Full screen editing on OS X, redux
Software is changing. It can go anywhere. It can do anything we want it to. As we learn more about building machines and tools, and how we relate to them, we find many useful ways of doing things. And some of the things that get built are better. And some of those things are just a bit more than anything we’ve seen before.
Take Ommwriter. It’s another full screen writing tool for OS X. It’s more than a writing tool; more than full screen. It’s ambient. It’s quiet. It’s focused, and it’s focusing. It’s the experience of writing from somewhere special. It’s soft and smooth around the edges. It’s an entirely different experience.
How is it different? It’s subtle, beautiful, and serene. An editor perched atop a spa, a visual and autitory treat. It feels a bit like the beginning of an IMAX documentary, or planetarium show. It takes you away from here, brings you to there, a location that lets you write if you want.
Is it better? I’m not sure yet. Is it interesting? Most certainly, yes. A single session with it and I’m dreaming about how the ideas apply to other things I’m working on. What can I take away from my designs to find more?
Is it better than WriteRoom? Maybe. It’s like WriteRoom in a sensory deprivation chamber, waited on by maidens of the misty realms. It may be a bit much for some people, but if nothing else it’s damned interesting, an example of something that I hadn’t imagined possible.