Microsoft's Notepad has been a staple for many years, but its bloated state has become a concern. A former Microsoft engineer, Dave Plummer, has taken a stand against this bloat by creating a lightweight version of Notepad called TinyRetroPad. This new editor is a fork of Dave's Tiny Editor (DTE) and is designed to be as small as possible, fitting in less than 3 kilobytes. The goal is to strip away the unnecessary features and telemetry, returning to the simplicity of the past.
Plummer's approach is a reaction to the current state of Notepad, which has accumulated many features over the years, including AI-powered suggestions and telemetry. He believes that the original Notepad was designed to handle plain text, while WordPad was for more complex tasks. By rebuilding Notepad from scratch, Plummer aims to create a lean and efficient tool that focuses on the core functionality.
TinyRetroPad is written in assembly and utilizes the RICHEDIT50W from the WinAPI, relying on existing Windows components. It includes basic features like Open and Save As dialogs, font selection, and printing. The editor's design and functionality evoke the feel of Notepad in the Windows XP era, but with a much smaller binary size.
Despite the small size, TinyRetroPad requires more resources when running, which is expected given its stripped-down nature. Plummer's project raises an important question: is the current Notepad a victim of its own success, adding too many features and losing its simplicity? He suggests that the antidote to this bloat is to go back to the basics and focus on the essential functionality.
In an era where storage costs are rising, Plummer's approach to Notepad has gained attention. It highlights the appeal of keeping code and binaries lean, stripping away decades of cruft. This project also demonstrates that sometimes, the best way to improve a tool is to return to its roots and rediscover the essence of simplicity.
