Freewrite is a single purpose first draft creative writing machine. I got one thinking it'd be a good idea to be disconnected from the internet and limited to just writing.
I offer this complimentary Boing Boing exclusive, collector's limited web edition The unabridged Freewriter compositions of Jason Lawrence Weisberger as written November of 2016 through the 24th of October, 2017 for your enjoyment and edificaiton.
November, 2016
This is a another attempt to use the Freewrite. I am hoping to write a few more sentences and then upload the document to the google cloud. This has seen marginall more use than my Baubax jacket.
So far this hasnt been the worlds most intuitive device and honestly editing anything even simple typing mistakes you makde a few words back is a huge hassle. Just look at this sentence! Capitalization and punctuation will suffer but I guess this will be great (???) for getting out a firsrt fraft of something that is completely disconnected from research or the internet.
the angle of my stand up desk is not very good for this keyboard. I’ll need to find someplace else to put it.
February ??, 2017
I’d forgotten this thing existed. Never moved it. Seems like it should be useful. Has not been. Freewrite needed a reboot after charging. The hard reboot power switch hold down routine is for longer than I suspected, or their manual suggests: a very long twelve seconds.
Appears that all is working again. I have the cable in so it can charge. Maybe I’ll try writing on it again.
March 26, 2017
OK, update the firmware while you sit here idling.
I do not know if the keyboard even feels particularly good at this point. There was some notalgia for a big chunky, clunky, clicky keyboard to make me feel like I am making progress, but it is kinda meh.
April 20, 2017
I do not know how many months it has been. I have plugged the Freewriter back in after leaving it untouched. After only two sentences I was already annoyed at how shitty it is to try and fix a typo or misspelled wordkeys strike me as taller and nowwer than the only IBMelectric style the seem to want to emulate. I have an Amazon supplied mechanical USB keyboard that is far better.
October 21st, 2017
The system screen suggests the last time I tried writing on this was April 20, 2017. Today is October 21st. That speaksor how much fun the Freewrite is to use, to write stories on. Mostly it annoys me.
I have to move it to a different table. My stand up desk (the typos and fatigue are already intolerable) is too high. the MacBook Pro is thiner and the 1.25” difference or so is KILLING ME.
October 24th, 2017
I just spent 3-4 minutes not being able to get the Frewrite to turn on. Pressing the button doesn’t just do it. I had to hold down the power switch ujntil the device rebooted itself. Kinda like botting up an Apple ][e back in the early 80s except that was easier.
I’m considering setting up an old iMac as a writing station and givng up on this. I haven’t actually written anything on it beyond griping about how it isn’t fun to use.
My hands hurt already.
Note: Any italics and links were added after the fact because I COULD NOT RESIST. They are not possible in the Freewrite.
