This post has been drafted using Writer from Bighugelabs. The premise of Writer is to provide the most simple environment with which to write and create. The creators bill writer as "the internet typewriter", and the theme of simplicity is maintained throughout the concept and delivery of the software.
First of all there is no front page, banners, advertisement or any fripperies whatsoever. All you get when you access the page is a black page on which to begin typing. Options are minimal: you can create a new document, save an existing one (although Writer will do that for you periodically), email it, convert to a PDF file or print to paper. There is a preferences pane which allows you to change the colour of the text (personally I prefer white on black rather than the default bright green!), and you can also change the line spacing and choose from three (wow!) fonts.
However, to criticise the product for its distinct lack of bells-and-whistles is to miss the point of it entirely. The driving concept behind the program is to make writing simpler, more streamlined and to make your valuable time more productive. David Pierce makes the point in his blog (where I first heard of this product - to read copy and paste the following address into your browser: http://www.the20life.com/2009/03/27/web-based-distraction-free-writing-with-writer/ - there does not appear to be the option to turn text into a hyperlink!) that much of our time is taken up with distractions such as Facebook, Twitter, MSN messenger. I for one am writing this whilst watching England get hammered by the West Indies in Barbados - which is not conducive to putting me in a good frame of mind for writing! Writer is a way to combat these distractions by taking them out of the game completely as by pressing F11 in Windows (there does not appear to be a Mac shortcut - boo!!)
The software is free (although the makers would like a donation), and as such makes it just about perfect for those looking for sanctuary from complex proprietory word processors such as Microsoft Word and Apple Pages, so that they can just get on with the business of writing great stuff!
