Lost one Olivetti Studio 44 to a flood (and to a family member's insistence then that we get rid of it :-( Me: But, parts...!... ).
Got one remaining.
Tom Hanks on Typewriters
41–50 of 93 posts
Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters
#42I have an IBM Selectric that I bought from a Goodwill for $13. It's in near perfect condition.
I can't use it because people can hear it clear across the house. It makes the cats hide. It definitely makes your writer's block very apparent to everyone in earshot; that's embarrassing and leads to filling that silence with "All work and no play..."
That said, it types like a dream. Very few keyboards I've ever used come close (the original PC keyboard is probably the closest in feel). The problem with all of these is that your typing makes the people around you want to murder you.
I have high hopes for the KeyboardIO split keyboard. We'll see :-)
Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters
#43One of Mr. Hanks haunts (his son is attending Stanford) for collecting typewriters.
Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters
#44> No one on the planet has yet to save an Evite. Brilliant. Great little article. Doubt it will do much to overall typewriter usage (I also don't think that is his point, really) but you have to admire his passion.
Doubt it will do much to overall typewriter usage (I also don't think that is his point, really) but you have to admire his passion.
I also doubt it'll increase typewriter usage, but a while ago I saw The Atlantic's review of this device: "The Future of Writing Looks Like the Past: The Freewrite, a 'smart typewriter,' wants to liberate writers from their computers," which looks intriguing (http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/05/freewr...). At $500 it seems a bit pricey, but I've talked to many writers who complain of relentless distraction from the notifications on regular computers, and I wonder if the Freewrite is a possible solution to that problem.
Myself, I'm fond of Freedom (https://freedom.to/) for quieting the temptation to log in, but I can see the appeal of alternatives.
Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters
#45>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.
As someone who restores older Teletype machines, I get to type on a real mechanical keyboard. It's a strange experience at first. When you press a key, it locks down for 200ms while the mechanism cycles. During this period, no other key can be pressed; the other keys are physically blocked. You can't press two keys at once; that, too, is mechanically interlocked. Efficient typing on these machines requires typing at…
Would that requirement for accuracy and speed include telegrams encoded using a commercial code such as the acme?
Arbitrary key combinations strike me as harder to type fluently by feel compared to my native language. Following the piano playing analogy mentioned somewhere up the tree playing a melody in a definite key signature is easier than a 12-tone composition!
Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters
#46"You can choose the typewriter to match your sound signature."
http://freesound.org/people/keithpeter/sounds/123344/#
Olivetti Lettra 22
I might record the Olympia SM9 when I get time to clean it up. The manual suggests getting some cork to rest it on to reduce the sound (it is a solid item).
Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone who restores older Teletype machines, I get to type on a real mechanical keyboard. It's a strange experience at first. When you press a key, it locks down for 200ms while the mechanism cycles. During this period, no other key can be pressed; the other keys are physically blocked. You can't press two keys at once; that, too, is mechanically interlocked. Efficient typing on these machines requires typing at…
Would that requirement for accuracy and speed include telegrams encoded using a commercial code such as the acme? Arbitrary key combinations strike me as harder to type fluently by feel compared to my native language. Following the piano playing analogy mentioned somewhere up the tree playing a melody in a definite key signature is easier than a 12-tone composition!
I once found a commercial code in the Stanford library stacks. Common business phrases were encoded as four-syllable worlds. In the book was a loose piece of typewritten paper stating that after a cutoff date, the telegraph company would charge extra for non-dictionary words. This made the code worthless.
BEROM BODAD VEMAN WEGOT
Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters
#48As 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…
I can assure you a typewritten letter, or should I say envelope, is a sure-fire way to have somebody open the letter. 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 dec…
I bet you use a real stamp too that has to be "pasted" on. First class letters get forwarded too.
I throw so many letters "away" (UBBM) and the sender has no idea it never made it.
Plus many people don't open theor mail right away or they are away from their house for a long period Of time. A first class letter that doesn't look machine-made is always an intriguing "open"
Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would that requirement for accuracy and speed include telegrams encoded using a commercial code such as the acme? Arbitrary key combinations strike me as harder to type fluently by feel compared to my native language. Following the piano playing analogy mentioned somewhere up the tree playing a melody in a definite key signature is easier than a 12-tone composition!
I once found a commercial code in the Stanford library stacks. Common business phrases were encoded as four-syllable worlds. In the book was a loose piece of typewritten paper stating that after a cutoff date, the telegraph company would charge extra for non-dictionary words. This made the code worthless. BEROM BODAD VEMAN WEGOT
Was the extra charge not for enciphered telegrams?
Props for the scifi reference
Re: Tom Hanks on Typewriters
#50> No one on the planet has yet to save an Evite. Brilliant. Great little article. Doubt it will do much to overall typewriter usage (I also don't think that is his point, really) but you have to admire his passion.
Doubt it will do much to overall typewriter usage (I also don't think that is his point, really) but you have to admire his passion. I also doubt it'll increase typewriter usage, but a while ago I saw The Atlantic's review of this device: "The Future of Writing Looks Like the Past: The Freewrite, a 'smart typewriter,' wants to liberate writers from their computers," which looks intriguing ( http://www.theatlantic.com…
You can get an Alphasmart on eBay for 30$ if you want a distraction-free writing device.