WriteRoom Alternatives |
11/4/08 - 11am |
I’ve been jealous of Writeroom since the first time I laid eyes on it. Sadly, it is Mac only. Writeroom is a full-screen barebones word processor that allows you to do one thing: write without distractions. This application brings brainstorming back to the computer by keeping out all distractions and simply allowing you to focus. I can’t praise its usefulness enough, you simply need to try it.
There are several clones for Windows that attempt to accomplish the same thing. None are as polished as Writeroom, but are just as effective.
Dark Room is the most popular PC version. I used this for a long time and was pretty happy with it. However, it does require the installation of the .Net 2.0 Framework. This is a bit much to simply install a “basic” program such as this. I also had some funky behavior from time to time using Dark Room. (such as it leaving all of my Windows selection bars green after shutting the program down…)
Next up is JDarkRoom. This is a Java based app similar to the original Dark Room, but without the need to install the .Net framework. It is a little bit more clunky (as Java apps tend to be…), but I’ve found it expands upon the concept nicely with a few additions. This is the version I currently use and would recommend.
There are also a few other cloans that I have not tried:
http://codeboje.de/MatrixFSE/
http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Word-Processing/PyRoom.shtml
http://pyroom.org/
http://pomarancha.com/writemonkey/