Re: Emacs vs Scrivener

[Matt Price]

On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 10:08 PM, Eric Abrahamsen
<eric@ericabrahamsen.net> wrote:
> Bastien <bzg@altern.org> writes:
>
>> Hi Matt,
>>
>> Matt Price <moptop99@gmail.com> writes:
>>
>
> [...]
>
>>> - In concert with this, each document -- each piece of a project --
>>> has both a title and a synopsis, which are represented by an "index
>>> card"  You cna move index cards around within the project.  I like
>>> this because sometimes, with a ocmplex piece of writing, it can be
>>> helpful to look at al the elements and rearrange them in space.  A
>>> whiteboard is good for this, or scraps of paper on a blank table.
>>> Org-mode lets you refile headings easily, but the one-dimensional
>>> ordering isn't as satisfying to me as objects that can be dragged form
>>> one place to another.
>
> [...]
>
>> I don't know about the spatial metaphor, I'm not familiar enough with
>> scrivener.  But there is surely room for small improvements tha makes
>> the Emacs experience even better.
>
> I think the idea here would be a pretty radical departure from Emacs'
> display engine: both in this thread and the earlier mention of
> Tinderbox, the goal would be a true two-dimensional canvas with shapes
> and colors, where each heading was represented by a malleable,
> positionable "blob" with certain attributes. Obviously this isn't
> something that either Emacs or Org should be responsible for -- I think
> Matt's suggestion of an HTML5 app based on an Org parser would be the
> only practicable solution. Lots of work though!
>
>
I wonder, though, whether this is something the community really ought
to be thinking about, especially as tablets become more prevalent.  I
love that org-mode keeps my life in plain-text but also lets me view
and manipulate document structure really easily. Emacs works great for
keyboard-centric users, but is harder to use with a pointer.  What
happens when we are drawing as much as we're typing? It would be so
great to be able to WRITE in emacs, and then restructure a document in
a canvas interface on a tablet.  at least, I think it would...