Solved Dave Plummer re-writes NotePad

XxXxX · 2026-07-01T07:19:49-0400

Article link

Former Microsoft engineer shrinks Notepad down to size

Rolling back the years and the bloat for veteran text editor

www.theregister.com

Microsoft's habit of adding unnecessary features to Notepad is a symptom of broader bloating in the Windows codebase. But it is possible to go back to basics with a version of the editor that fits in less than 3 kilobytes.

Dave Plummer's TinyRetroPad

GitHub - PlummersSoftwareLLC/TinyRetroPad

Contribute to PlummersSoftwareLLC/TinyRetroPad development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

you've just gotta love Dave's Garage.
best of luck Steve ..

Alejandro85 · 2026-07-01T09:34:19-0400

Love it!
That's how software should be written.

Although there is a hint in the repository that it might have been writen by AI, or at least considered during development, and that's how software should NOT be written.

Marie SWE · 2026-07-01T10:15:16-0400

I wish i could come in contact with him, to ask him to rewrite Windows Resource monitor to Linux.

as Linux system monitors is just crap in compare.

garlin · 2026-07-01T10:23:05-0400

Alejandro85 said:
Love it!
That's how software should be written.

Although there is a hint in the repository that it might have been writen by AI, or at least considered during development, and that's how software should NOT be written.

It's assembly in the source code. No AI is vibe'ing that...

They used Copilot for a code review (you can see it in the commit log).

spapakons · 2026-07-01T10:38:28-0400

Marie SWE said:
I wish i could come in contact with him, to ask him to rewrite Windows Resource monitor to Linux. as Linux system monitors is just crap in compare.

Why don't you download Aida64 for Linux? The trial version hides some values but you can see most information without registration.

Marie SWE · 2026-07-01T10:52:58-0400

spapakons said:
Why don't you download Aida64 for Linux? The trial version hides some values but you can see most information without registration.

I have diagnostic tools, i need a real time system monitor program that in real time can show CPU, Memory, Disk usage(read/write), Network activity, what processes that send/receive data to what IP/domain.
Exactly like Windows Resource monitor does.
In linux i need four different programs running side by side to do the same work that win resource monitor does in one program.
I have been looking for an equal since 2018 i started using Linux.

pseymour · 2026-07-01T11:07:11-0400

Marie SWE said:
I wish i could come in contact with him, to ask him to rewrite Windows Resource monitor to Linux. as Linux system monitors is just crap in compare.

He's not really hard to contact. davepl - Overview

cereberus · 2026-07-01T11:22:29-0400

This looks like self promotion publicised as a person doing it out of altruism.

There are dozens of notepad alternatives.

What makes his special?

Software skills to writing a basic notepad tool are probably in range of any half decent graduate software engineer.

garlin · 2026-07-01T11:25:25-0400

You mean Dave Plummer, the retired MS dev who wrote the original Task Manager? He's doing it for fun.

Tech sites, on the other hand, are just spamming pretend "articles".

Alejandro85 · 2026-07-01T11:54:59-0400

cereberus said:
There are dozens of notepad alternatives.

What makes his special?

It has been made by one of the most recognized Windows developers, who has deep knowledge of how Windows works and how to properly program to it. The program itself, while just a notepad clone, exhibits what Windows can do and how much software can be improved. It's still a 3KB binary using tiny amount of RAM and almost no CPU.
With the software industry churning out the most bloated programs ever (in any field you could imagine, including Windows itself) seeing an efficient program is an impressive achievement.

cereberus said:
Software skills to writing a basic notepad tool are probably in range of any half decent graduate software engineer.

To write a bloated basic notepad, yes. To write a compact, brutally efficient basic notepad in assembly, not so much.
And while all it does is to delegate in the built-in Windows controls (just like the real notepad does before Windows 11 trashed it) it exposes the full capabilities and does it in a simple way. Again, not many programs do that in this day and age, chosing bloated codebases and binaries over lean implementations.

XxXxX · 2026-07-01T12:00:43-0400

if any body has watched Dave's Garage they should understand how Dave thinks
and bloat of any kind doesn't seem to be Dave's way.

maybe Microsoft should get Dave to have a look at Windows 11
im sure he would come up with some good un-bloated ideas.

best of luck Steve ..

pseymour · 2026-07-01T12:11:25-0400

Alejandro85 said:
To write a bloated basic notepad, yes. To write a compact, brutally efficient basic notepad in assembly, not so much.

Back in the .NET 6 era, I re-created Notepad in C#, the Notepad before the formatting options and spell checker and such. It was a little over 100 MB. I zipped it up and never mentioned it again, until today.

spapakons · 2026-07-01T12:35:48-0400

Copy the Notepad from Windows 98 and run it in Windows 11...

Marie SWE · 2026-07-01T13:19:52-0400

pseymour said:
He's not really hard to contact. davepl - Overview

exempt i dont have an account there. :wink:

When you click on "i dont agree" on the privacy/user terms you cant register.

pseymour · 2026-07-01T13:23:21-0400

Marie SWE said:
exempt i dont have an account there.
When you click on "i dont agree" on the privacy/user terms you cant register.

Well, his email address is on the account page for the repo in post 1. Tremendously difficult to find.

Marie SWE · 2026-07-01T13:33:44-0400

pseymour said:
Well, his email address is on the account page for the repo in post 1. Tremendously difficult to find.

Nice, i didn't saw that on his github page.. I wonder if he actually reads his emails or if he just ignore it do to the numbers of emails

Then i will try, as i know he also do some programming for Linux.
I watch his attic channel now and then.. and a few videos on his main channel now and then if its a interesting(nostalgic) topics.

EchoJPR · 2026-07-01T14:24:05-0400

Doesn't look anywhere near as good as what we have now though.

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