Writing Toys
I really, really, really want an Alphasmart. They're straight word processors - no other functions unless you spring for the priciest one, which I have no intention of doing - that can eke 700 hours of battery life out of three AA batteries. That is, in a word, phenomenal. Plus, they're the size of an A4 pad of paper and only weigh about two pounds. These suckers are as portable as writing has been since people had to write on notepads. The folks who do National Novel Writing Month every year swear by them.
I can score an older model Alphasmart 2000 on eBay for about $50 and a 3000 for a little over $100. That isn't too shabby, since the new Neos are going for $250. And the high-end Dana - which can do all sorts of stuff that brings it closer to a laptop than a word processor - is almost $500.
I prefer to get out of the house when I write - I wrote most of my first novel long-hand at the Burger King on Fort Meade in little 5" x 7" notebooks - and my laptop is a godsend in that regard... but the laptop needs to be plugged in if I'm going to be writing for more than 2 hours, and as much as I love my wireless card and the fact that I can check email from my local Panera, having the Internet immediately available is just as much a distraction as anything going on in my house.
Fifty bucks (sixty with shipping)... I've spent more on stupider things.
Anybody have any experience with these things?
I can score an older model Alphasmart 2000 on eBay for about $50 and a 3000 for a little over $100. That isn't too shabby, since the new Neos are going for $250. And the high-end Dana - which can do all sorts of stuff that brings it closer to a laptop than a word processor - is almost $500.
I prefer to get out of the house when I write - I wrote most of my first novel long-hand at the Burger King on Fort Meade in little 5" x 7" notebooks - and my laptop is a godsend in that regard... but the laptop needs to be plugged in if I'm going to be writing for more than 2 hours, and as much as I love my wireless card and the fact that I can check email from my local Panera, having the Internet immediately available is just as much a distraction as anything going on in my house.
Fifty bucks (sixty with shipping)... I've spent more on stupider things.
Anybody have any experience with these things?