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Filed under: Business, Internet, Text, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Blogging, E-mail, Office, Productivity, Web services, Freeware

Writer - Dark Room / WriteRoom for the web

WriterFirst there was WriteRoom, which gave Mac users a very simple black interface in which to write. No distractions, just a black screen with glowing green letters, which probably appeals particularly to people that have been working with computers long enough to remember monochromatic terminals.

And it was a very cool idea, but there was nothing similar for Windows. Until Dark Room came along. Dark Room basically emulates WriteRoom's functionality on Windows.

So what's missing? A web-based version, of course.

Now, normally I'd say that doing a web-based version of a text editor when very strong versions offering identical functionality already exist on both Windows and Mac would not be worthwhile. But as much as Writer, the web based version, is simply replicated the functionality of these other applications, it still stands on its own merits.

Two things about it make it worth having in your bookmarks. The first is that you can use it anywhere. No memory key to carry around, no worrying about what OS you're using. It just works, wherever you are. The second is that if you create an account, all of your documents also follow you around.

So if you like the look and feel of Dark Room or WriteRoom, check out Writer.

Filed under: Windows, Office, Productivity, Freeware

Dark Room: WriteRoom for Windows

Dark RoomOn Friday I linked to a little app for OS X called WriteRoom, which is a minimalist word processor for writers. A few of the commenters didn't quite "get" it (sorry, folks, but maximizing Word and changing the colors isn't remotely equivalent to a distraction-free writing environment*), but a lot of writers certainly do, including one developer who missed it so much when he had to use Windows that he just built a Windows version. Dark Room is a WriteRoom clone for Windows that's just as minimal and just as free.

*Though one commenter suggested installing Word 5.5 for DOS, which is closer.

[Thanks, Sam!]

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So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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