Do "distraction-free" writing gadgets and apps work?

Julian Lucas supplies today's illustration of Betteridge's Law of Headlines, on the subject of writing itself: 'Can 'Distraction-Free' Devices Change the Way We Write?'

I tried 'distraction-free' writing apps that encouraged mindfulness, disabled the backspace key, or, in a few extreme cases, threatened to delete everything if I took my hands off the keyboard (Write or Die). — Read the rest