31–40 of 93 posts
In 2012, a podcast host who wanted to interview Tom Hanks sent a 1934 Smith Corona to the actor as a gift when requesting the interview. Within days, Hanks responded with this letter, typed on the Corona: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/10/damn-you-all-to-hell.ht...
I like how they added the transcript - you know, just in case.
Going off at a bit of a tangent here, but this reminds me of something that I find quite interesting: I believe history has it that the querty keyboard layout was intentionally designed to slow down the typing speed, because the mechanical efficiency of the first gen/early typewriters (1860/70?) was fairly low, causing the moving prongs to jam if typing was done rapidly. I also believe the dvorak layout (which got in…
I learned Dvorak as a teenager and I've been using it ever since. Obviously I can't use it all the time, since it's not worth setting up on other people's computers, iPads don't support it for the onscreen keyboard, and similar, but I use it on my computers. I think it's faster, and more importantly it's more comfortable since there's less movement involved. It's sometimes inconvenient, as keyboard shortcuts which ma…
This is far more important for me. Even typing a couple of words on Qwerty feels uncomfortable.
Assuming your keyboard is Qwerty, try typing
"feels uncomfortable"
"yddp; flismysokanpd"
"LLLRL RRLRRLRLLLLRL"
"RLLRR LRRLRRLRRLRRL""Tom Hanks on Typewriters", the newest web framework (latency and scalability are still a bit of an issue with it honestly).
>Computer keyboards make a mousy tappy tap tappy tap like ones you hear in a Starbucks — work may be getting done but it sounds cozy and small, like knitting needles creating a pair of socks. I wonder if he's tried a mechanical keyboard? He might like it quite a bit better, even if just for the fact that you can choose your personality of keyboard with your computer, just like he does with typewriters.
In the pre-1930 Teletype machines, the keys are ordinary Underwood typewriter keys. If you type too fast, you blunt your fingers against the immovable keys. In 1930, Teletype switched over to spring-loaded keycaps, with about 1mm of spring motion in case you hit a key before the machine is ready. This made fast typing much more comfortable.
Western Union expected their Teletype operators to be able to type "blind", with no display or printer to see what they were typing. Outbound operators often used a machine with a keyboard and a tape punch only - no printer. Here's one at work.[1] The machine she's using doesn't have the 5 keystroke per second limitation - notice the loop of tape between the keyboard machine and the tape reader. That's buffering. Operators were expected to type without errors, of course.
>Computer keyboards make a mousy tappy tap tappy tap like ones you hear in a Starbucks — work may be getting done but it sounds cozy and small, like knitting needles creating a pair of socks. I wonder if he's tried a mechanical keyboard? He might like it quite a bit better, even if just for the fact that you can choose your personality of keyboard with your computer, just like he does with typewriters.
In 2012, a podcast host who wanted to interview Tom Hanks sent a 1934 Smith Corona to the actor as a gift when requesting the interview. Within days, Hanks responded with this letter, typed on the Corona: http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/10/damn-you-all-to-hell.ht...
I like how they added the transcript - you know, just in case.
I'm very interested in this phenomenon where people seem to idolize certain outdated, analog technology. It seems to be some reaction against, or coping mechanism for, the increasingly digital world. I have a lot of fuzzy thoughts on it, and I'd like to read a book or an article that unpacks the idea more thoroughly.
Some of the pictures are amazing. I got to see her a few weeks ago doing a live "typing" event drawing out pictures of children jumping around. It was amazing how fast she typed and how good he pictures were.
As a person who handles mail for a living I can assure you a typewritten letter, or should I say envelope, is a sure-fire way to have somebody open the letter. I once used a typewriter to ask a large Ranch technological Training Company company if they had any scholarships for old-time programmers ( I was one) who were out of the game for a decade or so. I was told my letter was passed around like a novelty and - yes…
It's interesting that you say that, as I'm a consultant who does grant writing for nonprofit and public agencies (see http://www.seliger.com if you're curious). We send fee quote letters via email but we also send snailmail letters that arrive a day or two later. Potential clients often make their decisions before the letters arrive, but sometimes those letters jar indecisive potential clients into making a decision, and sometimes those letters sit on their desks for months until another grant opportunity comes along. A physical letter and card are often easier to find and sort than voluminous email.
This might not feasible for high-volume businesses, but it's been very effective for us. The email follow-up arrives the same day, and the physical letter a few days after that.
I'm very interested in this phenomenon where people seem to idolize certain outdated, analog technology. It seems to be some reaction against, or coping mechanism for, the increasingly digital world. I have a lot of fuzzy thoughts on it, and I'd like to read a book or an article that unpacks the idea more thoroughly.
>Computer keyboards make a mousy tappy tap tappy tap like ones you hear in a Starbucks — work may be getting done but it sounds cozy and small, like knitting needles creating a pair of socks. I wonder if he's tried a mechanical keyboard? He might like it quite a bit better, even if just for the fact that you can choose your personality of keyboard with your computer, just like he does with typewriters.