Hate the AI feature in Notepad? Former Microsoft Engineer Releases ‘Anti-Bloat’ App Only 2.5KB!
Have you ever felt the default notepad Windows Right now it feels too heavy, slow, and full of AI features that you never use? You are not alone. The user’s desire to return to the heyday of the simple, fast, and clean text editor application seems to have finally been answered.
Dave Plummer, a former Microsoft engineer who is known as the creator of the original Task Manager, just made a surprise. He released an application called Tinyretropad—A notes redesigned application with an unusually small size, which is only 2.5kb.
Back to Basic Philosophy
In the world of modern computing, we are often forced to accept the “bloatware” feature that consumes system resources. Microsoft’s built-in notepad is now equipped with Copilot integration, AI-based rewrite feature, and various other elements that may be considered “disturbing” by users who just want to edit .ini files or quick notes.
Tinyretropad is present as the antithesis of this trend. Plummer built this application with a very simple philosophy: Text Editor is just a place to write text, not a place for complex AI integration or *cloud* services.
Why is Tinyretropad so light?
The secret behind the 2.5KB size is not magic, but a high efficiency technique. Instead of rewriting the entire text component from zero, Plummer utilizes the component Richedit50W which has been embedded in the Windows operating system for years. This application is built using MASM (x86 assembler) and compressed using Crinkler.
The result? You get essential functions like:
- File, Edit, Format, View, and Help menu are familiar.
- Find and replace function.
- Font and word wrap settings.
- Document printing support.
Most importantly, nothing Telemetry, no Microsoft account login, and of course, Zero features AI running in the background.
SOLUTION FOR POWER USER
For users who long for speed, Tinyretropad is not just an alternative; This is a statement. Plummer wants to remind us that the software should serve users, not burden the system with unwanted features.
TinyRetroPad is now available on an open source* on GitHub with the Apache 2.0 license. For those of you who are already fed up with the more heavier default applications, this may be the best choice to restore performance and simplicity in your daily workflow at Windows.
What do you think? Are you going to turn to this super light editor, or are you still loyal to the modern features of the built-in Notepad? Share your opinion in the comments column!
