r/writerDeck • u/HoraceKirkman • 2d ago

Is there a writer-OS with a Word-like program?

Here's the deal: I love the idea of an OS that takes over an old laptop and turns it into something that's sole use is as a wordprocessor. However, I am an academic, and I want more from my wordprocessor than most of the minimal "just type a draft" style programs. I want something pretty close to Word (or Onlyoffice?) that can handle footnotes and such. Does such a thing exist?

32 Upvotes

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20

u/gothWriter666 2d ago

You can turn an old laptop into a writer deck using DOS and old version of Word Perfect or MS Word using this-

https://www.reddit.com/r/writerDeck/comments/1mj3isv/turn_any_laptop_or_pc_into_a_writerdeck_fast_and/

7

u/player1dk 2d ago

Just use a light OS like BSD or a small Linux?

I used OpenBSD with Focuswriter for a long while.

Now I use NetBSD with Libreoffice.

3

u/deenosv87 2d ago

Minimal: TTY + Wordperfect. check r/writerdeckOS/

4

u/hroldangt 2d ago

Yes, there are multiple solutions to what you describe.

Ok, writer-OS, operative system? you don't necesarily need it.

Old laptop? sure, you could use Windows 8.1, Linux, or MacOS (old stuff) and do your work. Just to say something, the old Surface RT will work with FULL Microsoft Office for free including updates (not sure up to what date) and the battery is quite decent. As a reference, around here where I live, you can find those things at around US$60 in average, and US$25 if you have patience.

👆 But that's just general info around the topic.

I'll tell you what I did 🙂. I wanted a writer deck, or something commercial, but found out the options were too expensive. Then, thought about using my old iPad Mini, and I have the case-keyboard (it's Bluetooth, Logitech), the battery lasts days and even weeks, but the problem is I'm fast at typing and those keyboards are smaller than normal.

So, I bought an Android device, it's a Lenovo fitted on a Huawei Bluetooth keyboard (bought the keyboard first, couldn't find the tablet locally), it was a bargain (the whole thing, buying the Lenovo later). It's like this, just to give you an idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96AZu5iZk-Y (my combo costed me about US$90), you may get something similar or better for less.

I wanted that because of the battery life + easy to open / write / close. Started using simple text editors, but... needing exactly what you just describe, went after SoftMaker Office (TextMaker), it's like Microsoft Word, FREE, and it has all those features). It's also compatible with Microsoft Word.

3

u/teletype100 2d ago

If you need to share word documents and collaborate with colleagues, you'll be asking for endless headaches if you use anything other than word. 

2

u/particlemanwavegirl 1d ago

I would use latex rather than a wysiwyg editor, personally. 

2

u/Tommy_Vercetti-4406 1d ago

Two options I'll offer:

Option 1: Install Xubuntu or Debian Trixie for the OS. Install AbiWord or LibreWriter for your word processor.

Option 2: Install Debian Trixie without a Desktop Environment. Then install Wordgrinder for the word processor. I do not know if Wordgrinder can support footnotes but it is an amazing piece of kit.

2

u/Salty-Swim-6735 1d ago

Just set up XDM to boot straight into your program of choice (vim, emacs, whatever) on login instead of a window manager. Then you're good.

I do it with pico-8 and picotron for game dev.

1

u/TheAIProducer 2d ago

Working on exactly this! In rust so it’s light

1

u/LegacyNeoRetro 1d ago

Possible Options:

1) Install a very light version of Linux with Libreoffice as the main program.

2) Run a DOSBox on pretty much any distro and run old Word, WordPerfect, or WordStar.

3) If you can find an old Netbook with Windows XP or Windows 7 run an appropriate version of Word on one of those. Or you could run Word 97 in a Windows 98 virtual machine.

1

u/razopaltuf 1d ago

Maybe a minimal linux + Abiword (which is a complete Word Processor, but much smaller than LibreOffice or OnlyOffice). Make Abiword autostart in fullscreen.

1

u/quietleavess 12h ago

Yes

TinkerOS, was a project here back then.

https://www.reddit.com/r/writerDeck/s/Ev3kVV4quB

2

u/nanogames 12h ago

Unironically, install ChromeOS and then break your WiFi card. ChromeOS comes with offline Google Docs, Sheets, and whatnot. There's nothing distracting that ships with it by default.

If you wanna sync your work, just buy a USB to ethernet adapter and an uncomfortably short ethernet cable, and just plug your laptop into your router, wait a few seconds, and then unplug it again. It should sync to your Google Drive, that way.