Did they just re-invent the word processor machine?

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ElectroSpore@reddit

Yes, intentionally, from the look of it but with the the processing power of a low end modern PC and network connectivity.

It even supports Google docs from the description. Those old word processors where essentially one app in physical form.

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bcentsale@reddit

I'm not seeing a link or description anywhere. I'm just curious what they're using for the actual word processing software.

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Calavera357@reddit

Click the original post and read OOPs description. There's a lot of details there.

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bcentsale@reddit

I'd love to. When I first clicked the post, it showed it as a repost. It's not currently showing the original.

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ElectroSpore@reddit

New reddit sucks but

Zotter is an e-paper word processor inside a screw less, friction-fit 3D printed chassis!

It uses a high quality 60% keyboard PCB with silicone bowls and Poron foam for great clacky sound and typing ergonomics (Tofu60 2.0 PCB with FR4 plate and HMX tactile switches). It uses a Soldered Inkplate 5Gen2 for displaying text (negligible latency!); it also uses a Raspberry Pi5 which runs the custom Zotter python app. On every keystroke, Pi5 compiles and sends the screen buffer (as a JSON) to the Inkplate which renders the UI in realtime. Pi5 also acts as an actor for the Zotero account, using the Zotero WebAPI's post/get/fetch functions.

Why I built it? It was fun! But also: a lot of Writer Decks relied on emails, Google docs, or swapping microSD cards, or worse, lock-in subscription services, just to transfer text content onto a PC for editing. Many of them are quite slow and do not support simple formatting features because there is no common protocol to transmit these. Headings, sections, emphasis, were all important parts of my writing process; I do not consider these distractions. I came to a realisation that 'distraction-free' writing is actually a phase (rather than a stage) in my drafting process. I do a lot of back and forth, and I need to return to distraction-free mode to do some edits, add a section, read something in a new context, and so on. So it did not work for me to just transfer my stuff to my laptop once and then do everything there.

Enter Zotero's WebAPI. For those who do not know, Zotero is an open source bibliography management software used by students and academics (and many others). It has been my notes app for well over a decade, because it features standalone notes written in rich-HTML. The device supports BibTeX references, notes in markdown, nesting directories and classes, in-line citation calls (crucial if you do academic work). Zotero is an overall terrific example of what open source libre software can do. Zotter is an e-paper client device that uses Zotero as its backend.

This is very much a work-in-progress (hence the lid off view) and I am currenly designing a custom unified PCB that has a USB multiplexer (so you can use the keyboard with your laptop) as well as trackball support (using PMW3360). I am also figuring out ways to slim down the linux stack that is running on Pi5 to give it a longer battery life. Also considering alternative display technologies like memory-in-pixel. Let me know if you have any ideas!

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bcentsale@reddit

That's freaking awesome! They 3D printed the case just yellowed enough that it looks like a piece of 40yo tech!

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MagickMarkie@reddit

Gives real "tech bros just invented trains" energy.

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SumpCrab@reddit (OP)

Yeah, this is what I was getting at. I remember writing my first school papers on something that looked suspiciously like this thing, and yet everyone seems to be trying to sell me on the advantages and improvements made. Well, I would hope the computing is better than the machines from the mid-80s, but how on earth is this an improvement to either a laptop, or a pen and notebook?

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xargos32@reddit

It's a way to write without the distractions available on a full computer but without the limitations of a pen and notebook.

The only problem here is that you don't understand the purpose.

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SumpCrab@reddit (OP)

Dude, I'm just pointing out that this is not new. It's something that was commonplace in the late 80s, when we were young, thus this sub. It's nostalgic.

But, my friend, "limitations of a pen and notebook"? A pen and notebook are way more versatile than this machine. If you want to write without distraction, grab a pen and notebook. Cheap, readily available, fits any format the writer wants, you can draw or write seamlessly, the possibilities are endless. I have yet to find any digital replacement that comes close to outperforming a good old pen and notebook.

I think this machine is cool, but it is most certainly aesthetic over function.

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Calavera357@reddit

The creator literally explains why they built the project. Not to reinvent anything, just to make something neat. Are people trying to "sell you" or are they just explaining to you why it's not as simple as some asshat hipster reinventing something and claiming they are a mastermind.

Some people just build shit for fun.

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bcentsale@reddit

That looks like a Pi 5, so it's got more than enough power under the hood. It's basically a low-end cell phone without the touch screen, intended to be able to get people in poor or developing areas, originally students, online, browsing the Internet, learning to code, handling every day computing tasks, etc.

For a writer, which is probably who thd maker had in mind, it's an improvement over a laptop in that there are zero chances of distraction, it cost under $100 in parts, and it doesn't force unneeded software or cloud services down your throat. It beats a pen and paper for writing anything of substance.

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Risikio@reddit

It's a Pi device.

It's essentially a functional word processing device, but that circuit in the upper right is essentially the entire computer. You can program to do some interesting shit depending on what peripheral you plug into them.

In this instance, he can take the pi, plug it into the keyboard, and it'll recognize the hardware present and internally load a program to synch with the keyboard, type out stuff on essentially a really really dumbed down Google docs, save it, then remove the pi.

He can then walk over to his TV, plug it into HDMI2 and plug a PS2 controller into it, and it'll recognize it being a PS2 controller and load up an internal program that allows him to play hundreds of old SNES ROMS that may or may not be legal.

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Ambitious_Jelly8783@reddit

Thia sounds like the equivalent of a hipster taking a typewritter to Starbucks.

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xargos32@reddit

🙄

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Risikio@reddit

Hipsters and hackers yes.

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xargos32@reddit

They made something cool. If you don't like it just move along.

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DifficultMinute@reddit

Reminds me of Dreamwriters.

Our school had 20-30 of those on a cart, with a built-in printer, for English classes to share and use.

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