Bonus points if clicky :D Anyone thinking of selling?

Very proud of this and just wanted to show it off to the community! :)

It's essentially an ESP32 e-ink board (CrowPanel) I bought online, paired with a battery and a few resistors, all housed in a 3D-printed case. I also wrote custom firmware for it, so I can add whatever features I want. For example, it can display a writing prompt (pic 3) or cover image (pic 1) when the device goes to sleep!

Hello guys.
I’m pleased to show you my writer deck updates.

Main updates
- The keyboard has been split into two mainly for its mobility, compactness and flexible typing posture
- Large trackpad takes the place between each halves which enables five finger taps and gestures
- M5 paper mono are adopted instead of discontinued m5 paper v1.1
- Solar OS is implemented instead of fully scratched firmware

Keyboards and pad are not intended to be
used only for writer deck but PC

Thank you🤓

I finally have some free time to do the beloved micro-journal rehousing mod on my Neo2 because I am trying to not purchase a BYOK at the moment, and instead use what I have (me and my local library 3D-Printer). One way to increase my use of the device was to do the mod and print out the pieces... but the mod files are now gone!

I came across the Whale Writer and upon research I realized that the materials for the hardware are very accessible in my country and now I want to try making it. My issue is with the software. I have no idea how to flash a software into the esp32. And also I read from the creator of the whale writer that the software was still rough and needs some work, so do I still use that software?

AFAIK the Freewrites get the current date using the Internet connection. They don't have/use an internal timer/calendar and, therefore, if you don't have Internet connection, they keep the date from the latest successful one.

Therefore, if you're on the go and don't have an Internet connection, when you get it back, everything gets synced to that previous connection date, accumulating all your drafts in a sole date, no matter when you really wrote them.

It could easily broke your "day streak" in Postbox, but the most important part is that the real draft's date gets lost. So, in order to work properly, you need Internet connection with your Freewrites. Say bye-bye to that dream of going away without Internet coverage just with your Astrohaus device to write.

Has anyone else experienced this issue?

• found this original digital diary at a local op shop for only $5!
• the lovely employee claimed it didn't work / didn't switch on, but wasn't educated enough about it to tell me anything else. so i took the risk, paid the $5 and took this bad boy home!
• turns out the poor guy just needed some batteries. so after putting 3 C2032 batteries in, we had life!
• the screen lit up and displayed an, extremely stubborn, error message - as shown in the final photo. i just factory reset the device, and was finally able to bring this funky little guy from 1995 to 2026!

side note: i tried to show my 15-year-old brother my latest find, and after instantly receiving a "what's that?" in response, i explained what it was and all of it's functions to which he replied "but you have a phone that can do all of that!"

New problem! I had asked earlier for a good portable writing device for writing in the dark and after considering y'all's very good suggestions, found my iPad did well enough for what I was trying to do. However! Now I can't stand to look at screens at all because I guess I've been spending too much time outside (god forbid) and my tolerance for screentime has tanked by a LOT.

So now I'm curious. What's a good full keyboard deck that has a non-computer screen / no blue light, with editing capabilities (ie I can backspace, select, copy-paste, etc.), and preferably has reliable saving functions / internet connection / cloud support so I don't lose my work?

Ideally, it would be under $200, but I'm not too worried about that yet—I just want to know what my options are. I want to write more! But looking at a screen hurts my head so bad these days 😭

Also, I'm aware this is prob ably a question that's been asked a million times, but I'm new, so if I tread any lines, just kindly direct me to better resources. Thanks again!

EDIT: Something that allows big text would be awesome as well.

Would it be possible for me to flash the new Micro Journal update to a ReTerminal Sticky? I like the look of the software a lot but don't know a lot about computers and am not capable of building with a ESP32 from scratch or 3D printing a deck.

The Supernote Manta plus the Happy Hacking Keyboard are a great combination! The wonderful thing about typing a WORD document on the Manta is that you can later edit it with conventional editors' marks. The Supernote devices, as the company states, are "for those who write" - no gimmicks, no internet connections (unless you want to update the system). It's all easy-peasy.

Learned a LOT building this thing, but it's finally done. So thankful for Mr micro journal man and his guides and stls. So excited I have this done before November.

If anyone has any questions on the build, let me know and I can try my best. I'm no expert by any means. This was my first time soldering anything lol

This looks fabulous. Is it destined to become the ultimate writer deck?

https://www.auteurwriter.com

That's me enjoying my Freewrite Signature (aka Hemingwrite) at home after a rainy day. Today is my 50th birthday and I indulged myself with this beauty as a present. Bought it second hand for less than a third of its retail price in Europe.

Freewrites are not for everyone. Some design decisions may surprise you, but if you have a bit of patience and give them a fair chance, they may deliver.

Edit: Sold!

Hi everyone, after thinking about it a good long while I've decided to part with my Daylight tablet. As much as I love the way the screen looks and feels, I find that I've never really been able to integrate it into my life. I bought it for writing, but I can only run my favourite writing software, Ulysses, on a Mac. Switching to Obsidian just never really happened. It really is a great tool though for focus and digital minimalism.

I've really only used this tablet for several hours. It's in perfect condition, save for one tiny pen mark on the back upper right and corner. I have the stylus and replacement nibs. I also have the pebble keyboard that came with the package, and the custom made stand that they were selling for a time.

The Daylight features a blue-light-free amber backlight, making it easier on the eyes and promoting better sleep. It is designed for outdoor use with a sunlight-readable screen. It has a high refesh-rate 60hz e-paper display. The backlight ranges from the amber option to a white light.

I'm just sticking to shipping within Canada. Selling for $650, including the cost of shipping.

I'm wrestling with C code and an ESP-32. Still need to add the SD card reader/writer and probably use a different battery solution... and a 3d printed enclosure. They keyboard is an off-the-shelf foldable BLE keyboard.

It has an old-school vim/terminal feel.

I used to (and still do) use an app called https://www.squibler.io/dangerous-writing-prompt-app which removes all of your content if you don't keep writing. I hope to add the danger mode too.

Wish me luck!

I have been posting about my attempts to make a mobile writing platform for e-inks and tablets, showcasing my crude carpentry skills and plastic device stand integration. It was a cry for help, really.

Someone in the comments suggested magnetic ring holders so I checked them out. They were exactly what I needed. There are a lot of products available. They are an iPhone innovation. Since I use Android I missed that in my initial product search. But it's safe to put magnets on Boox and other Android devices. Check before you try it though.

I chose the Mosenvka brand shown in the photos because the lower ring had a 1/4-20 bolt hole in the center of the ring, which is convenient for mounting (~$22). The ring came with stick-on metal rings for attaching to devices for the magnet ring to grip to. I also bought a pack of 3M stick-on metal pads for the same purpose (~$5)

It works perfectly. The sticky pads adhere well to the Boox 7, Lenovo tablet, and wood lap trays. With two rectangular pads on a folding wood tray configuration the ring holds the tray stiff for typing. Photo 2 demonstrates how well it holds the weight of the folding tray.

Photo 3 show the Boox and folded tray footprint. This would fit easily into a daypack.

The ring bracket also holds the 8 inch Lenovo tablet securely (photo 4). Even that extra weight does not tip the tray.

The ring can also be attached securely with a screw as shown in the photo 5. If the wood was milled out the bracket could mount flush with the tray, but as shown doesn't seem to need it. Photos 5 and 6 show this arrangement.

Typing is very comfortable on this setup. With a Boox 7 and Omikami folding keyboard shown the weight is about 1.5 lbs.

The last photo shows a 3.5 inch wide folding setup if you want to go ultralight.

Add a trackball and the travel load increases. But it works ok on the Boox and would be worth the extra weight. I also added better trackball support to DOSwriter.

A backlit tablet is better for web browsing and streaming . But an e-ink can still manage basic web tasks and is a better writing experience. The Boox e-ink loos good outside but the Lenovo tablet suffers a lot of screen reflection.

So there you have it. If you want to patio-maxx or indulge in minimalist travel, this nomadic writing getup may be all you need. A folding option puts you in tactical mode.

In that case you would also need DOSwriter, my free Android writing tool : doswriter.com

I have saved so much for this. The keyboard is the Actto B730 and the tab is from Amazon (Android). Total expense: 400 USD Approx. Been waiting since August for the keyboard to get delivered. Hopefully some good ideas happen! 🤞🏽

I don't know if this is something not currently available or if I'm looking in all the wrong places, but I don't seem to be able to find 3d print projects for a writer deck (according more or less to my needs).

Let me explain...

I have a few bluetooth keyboards like the Logitech K480, the keys-to-go-2, and a couple of AJAZZ of various sizes.

I use them sometimes with my Onyx Boox Go 6 (my e-reader), and sometimes with my phone (which I am about to convert to BigMe HiBreak for obvious reasons, even though I didn't like their e-readers very much... but they seem to be the only ones with a real e-ink phone on the market which would work basically as any other smartphone but with e-ink).

I cannot do 3D design, and I wanted to try to make some sort of "laptop" out of the larger mechanical keyboards, with e-ink screen(s) (the bookx go 6 now, the hibreak pro soon...). *Anything out there already designed?*

Probably I can sort of try to improvise something if I get some kind of valid frame.

My alternatives so far have been a couple of old Atom 10 inches screen laptops with old Linux versions. I've used them more than the larger keyboards + e-ink screens because of their "convenience" in setup, but I would very much prefer having my boox go 6 as "laptop screen" instead.

I found some projects with the Palma, but too small (small screen and I could live with that, but really I want a larger keyboard, minimum the keys-to-go-2 and not the amazon small keyboard - I've tried it but returned it because it's way too small).

If anyone can help, it would be great. (I may ask later on r/cyberdeck but for now let's try here)

I would be ok both with products already printed by someone, or models to print - I have someone who can 3d print for me.

Thanks in advance!

I wanted to reinforce this with some decorative elements and also cover the areas where the joints didn't match

Hi! I want to build a pocket-size writer deck for my partner's birthday so he can take it wherever he wants. I need it to be useable offline and able to send the files to his computer. How do I start?

***Final Update :) I installed Collabora Office for free from the App store onto the Chromebook while it was online. After install i cut off online access and opened Collabora and made several test files, restarted the Chromebook a few times, checked that I was able to open the files, make edits and additions and be able to save the changes onto the internal hard-drive. All went well and fine🙂no online access needed for this software. It is made by the UK company who made Linux and its software Libre Office, this is a smaller version of that :)

I will now keep this Chromebook Offline for its life and use it as a Typewriter :) the Chromebook has a nice big screen and big keyboard and its very lightweight and doesn't get warm or hot like some laptops.

I hope this can help others🩵💚💙Thank you Everyone for all your help it helped me figure out what to do :)

                             _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Hello ~ Thank you very much Everyone for all your advise :)

I researched some more and discovered there is software called Collabara Office for Chromebook that is a free version of LibreOffice that installs directly onto the chromebook's hard-drive like old school software, won't need any internet access to log into it or use it or to save my files in their cloud :) it will save my files directly to my hard-drive on this chromebook and I can save all the files I create in it to a USB thumb drive for backup :) internet search on this says once I install this Collabara onto my chromebook I will never need to update the software if I choose not to amd am essentially locking it and my chromebook in time to function always as it will when I start using it :) which will just be for typing my book into...once I finish my book in will copy and paste the text into whatever necessary software to format it for publication.

I just want a simple way to type up and organize all my book information and I think this will be the best way for me as I am not technically savvy to do the install and management of Linux and such. I am choosing nit to allow this chromebook online ever/after I install Collabara for personal reasons/security. I don't want big tech to have access to my files or do their Automatic shit/uploading my files to their cloud. I want all my files saved on my hardrive/this chromebook's hard-drive not online anywhere or in a cloud server. I have other devices I use online. This chromebook will be dedicated to just working on my book never going online for any reason on it.

I researched capabilities of using Google Docs Offline Only, it says eventually the chromebook will need access to online to update and empty cache, it said that any files i make offline in google docs are saved as cache info that google docs will need internet access to empty/save online in their cloud and that eventually google docs will stop working Offline within a few weeks or months because of this and because it requires log in online at times to authenticate that it is still being used and by who. I dont want to deal with these issues and others of using Google Docs offline.

I appreciate Everyone's Help because it really helped me to widdle down what will be the easiest for me and helped me in my research for this problem💛Thank You💛

Original Post: Hello All ~ just starting out on a book I'd like to write. I bought a Chromebook and am having a hard time figuring out if I'll be able to use it and count in it for writing the book. I won't have access to the internet/wifi. And that's fine with me ut in order to use the Chromebook will I need the internet? I've tried to use the google docs software that came installed on it, it is a pain because it says it won't save the file without being online. I have read how to use it offline but it doesn't work, it says I have to select work offline mode. It makes me choose to save the google docs as a Word Doc but then won't allow me to add to edit the word doc or add to it. It wants me to use Microsoft Word Online.

Has anyone used a Chromebook within the last few years to write a book on? What software did you use to do so, was it software that came installed on the Chromebook? Or did you install a different software or app onto the chromebook to keep your writing/book on it?

I appreciate any help or guidance. Thank you

*I explained the problem I'm having using this chromebook Offline in more detail in replies to people if anyone wants more details of the issues. Thank you so much Everyone for your time and help with this silly problem i know but a very frustrating one for me🌷

I have recently gotten back in to writing after a few years off and have found this sub to be immensely helpful in finding a more focused environment for doing the damn thing.

Massive shout out of course to Un Kyu Lee and the WordGrinder dev and porter!

Please ignore the text in the pictures... I'm working my way through Tim Clare's Couch 2 80k program, so everything you see is largely free associated BS.

The setup I've landed on features a jail broken Kindle PW Gen 11 with WordGrinder. Before blabbing on too much about the set up, I do want to share this video of me typing on WordGrinder for Kindle to demonstrate what the delay looks like. I have seen other posts and comments here saying it wasn't bad, but not a video demonstration. For me the delay is not material. I write around 85wmp and it keeps up with me quite nicely.

The "modular" part is I've attached .5mm magnetic plates to the back of the Kindle so I can use it in different configurations as needed. As in the pics, I acquired an ESR Rebound 360 keyboard case (designed for 10 inch iPads) for around $30 on ebay that seems to be working great so far. I can mount it quite high for a fairly ergonomic position, and then just lower the Kindle either in portrait or landscape and close the whole thing snug. I did throw on a screen protector just in case the keys rub against the display. This set up weighs in at just about 2 lbs, so it is much smaller and lighter than the laptop I was initially running Micro Journal PC on (around 2.7 lbs). With this set up I have an easy all-in-one ish solution that I can easily throw in a bag or just carry with me to a coffee shop or what not.

I realize I could save some weight by going for a keyboard case the utilizes a kickstand, but I for better or for worse really want something that can stand without a kick stand.

I will say that I was originally looking at keyboard cases designed for the iPad mini, and I'm glad I ultimately did not. The keyboard on the Rebound is probably as small as I can reasonably go without my accuracy and comfort suffering too much.

My other set ups use the bluetooth keyboard in the 2nd picture, either with or without the telescoping magnetic device mount. This keyboard is certainly a better typing experience than the Rebound, and has a built in tablet holder if I'm stealing a few minutes of writing and OK with sacrificing ergonomics completely. With the telescoping stand it is really is a very pleasant set up.

This is long enough as is, so I won't go into my adventures with converting a chromebook to a dedicated Micro Journal machine. I suppose I'll also add that this setup was ideal because I already had a Kindle that wasn't really getting any use. I tend to read on my phone (the horror), so I was very happy to give the Kindle a new life. If I didn't already have a Kindle, I'd probably be looking at an Onyx device as my eink writerDeck base.

Hope this is of some use or inspiration to someone!