I was inspired to do something similar after reading these two posts on using the Amiga version of WordPerfect for writing. [1], [2].
It’s distraction free, works well with a modern monitor and I always liked the Amiga keyboard. It’s a huge context switch to swivel my chair from my modern Mac to the other desk and start writing on the Amiga.
These were a great read! I have made a headless linux laptop with vim as a fairly distraction free environment. I have also used a Psion 5MX to take notes while out and about, and my only caveat for those wanting to use retro devices for important things is to back up often! I'd forgotten how unreliable old filesystems and media were.
I think there's definitely a niche for a keyboard-driven PDA type device, ideally with some sort of e-ink display so it works nicely outside and doesn't require frequent charging. I think these days it would come with some sort of automatic cloud backup, and I wouldn't mind if it was text-based either. The gemini and cosmos come close, but I think I'd need a proper bit of time with them to see if they fill that niche or not.
It’s distraction free, works well with a modern monitor and I always liked the Amiga keyboard. It’s a huge context switch to swivel my chair from my modern Mac to the other desk and start writing on the Amiga.
[1] https://www.amigalove.com/viewtopic.php?t=41 [2] https://www.amigalove.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=101