Open source distraction-free portable writing system on a USB

Writing on a computer is all but inescapable. Writers face an endless struggle trying to avoid the internet and other attention-hogging apps just a click away when they should be typing away instead. This study found that over half of the surveyed students claimed using technology in class to take notes was more distracting than helpful.

Typewriters, pen and paper, and other low-tech methods may be free of these distractions. Still, they don’t offer the convenience of word processor tools that many writers have become reliant on in their workflow.

Technology has also put forth some solutions such as many apps offering “focus mode” to limit distracting elements on phones and computers. There are even digital word processors like Freewrite’s Alpha drafting tool sporting a non-stimulating, dopamine-free LCD display and keyboard promising to keep your brain focused on writing.

Now there’s a new tech tool offering a distraction-free environment which sounds more promising than current alternatives.

On Jan 1st, Liam on Linux kicked off 2025 by publishing version 1.0 of his “long-running hobby project: a bootable DOS live USB image with tools for writers, providing a distraction-free writing environment” on his website.

In his post, he provides the link to the Github repository for the project and a disclaimer that this version “is very rushed and the instructions are incomplete.”

Still, the project offers a bootable operating system environment. It’s a minimal installation containing the “JEMM memory manager, FreeDOS text editor, CD and mouse drivers, and some simple diagnostic tools” and open-source word processing apps.

In layman’s terms, by installing this DOS on a USB drive and plugging it into a computer, you can boot up the distraction-free operating system instead of your usual OS. Once in this environment, you can choose from a number of these apps for your writing:

• Microsoft Word 5.5, distributed by Microsoft as freeware as a Y2K fix
• The final freeware release of the once-popular ProText editor
• The WordPerfect Editor, a plain-text editor which uses the same keystrokes as classic WordPerfect 4.2
• (These three from the FreeDOS Repo);
• Symantec’s GrandView outliner, thanks to John Faughnan’s page
• The Lotus 1-2-3 compatible AsEasyAs spreadsheet, by Trius Inc.

Check out the GitHub page for instructions and the downloadable files and give Liam a shout-out on his website if you like it!