Yearning for a Simpler Time by Neil McGowan

The last year or so has seen me coaxing more life out of my (admittedly rather old) laptops, to keep them running just that bit longer. As an engineer by trade, I quite enjoy poking around in hardware and software to see what I can tinker with to extend the working life of a piece of kit.

There are a couple of reasons behind this, and why I don’t simply buy a new laptop. Cost is one with choice and sustainability behind the other, although for me the two are somewhat linked.

Most obvious for me is cost – I can’t see the point in splashing out hundreds for a slighty newer version of something I already have. I don’t need anything too fancy – just some web browsing, office suite, and audio tools to rip CDs and play audio files. No need for high-end video as I’m not into movies or games. Problem is, the current craze for AI has driven the cost of IT kit through the roof. To add insult to injury, I’d also be paying the Microsoft tax to immediately wipe Windows off and install Linux. You can get bare bones machines but it’s not easy. I’m also not a fan of Mac OS (used to teach on it a while ago, and came to loathe how it restricted me to working the way it wanted) so that’s Apple off the list – nice hardware, but too locked down for me. But the real problem is, I just do not like Word. At all. Twenty years ago, it was fine; nowadays, it’s just a bloated mess, and they really don’t want you to but it, just rent it. And it’s so heavily tied to their cloud service (which I don’t use) that it makes my life difficult.

Which brings me to my point – what I really want is some sort of dedicated machine for writing, without all the fancy requirements for constant connection, monthly fees, etc. I currently use a mix of Focuswriter for first drafts (it’s a distraction-free writing tool with very little in the way of tools to get distracted with) that lets me get on with writing. For editing and formatting, I use LibreOffice’s Writer. It does virtually everything Word does but is free and not tied to anything. Is it is pretty as Word? No, but it works, and it’s a sight more responsive as well.

But what I really yearn for is a dedicated word processor. I used to have a Canon one that I bought in 1996 – 4 line monochrome display, saved basic text files to floppy disk, even had a built-in printer. I loved that machine – it went all over the world with me. I remember finishing my first novel on it when I was working in the Middle East.

Sad to say, it eventually died in 2006, and I’ve used PCs and laptops since then. I’ve been looking around recently to see if such things still exist and imagine my surprise when I find there is what looks like the ideal replacement for me – the Smart Writer, made by a company called Astrohaus.

However, it isn’t cheap – basic model starts at £700 and the latest is an eye-watering £1500. Ouch!

It does have cloud integration (thankfully that’s optional) and it doesn’t have a printer. Otherwise, it ticks all the boxes. But at that price, I could source seven or eight ex-business laptops and a laser printer.

It did start me thinking, though. Could I get a small-form Raspberry PI and build a case that includes a keyboard and monitor? There seems to be a few different plans online that can be 3D printed and assembled – more to make a general purpose laptop-style device, but I’m sure I could install a stripped-down OS with just the tools I need and get something close to what I need. And, being modular, there’d be no need to bin it if something breaks, just swap in a new component. And as a bonus, I could install an audio player so I could listen to music as I write. The thought is enough to make me rub my hands together in anticipation.

Now I just need to sit down and work out exactly what I’d need for such a project. And of course, find the time to actually build it.

Or, I could always try and sell more books and buy a Smart Writer...