I am obsessed with writerDecks.
WriterDecks are the ultimate unitaskers of the computing world: they are devices dedicated solely to the act of writing. The OG writerDeck is, of course, pen and paper. But in the digital world, they are these little computers aptly named after the cyberDeck, which is broadly a DIY’d computer with a retro, cyber punk vibe. Theoretically, they use head mounted devices or neural interfaces instead of a monitor and have this broader origin story in science fiction, which could be its own post. But in practice, they’re usually just Raspberry Pis connected to a little screen and keyboard encased in retro (or retro-looking) tech. writerDecks are word-processing-only cyberDecks: no apps, no internet, no distractions.
We could debate whether or not this makes me a more productive writer (it probably doesn’t, just like every productivity thingamajig I have tried in this lifetime). But is it fun? Abso-fucking-lutely.
I’m a big believer in spending some time to make one’s workspace a place you actually want to be. For me, that includes a chair with lumbar support, a prominent place for a dog bed, and a big monitor. In the digital world, it’s beautifully designed apps and a reasonably tidy file management system. I have angsted in the past about leaving beautiful but non-collaborative markdown for ugly but collaborative Word and Google Docs. Even if it has no impact whatsoever on my writing output, though, a nice writing environment certainly doesn’t hurt.
Enter the writerDeck! There are legions of DIY setups given how expensive many commercial ones can be. Astrohaus famously makes e-ink ones called the Freewrite that easily cost an arm and a leg (they start at $350, but one of their most popular models — the Freewrite Traveler — is $550). There are a wide range of commercially made decks, many of which are no longer manufactured but have a cult following (as “cult” this little niche can be). I own an Alphasmart Neo myself, back when it was possible to score one for $50 on eBay. Today, as they get more and more scarce, it’s more like $150. These babies run on AA batteries that last forever — I think I’ve changed the batteries once in the last decade-ish I’ve had it — and it has a satisfying keyboard and nice all-around vibe. I can make all sorts of excuses to avoid writing, but “the actual physical act and environment of writing sucks” is not one of them. My Alphasmart is having some issues, unfortunately, so I have since splurged for a (used!) Kingjim Pomera DM250. Once I fix the Alphasmart, I’ll probably switch between the two — the keyboard on the Alphasmart is quite nice, but the Pomera is definitely much more portable.
It’s funny, the history of these little machines. The Alphasmart was originally developed as a less expensive classroom tool to teach typing (compared to a full-on computer lab), and anecdotally they were especially popular in special ed. Ironically, I think they’ve actually come full-circle as an educational tool: it is actually the perfect alternative to in-class blue books for writing exams to address concerns around AI. The retro models are essentially keyboards with slightly larger calculator displays that let you see three ish lines of text (adjustable font), and it is functionally impossible to do anything but type — even transferring files requires a special cable found only for printers these days. It has no WiFi capabilities. The newer ones have “apps” in the form of a dictionary and calculator, which are definitely usable but annoying enough that it’s not worth it unless you’re desperate. Since you can only see 3 lines at any point, even if you did find your way to AI-ifying the thing, the display would make it incredibly cumbersome. It’s great at doing one thing, and one thing only: letting you write.
I’ve thought a lot about how I could put this in the classroom, but I’ve never actually talked to anyone about it (I probably should). As a solution, it doesn’t scale super well if you want a low-budget, commercially available version — I have actually considered buying a ton of Alphasmarts to use in my seminar classes, but eBay only has so many people clearing out their closets to sell these weird little machines. The newer ones — aside from being expensive — have WiFi capabilities (understandably), which allows you to sync your writerDeck with whatever cloud service you’re using. While some of these newer options sport a larger screen, I think that by and large it’s still annoying enough that it wouldn’t be worth the time or effort to put in whatever AI goop that is most popular these days. (It is theoretically more possible with the Pomera, but only slightly less annoying.)
I like the idea of using a writerDeck in class because it doesn’t require students to download spyware onto their computers and I don’t have to read inscrutable handwriting. The hardware makes it easy to write and hard to do basically anything else (even lots of editing is a little bit of a pain). I’m sure that there will be some extremely enterprising student who finds some way to game this (e.g. by surreptitiously using their phone, which has nothing to do with the typing medium), but for instructors who want to use blue books so that they can see how their students write in the absence of a chatbot? This seems like the golden choice. There are logistical details like how students functionally turn in assignments written on the devices, but this problem is relatively easy to solve with some creative pizzazz.
All said, students and instructors alike need a way to stop, breathe, and simply write. I think that writerDecks are a little glimpse into that future.