jDarkroom vs. WriteRoom

Since I've been caught up in thoughts of minimalism, I've been playing around with various minimalist word processors. Two, in particular, are frequently pitted against each other in blogs: WriteRoom and jDarkroom. jDarkroom is a java implementation of a Windows-only imitator of WriteRoom.

WriteRoom costs $24, though you get a $5 off coupon if you buy WriteRoom for iPhone. jDarkroom is available on a donation basis, so basically, it's free. If you donate, however, you will be encouraging development on the project and rewarding the coder for work well done.

Most of the reviews I have read can be summed up this way: "I wanted to like jDarkroom, but it is not as good as WriteRoom."

The more I've used both programs, the more I think the reviewers are being unfair to jDarkroom. In some ways, I like it better. It is even more of a minimalist processor than WriteRoom. WriteRoom starts as a full-screen editor when you open it, but when you hit the escape key, it reverts to a standard interface. jDarkroom is simply a full-screen word processor.

Some reviews of jDarkroom have complained of features not working properly. One reviewer, for example, griped that when he opened the help file, there was no way to close it. There are similar complaints, none of which I have found to be a problem in the current implementation. Pressing the escape key always brings you back to the document in process.

I enjoy having the command key short cuts. "Command L" brings up the word count at the bottom of the screen, and since my goal has been to write a certain number of words a day, that is something I rely on. In WriteRoom, you have to move the cursor down to the bottom of the screen to check on the word count. No big deal, but still, the functionality is there in jDarkRoom at the stroke of a couple of keys.

I was bothered, at first, by the dimness of the text in jDarkroom compared to WriteRoom, but over time, my opinion has flipped. The text in WriteRoom seems too bright.

I do appreciate that WriteRoom will save in .rtf, and I am able to italicize text. I don't seem able to format text at all in jDarkRoom. While I haven't tried it, the "edit in WriteRoom" plugin seems like a nice touch.

My verdict is that jDarkroom deserves better recognition than other bloggers are giving it. My only complaint, so far, is that after I save a document, when I quit the program, I still get a message that claims the document is not saved. I find myself arguing with the computer, "I did too save it!" Any time you find yourself talking to your computer, something is wrong.

I still have not abandoned WriteRoom, though I only have ten days left on my free trial. When I ask myself why I might still consider it, I come up with various small reasons. I do use WriteRoom on the iPod Touch as my main note taking software. You can sync the mobile version of WriteRoom to the simpletext.ws website and edit your documents on the web. It would be nice, some day, to have a WriteRoom that also syncs to the website, and so on to the iPod. I have to say though, that, while I hear from some people who can type long bits of text on their iPods or iPhones, I am not one of them.

Scrivener is also introducing more integration with WriteRoom, though currently that is limited to importing from the writeroom.ws website. I like the WriteRoom editor better than Scrivener's full screen mode. (I haven't quite made the switch from Ulysses to Scrivener anyway.)

But both of those reasons fall into the techno-wizardry realm of appeal. You can always copy and paste. Integration between different applications and devices is nice, but it does not result in a significant increase in functionality in most cases. It simply makes you feel better.

WriteRoom maintains it's appeal, I believe, through a certain measure of cool factor. I read reviews, and all the reviewers like WriteRoom. Bloggers about simplicity sing its praises and discount jDarkroom. The commentors who chime in with "Why pay for WriteRoom when you can use free software like Bean or jDarkRoom" sound merely cheap and not in the club.

I have found, however, that jDarkroom is a sound minimalist editor. It's even simpler than WriteRoom, and, with the exception of not being able to save in .rtf, it lacks nothing in functionality.

You just sit down and type on it after all.