Move Over TextEdit, Simplenote Is Now Available For the Mac

If you just want to open a writing tool and get started writing without a lot of distracting bells and whistles, Simplenote may be just what you're looking for.

Gingko: An Online Word Processor That Could Change The Way You Write

At MakeUseOf, we're always on the look out for innovative text editors that can make our life as writers just a little bit easier. This relatively new service is unique and may just be the key you need to change the way you approach your writing. It could make you more productive too while making your workflow just that little bit easier.

Quip: A Collaborative, Mobile-First Word Processor For iOS & Web

While a tablet or smartphone certainly can't (presently) do everything our PCs can, there are certain tasks that may be better suited to your mobile devices, such as word processing. While typing thousands of words on your iPad or iPhone might not sound like your idea of a good time, there's no denying how useful it is to have access to your documents wherever you are. One novel approach to mobile word processing Quip (free), a collaborative mobile-first word processor that also works as a web app.

Advanced Linux Text Editors Compared: kate vs gedit

Any Linux user will tell you that a good text editor is a vital component of a computer system, no matter if you're a new user or a seasoned pro. While using a Terminal text editor (like nano or vim) is equally important, you might as well make use of your graphical desktop environment whenever it's available to you.

Sort, Shuffle, And Organize Your Plain Text Lists With These 3 Web Tools

I use plain text lists for pretty much everything. For example, I keep track of potential character names for my fiction writing in a TXT file. I run local tournaments and use plain text lists to manage and organize registered teams. And, of course, I use plain text for to-do lists too. Plain text can become messy, but thankfully there are some tools I've found online that will lend you a helping hand.

Write App: A Beautiful iOS Text Editor With Markdown Support & Dozens of Actions

Writing apps for the iPad and iPhone are plentiful. We're lucky enough to live in a time when developers are coming up with new ways to edit text using unique features in new apps. This is the case for a new app that's simply called "Write". If you're a digital notebook addict, Write will probably remind you of the popular iOS text editor, Drafts, which allows you to share notes to other apps like Evernote, Dropbox, Simplenote, Twitter, and Day One.

iA Writer for Mac & iOS: The Best Word Processor You've Never Used

Be it a school paper or a blog post, all of us at some point find ourselves in the position of having to dump a bunch of characters into a text file. While cell phone operating systems are tripping over themselves to embrace flat, minimalistic design, Microsoft Word looks like the control panel for a space shuttle. Thankfully, iA Writer for Mac and iOS bucks that trend, and is perhaps the most joyously simplistic text editor that you can find on the market today.

Cathode & Blinky: Sexy Vintage Replacements For Terminal & TextEdit [Mac OS X]

Do you spend half your life inside the OS X Terminal? Is a plain text editor your second home? Whatever you do with Terminal or TextEdit there's no denying they're each a bit boring and basic, and certainly not retro enough for my liking. Cathode ($10) and Blinky ($5) are two very stylish replacements that bring a touch of old-school jitter and grime to your pristine OS X desktop. If you're a sucker for classic computers, blinking green command prompts and magnetic interference you've just hit the jackpot.

WriteApp: Is This The Distraction Free Online Writing Tool You Were Looking For?

There are a few things I ask of any writing application or a text editor. Yes, it should be minimal but it should have a few features to aid the words I key into the screen. Privacy is on top of the list. The ability to back up my work is close behind. Then, a little bit of markdown support is always welcome. WriteApp is a relatively new online writing tool that ticks all three boxes.

5 Tools For Outlining Ideas For Writers And Artists

An outline is nothing but a hierarchical breakdown of what you plan to write or create. Arranged according to levels of importance and flow, and marked by numbers, roman numerals, headings-subheadings, indentations, or any other format. Think of them as breadcrumbs for creative inspiration.

Notepad Not Doing The Trick? Try Out The Lightweight Alternatives Xint & Subpad

Looking For A Good Markdown Editor On Chrome? Try Your Writing On Textdown

If you do any form of writing on the web – as a developer, or as an author – it's about time you became familiar with one of the more lightweight languages out there. Markdown is a simple markup language that's easier than HTML. In fact, you can think of it as a big brother to plain text writing. Developers know all about it. It's time, we simple writers became familiar with it.

QuickOffice Pro HD: Create, Open And Edit Office Documents On Your iPad [iOS]

Apple doesn’t offer an all-in-one office suite, so users who want to handle these tasks on their tablet must turn to a third-party solution. One of the most popular is QuickOffice Pro HD, a $19.99 iOS productivity suite that is actually owned by Google. The app promises the creation and editing of Word, Excel and Powerpoint files and lets users save documents to .PDF. All of which sounds great – but does it actually work?

Write & Preview Markdown In Style With LightPaper [Android]

A text editor should not get in your face. The more you notice it, the worse it is. The best ones are nearly invisible, staying out of the way and letting you become one with your prose. For an application as simple as Notepad, that's easy. But it becomes a trickier proposition if you're trying for this level of simplicity while still offering advanced features like Dropbox sync and instant Markdown preview. LightPaper is a $2 text editor for Android that rises to the challenge.

Bean: The Best Lightweight Word Processor for Mac

Try out a simple word processor for Mac. Maybe you're unwilling to fork out the funds for Apple's Pages or Microsoft's Word. Maybe you're looking for something lightweight and speedy? Or maybe you just like the idea of using simple software to get things done. Whatever your reason, Bean is a great alternative word processor for Mac users everywhere. Bean is not a full-fledged replacement for Word or Pages – software it claims "try to be all things to all people".

For Literary Penguins: 4 Great Writing Tools [Linux]

A great amount of productivity comes from writing tasks, whether it be for school assignments, articles for your blog, or much more. While full-featured office applications tend to be the norm for such tasks, it may sometimes be a good idea to go in the opposite direction and use some simpler or specialized tools, depending on what you’re working on. Often, this can either help you focus more on the work that's ahead.

TextWrangler Just Might Be The Best Free Text Editor [Mac]

Use an advanced text editor on your Mac, free of charge. TextWrangler comes complete with code highlighting for most major languages and a whole lot more – and it's free. If you even occasionally edit any kind of code – even just HTML – this is worth having around. This is not a word processor – it offers no styling options whatsoever. This is a text editor, meaning it handles only plain text .

Write, And Let The World Revise Your Work With Prose.io For GitHub

Traditionally, writing is a solitary affair. It's just you and the screen, or a piece of paper. Man versus text in a battle of wills, wits, and emotion, until suddenly – you're done. Now it's time to show the world, to put your text out there and watch what happens. But in these digital times, that's not the only way to go about writing.

Yarny - Take Your Creative Writing To The Clouds With The Distraction Free Editor

Writing is almost like meditation. The mind whirrs around a million thoughts, but anyone who has been in the zone will attest to the fact that the calmness enveloping it shuts off the writer from the rest of the world. Creative work needs silence and a distraction free environment to connect those million thoughts. I am a writer in the very basic sense of the word and I have gone through my basic share of distraction free editors.