tech writing. a word processor is more of a writer’s tool, and the distraction-free “just the text” variety has been gaining popularity of late. if you think about it, why shouldn’t at least some of that target audience prefer the terminal aesthetic? it harks back to the good old days of wordstar and wordperfect (especially wordperfect 5.1, which had brought the dos-based wordprocessor to such a high degree of polish that the windows-based wordperfect 6 felt like a distinct step backwards)
  1. 2
    
    zzing 2 years ago | link
    
    I seem to recall this distraction-free thing going back quite a few years to at least WriteRoom on the mac.
    
    But now Wordperfect 5.1? I loved that program. Wordperfect 6 for DOS was a beast: I recall running it on a 286 with a 40mb harddrive. When you tried going to a menu, it loaded something off the drive. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of those overlays that were popular back then.
    
    I wouldn’t mind something like wordperfect 5.1 for LaTeX (a better LyX?) :P.
1

Screwtape 2 years ago | link

This page completely doesn’t load for me, in Firefox 45. If I look in the Web Console, I see about a million errors like:

Cross-Origin Request Blocked: The Same Origin Policy disallows reading the remote resource at http://www.polymer-project.org/0.5/components/paper-shadow/paper-shadow.html. (Reason: CORS header ‘Access-Control-Allow-Origin’ missing).

Does that happen for anybody else?
1. 1
  
  jcs 2 years ago | link
  
  Does that happen for anybody else?
  
  Yes. Do you have HTTPS Everywhere installed?
  1. 1
    
    Screwtape 2 years ago | link
    
    Ah, yes I do.
2. 1
  
  stip 2 years ago | link
  
  Yeah, it doesn’t load at all on Chrome Canary (50.0.2629.0).