Typewriters Are Back

[poetman]

I can't believe this is a legitimate product, but check it out...

http://www.usbtypewriter.com/

It was feature in the recent issue of Vanity Fair.

 

[Inusuit]

Bogus, I say.

 

[Widebrim]

Where in the heck of the back of the typewriter would you plug it in?

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Where in the heck of the back of the typewriter would you plug it in?

Yeah, exactly. There are no electronics in an old typewriter. So how could it interface with a USB, and from there into a PC??
It would have to be a keyboard that looks and acts like an old typewriter.
Edit: Hmmm,..upon checking the link to Etsy, it appears that he can install some sort of sensors and circuitry that will transmit keystrokes to a PC. Ingenious!

 

[Widebrim]

Okay, so I guess it is possible!

 

[CharlieB]

And, if you are dying for the look of an old typewriter there are these:

http://homeshoppingspy.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/hot-buy-typewriter-stickers/

Of course, whoever put them on this laptop obviously never saw a real one - the keys are facing the wrong way!

 

[Computergeek]

All things old and a few things New.

I understand the preference here abouts for the products that have gone before. However wanting to move to a type writer unless it forms a part of your writing process seems strange to me. most work poorly designed and jammed regularly. I type very quickly and whether using one with a mechanical arm or the later electric style with the spinning ball they are unable to keep up. if you are looking for something to use for typing on a computer. I highly recommend an IBM model "M" keyboard they have a physical switch in them and a very positive return on each keystroke. Fair warning though, because of the switches they are very loud to type with. I use a wireless keyboard most of the time but when I have writers block or have to work for an extended period of time. IE... writing code or term papers the 'M' always comes out.
Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Jeremy, I don't think I would say most vintage typewriters were poorly designed. Perhaps you have only ever tried old dirty worn out ones. I have one that was totally taken apart and cleaned built in 1946. It is a wonder of simplicity. It can go pretty fast, and I vary rarely have problems with it jamming. If it does jam it probably means I'm out of rhythm.

 

[martinsantos]

Don't agree about the "poorly designed". A good typewriter must get 120 to 180 types per minute - quite a speed! (any "golden era" Underwood, Olivetti, Remington will do the job pretty well)

Some mechanical typewriters could get more speed yet. Not to say the electrical IBM "Selectric", probably the fastest I ever tried.

The problem with typewriters is that they are prone to get dirty inside and loose lubrification after 50 or more years. Then is impossible to be in working order.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Typing is not keyboarding. They're two very different skills -- and it's often difficult to switch between the two without problems. Don't blame the typewriter!

 

[Yeps]

A while ago I found instructions for using the electronics from an old keyboard along with some wire, solder and know how to make a mechanical typewriter be able to type into a computer. I would love to have one of those.

 

[Yeps]

And here it is

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I use typewriters and computers. That is two completely different animals. Heck, laptops and desktops are very different as far as typing. Swapping between the three can be quite tricky.

 

[DJH]

Typewriters? Hmm, I'm old enough to remember having to use those bloody things and I'm glad they are a thing of the past.

I remember trying to put a business plan together and having to screw around with that stupid eraser tape every time I produced a typo - grrrrrrrrrr!!

There are things from the past that are worth bringing back, but others are dead for a reason.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Eraser tape? How futuristic! All I had was one of those round erasers with a brush on it.

Here's something to chew on on the general question of typewriter vs. computer. I wrote professionally for over twenty years on a manual typewriter -- high pressure stuff, turning out thousands of pages of news copy a year. I started using a computer when I was forced to, but I've never thought the stuff I wrote on a computer was as *good* as the stuff that was done on the typewriter. And I think the reason is that computers make it too easy -- you don't have to stop and think as much, you don't ponder as much, you don't end up taking as much care in the construction of your words, because you don't really have to. Words, like cheeses, were never meant to be processed.

 

[DJH]

you don't have to stop and think as much

Exactly, this thinking thing was always a bit of a problem for me

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Ouch. I make process cheese for a living lol

Words, like cheeses, were never meant to be processed.

 

[Monsoon]

I learned to type on an IBM Selectric III in highschool. I know my sister, who was about two years ahead of me, learned on a manual machine.

When I first joined the AF, I was a teletype operator. Yep, in good ol' 1983, we were still using 1960's equipment. Things were slowing being phased out to the first computer systems.

When I left Active Duty and switched to the Guard, I retrained into Airborne Communications. I had to laugh because they had a typing qualification. I smoked thru it since I already knew how to type, but the other two younger guys in my class were struggling along.

I heard they changed it from a qualification to "keyboard familiarization".

 

[Atomic Age]

I understand the preference here abouts for the products that have gone before. However wanting to move to a type writer unless it forms a part of your writing process seems strange to me. most work poorly designed and jammed regularly. I type very quickly and whether using one with a mechanical arm or the later electric style with the spinning ball they are unable to keep up. if you are looking for something to use for typing on a computer. I highly recommend an IBM model "M" keyboard they have a physical switch in them and a very positive return on each keystroke. Fair warning though, because of the switches they are very loud to type with. I use a wireless keyboard most of the time but when I have writers block or have to work for an extended period of time. IE... writing code or term papers the 'M' always comes out.
Cheers,
Jeremy

The worlds record for typing on a manual typewriter is 176 wpm and 216 wpm on an electric typewriter. Interestingly the worlds record on a personal computer is 158 wpm, considerably less than a manual typewriter. I seriously doubt that you are exceeding any of these. Its most likely that the typewriter you were using needs maintenance, or you simply don't know how to type. As Lizzie stated, typing and keyboarding are not the same thing.

Also interesting is the story that the keyboard layout as we know it today is alleged to have been designed to slow a professional typist down. Apparently a professional typist could type too fast on the older keyboard layouts and jam the machine. The QWERTY keyboard we use to day places letters that are most commonly used together toward the outside of the keyboard to prevent the jamming of the machine. Its unclear how true this story really is.

Doug

 

[Atomic Age]

Typewriters? Hmm, I'm old enough to remember having to use those bloody things and I'm glad they are a thing of the past.

I remember trying to put a business plan together and having to screw around with that stupid eraser tape every time I produced a typo - grrrrrrrrrr!!

There are things from the past that are worth bringing back, but others are dead for a reason.

This is why professional secretaries were worth their weight in gold!

Doug