EEEPC701 + Knoppix 7.2 + Focuswriter = Dedicated Writing Machine

I like writing even if it's just narcissistic self-absorbed drivel like my daily journals or the novel I started in 2002 but never finished. The amount of writing I do leisurely, unfortunately, has dropped considerably in the last 12 years thanks to distractions such as work, foreign language studies, Linux and British TV shows.
 
Enter the unused 7-year old EEEPC701 I salvaged a few weeks ago. After testing several Linux distributions on the legacy hardware, I picked the fast and lightweight Debian distribution, Knoppix. A quick SSD install and a trip to the Synaptic Package Manager completed the setup process - I now have a dedicated machine for writing my journals and my great never-to-be-published novel. The 701 now sits next to my iPad 2 and Sony Reader on my bed stand in suspend mode, quietly reminding me to record my jumbled thoughts or write a chapter about misogyny.
 

The 701? Are you kidding?

 
The EEEPC701 is perfect for writing - the 4GB SSD assists the already fast boot up speed of Knoppix 7.2. 4GB of hard drive space may not seem like much but it's plenty for .txt and .rtf files. There's also an SD card slot for emergencies too. The 701 has a 802.11b wireless card and an ethernet port for backing up to Samba or SFTP or syncing to Dropbox or SkyDrive. Finally, the 701's keyboard may be small but is more than adequate by today's touchscreen and smartphone standards.



 
Arguably the most important factor about the 701 is that you will never be tempted to install other applications. The legacy Celeron processor can handle Linux applications fine but why install additional software on the 701 if you own a primary laptop or smartphone? The lack of utility on the machine frees the writer from distractions such as streaming videos, torrents and music.


 

FocusWriter

 
Anyone who has worked with code will tell you that any plain text editor can be used for writing markup (my favorites are Notepad+++, KWrite, Leafpad, Cherrytree and Bluefish). But I didn't want to use an editor that will remind me about DITA, Docbook, HTML5 and XML. I want to write about my horrible day with laundry or my faux pas with a Shanghai girl without having to think about the correct tags, headers, metadata, Agile method and syntax errors.
 
Focuswriter is a great distraction free writing application. It has barebones text formatting options and its interface customizations have nothing to do with Internet Web Standards (thank God!).  I rarely customize the appearance of my Linux desktop environments, but I found myself creating a FocusWriter theme that mimicked old-school WordStar and WordPerfect document screens. Typing like Dougie Howser M.D. on a WordPerfect/WordStar screen is one of those rare pleasures for an old-school computer user.



 

Disconnect

 
The IT industry talks about the Internet of Things and there's no doubt that the future involves all electronic devices connecting to a single digital entity. However, if you just want to write, it's a good idea to disconnect your writing tool from the Internet and just let go. You can always do your Bing-ing or Google-ing later (otherwise you'll never get a chapter or journal entry done). So whenever I boot up the EEEPC701 with Knoppix and run FocusWriter the wireless switch is off. I can't have browsers and e-mail bothering me - I have a story about damsels in various states of undress and distress to write.