Word Processor Zen

15, జూన్ 2014, ఆదివారం

Word Processor Zen

Students who are getting increasingly accustomed to the minimalism of mobile device apps may find Microsoft Office’s Word to be a bit cumbersome. While the open source freeware LibreOffice and the cloud-based and collaboration-friendly Google Drive are readily available to students who have modest financial means or an aversion toward the older-feeling Microsoft Office Suite, there are additional options to inspire students when writing assignments for class.

So-called “zenware” word processors allow writers to write without distraction, often with ambient colors, scenery, and music or sound playing in the background. Buttons are not always visible, saving people from clutter from too many controls.

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Meditative word processors can provide a great venue to encourage creative and scholarly juices to get flowing, and are ideally-suited for low-stakes and expressive writing assignments. Sometimes, more formal research papers may require higher-level formatting that even Google Docs cannot provide in its current iteration.

Here are some software examples to explore:

OmmWriter provides a distraction-free and beautiful design in order to facilitate much-needed focus on writing. Its controls disappear and reappear as one navigates towards or away from them. The backgrounds, colors, and sounds have been chosen with creativity and tranquility in mind, according to the developers. The price is suggested at $4.11, and it is available for Mac, PC and iPad. See OmmWriter in action via video.

ZenWriter, similarly, also offers a peaceful space for committing thoughts to “page.” This software also incorporates music and backgrounds in an effort to create a calm environment for the writer. I especially like that you can choose to write in “day mode” or “night mode,” perfect for early birds or night owls respectively. Keystrokes can be given audio functionality, and work is saved automatically. Still, it is limited in its scope and does not offer many formatting options. ZenWriter is available for Windows at the price of $9.95. Here is a short video review with demo.

WriteMonkey is also for Windows and offers a simplistic and distraction-free design with little information about the document you are working on displayed on-screen. For those interested in a more robust experience, there are a variety of plugins available to donors, but the program can be downloaded for free. A quick review and demonstration of WriteMonkey.

Paper by 53 offers an iPad app for those of us who like to write directly (like with a pencil) or to sketch along with writing during brainstorming sessions, but who still realize that keeping it digitally (so that you can save it to the cloud) is a good way to go. This app really brings out a lot of the great features of the iPad, and utilizes natural motions as commands (such as the cool rewind/undo feature). It is free to download, but there are several in-app purchasing opportunities to buy more tools, etc. It also would help to have a stylus you are comfortable with. Here is a thorough review of an earlier version of Paper.