The Joys of Yesterday's Tech Today

The Joys of Yesterday's Tech Today
By: Tommy Thomas

Clickity-clack... Clickity-clack... What's that sound off in the distance? It's the sound of something long since gone in the modern era of computing... productivity. To be more specific... it's the sound of getting work done in the writing realm.

In technical terms, the sound you hear is from one of the best pieces of primitive, yet simple technology ever introduced... my new AlphaSmart Neo. There once was a time, not all that long ago, where the digital age of writing was looked at with marvey and joy. Back in the day before the days of social networking, IM's, emails, games and other distractions, the computer made it possible for writers of all genres to sit down and well... write.

Enter the internet age along with excessive eye candy and unneccessary software bloat. Suddenly, the computer had become more of a distraction rather than a tool of creativity. But along the way, companies saw that we were going backward instead of moving forward. AlphaSmart was one of those companies. With its long line of writing machines, AlphaSmart not only reached out to education, but inadvertantly reached out to writers who want simple tools to get the job done!

I'm no stranger to simple, easy-to-use devices such as the Neo. I've been a rabid fan of the long since defunct Apple eMate 300. A machine which I believe is solely responsible for making machines like the Neo a reality. My eMate recently succumbed to the great beyond due to a careless accident on my part. I started checking into trying to find another eMate when I found the AlphaSmart Flickr group. With money being extremely tight these days, Eolake was kind enough to send me my own brand new Neo, on which I type this article now. Many thanks and a hug goes out to you sir!

I've taken to this gem just as I did the eMate! It's light, compact, and the keyboard has a great tactile feel. There's no doubt I'll be writing a lot with my Neo. I write the Welcome To Macintosh column for Low End Mac.

Bottom line: If you want a good, simple, durable writing machine, look no further than the AlphaSmart Neo!

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Eolake sez:
Note: the Alphasmart Dana has a bigger screen, but sadly the screen contrast is woefully low, so I did not like it. (Though I intend to try learning to type without even looking at the screen.)

The Neo is also durable. The instruction manual says that I can drop it and it will keep on working. Rumor has it one was run over by a car with no harm.
For advice, Flickr has a most helpful discussion group about AlphaSmart Writing tools.

Bruce added:
"Note: the Alphasmart Dana has a bigger screen" But the Dana also has a disadvantage to a writer.
The Dana runs Palm OS, which means it can distract a writer just as easily as a laptop computer. Solitaire, other games, and even (from the Alphasmart web site), "Dana Wireless offers Wi-Fi (802.11b) capability for checking emails, instant messaging, and more."
You might as well buy a used iBook instead.

Good point. The One-Trick-Pony aspect of the Neo is a strength.

Neo review "The ultimate writing machine" in four parts, here.
Another review.

It's a testimony to the love the owners have for the Neo that you can almost never find one for sale on eBay. How many gadgets can you say that about!?