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Former Microsoft dev built a 2.5KB Notepad clone

A former Microsoft developer created a Notepad clone that is only 2.5KB in size, significantly smaller than the original. The lightweight application includes basic text editing features and was designed to demonstrate minimalistic software development.

Background

A former Microsoft developer created a clone of Windows Notepad that takes up only 2.5KB of disk space — far smaller than the modern version of Notepad, which has grown significantly over the years due to feature additions, dependencies on system frameworks, and Microsoft's move to a store-based distribution model. The project highlights a broader tension in software: modern programs, even simple ones, often balloon in size because they bundle large runtime libraries, use cross-platform frameworks, or rely on complex update mechanisms. The clone is written in raw C and targets the Win32 API directly, stripping away everything unnecessary. For readers following tech discourse, this is part of a recurring "small software" conversation — a reaction against bloated applications and the lost art of size-optimized programming, reminiscent of the demoscene or early shareware era.

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