I admit I’m a Notepad junkie. I use it nearly every day to capture ideas for stories, writing to use elsewhere and just general notetaking. It’s probably one of my favorite programs on my computer. It’s also dead simple. Or it was, until the latest update announced this week which notes the app is “finally” getting autocorrect and spellcheck. I’m not sure how other Notepaders feel about this, but I definitely wasn’t waiting or hoping for it. Perhaps I spent way too many years working at a PR firm where a source of daily stress was making sure writing the word “public” hadn’t been autocorrected to “pubic.” Or it could be I’ve finally reached my frustration point with having text messages addressed to “Robot” instead of my name.
I liked the idea that I had one place to go and write where the technology wouldn’t always follow me with optimization suggestions. There are no annoying popups, no complex menus and no real options for fonts or anything else. You can just open an empty canvas and write. It’s a distraction-free zone that powers a lot of my writing and allows me to make up words along the way that don’t get shamed with red squiggly lines beneath them.
You know, words like Notepader.