Micro Journal Offers a Customizable writerDeck Experience
Want a distraction-free writing experience? Un Kyu Lee’s Micro Journal is now on its fourth iteration and has some interesting benefits.
One of the many great reasons to choose writing as a hobby or profession is that the barrier to entry is on the floor. All you really need to write is a pencil and some paper — or whatever computer or smartphone you already own. But as with everything else in life, there are more efficient and pleasant ways to write. Dedicated devices offer a streamlined experience without distractions, but the options are limited. Micro Journal stands out because its modular design allows for a great deal of customization.
Micro Journal, designed by Un Kyu Lee, is family of loosely related writerDeck iterations. The first iteration was pretty standard and was built around a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with a compact 30-key mechanical keyboard and ultrawide monitor. The second iteration looked similar, but utilized an old smartphone instead of a single-board computer (SBC). The third iteration was a big departure, with an unusual split keyboard and a small screen in the middle. Instead of an SBC or phone, it ran on an ESP32 microcontroller.
The newest iteration, number four, is similar, but modular with a far more conventional keyboard. Most of the device is completely contained within a single 3D-printed enclosure, which holds the screen, an ESP32 development board, the battery, and a couple of control buttons. The ESP32 acts as a USB host, so users can connect whatever keyboard they prefer.
The use of the ESP32 is advantageous for a few reasons. First, it boots up almost instantly, as opposed to the minutes it normally takes an SBC. Second, it consumes far less power than an SBC and can therefore run for longer without requiring a larger battery. Conversely, it can run for a similar amount of time on a much smaller battery. And finally, it can work directly with low-cost, low-resolution LCD screens. In this case, the fourth iteration Micro Journal uses a 2.8” TFT LCD based on the popular ILI9341 driver with a resolution of 320×240.
This is an open source project and anyone can build whatever iteration of the Micro Journal they like. But Un Kyu Lee is also selling the fourth iteration on Tindie, already assembled. Users just need to supply their own keyboard. This runs Un Kyu Lee’s own firmware, which is a very simple distraction-free word processor. It supports syncing with Google drive, which should make it convenient to use. It is currently out of stock on Tindie, but interested writers can join the waitlist.