Make Your Own Darkroom/Writeroom/JDarkRoom in 60 Seconds

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1. If you’re on Windows find a terminal program. On Mac OS X, Linux, etc. open a terminal.

2. Set your terminal colors to green on black.

3. Click the maximize button.

4. Run nano, pico, vi, emacs, whatever.

If I see another raving review, blog post (especially Lifehacker), or story about how revolutionary Darkroom, Writeroom, JDarkRoom, or Writer is I think I’m going to explode. I know, I know, Mac users thought of this which means it’s the bomb and all. Pay no attention to the UNIX guys who have been doing it for thirty years…

Also, I love how everybody ripped Hog Bay Software off. Apparently Web 2.0 doesn’t include Lawyers 2.0 yet.

5 thoughts on “Make Your Own Darkroom/Writeroom/JDarkRoom in 60 Seconds”

  1. This is Jesse from Hog Bay Software. I just wanted to make clear that I really don’t feel that anyone has ripped us off by cloning WriteRoom. WriteRoom is the first app in a while that I’m aware of that’s just dedicated to full screen editing, but a number of other writing environments had a full screen editing mode well before WriteRoom was ever released.

    As far as your comment that WriteRoom can be duplicated in 60 seconds… that’s an interesting idea that’s been going through the command line community, but one that I don’t really agree with. I’m a computer guy, I’m well aware of what’s possible on the command line. But for the simple task of getting thoughts on a page WriteRoom has some real benefits. Of course it’s not for everyone, or for every task, but your selling it a bit short if you say that it can be duplicated in 60 seconds.

  2. Most of the time you are spot on, but I have to say you are a little off on this one. Not everyone is a CLI junky. My wife would never want to or be willing to learn vi or it’s likeness. However being able to just open an icon and still have a toolbar gui is essential for her and I’m guessing many others.

    I agree it’s not as revolutionary as people make it seem, but it is taking an idea and making it better.

  3. Pingback: "Okay, you can’t dupe WriteRoom in 60 seconds" by Bob Plankers, The Lone Sysadmin

  4. Interesting… I wonder what would happen if someone in the Windows world were to click on their Start button, open up the Run command and following the typing of the word “Edit” hit the Enter key.

    Heck, as I understand it they could even select the Options menu and actually choose custom colors.

    Odd that something that has been available for Free since the heady days of DOS and is still freely available within Windows is being copied and sold.

    Ooh, a feature Windows provides for FREE that Apple users have to PAY for?

    I stubbed my toe on the ironY!

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