College student takes retro "laptop" to class!

[Heidi]

Professor: "Can you figure out a way to mute your sound?"
Kid: "It uh... it doesn't do that."
Typewriter: Ding!

:rofl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4nwe7cW_og&feature=related

[Manifestor_of_Light]

1. I took an IBM Executive typewriter to college, circa 1972.

Dad had to lug it -- it was heavy. This was before selectrics with balls.

My roomies were horrified "OMG! She's serious! She studies! She types!".

:rofl:

I thought you went to college to learn stuff, mostly. Guess they didn't.

[Heidi]

2. Right on, Manifestor_of_Light!

I had a blue IBM Selectric in college (early 80s) and I could have made a bundle in beer money by letting others use it to type papers. :rofl:

[Captain Hilts]

25. Damn. Those things were noisy. nt

[Manifestor_of_Light]

57. This is what I learned on.

My mom's green IBM Executive, which used variable spacing (32nds of an inch). Dad was a lawyer and she typed for him. I sat on a couple of phone books and started typing on this at age five.
It cost $650.00 in 1955, which was a helluva lot of money. But it produced beautiful work.




This is what I took to college in 1972, in red. I typed lots of papers for other people on it:



When I was a court reporter I had a selectric with what we called a "cheater ratchet" which typed 9 to the inch instead of ten characters to the inch.

I took one semester of typing in high school. Hated it because we learned on manual typewriters of course. I type too fast for those, and my fingers get stuck between the keys. That hurts.

I used to jam up IBMs and Selectrics. When Selectrics burp they hesitate and type a hyphen.

My land speed record on a Selectric is 97 wpm with 2 errors in five minutes.

My land speed record on a computer is 114 wpm while going back and correcting all my errors.

Why am I so good at this? I started piano lessons at age five and took lessons for ten years.

[kentauros]

3. Yeah, well, imagine if he had that bright red typewriter like Call Me Wesley's, Heidi!

:rofl:

[Heidi]

4. "That bright red typewriter"??????????????

CMW will swallow his tongue when he sees that you have described his 1969 Olivetti Valentine in such coarse terms.

("That bright red typewriter" is currently on loan to a friend of ours, who is using it to create the holiday cards for his design firm. CMW awaits his baby's safe return.) :rofl:

[kentauros]

5. It's still just a bright, fire-engine-red typewriter to me

:P

It's too "loud" to actually use out in public :rofl:

[Call Me Wesley]

29. But you get all the girls with it:

[kentauros]

50. I have a girl already, thankyewverymulch

:P

I'll be chatting with her on Skype in about an hour, too :D

[Call Me Wesley]

51. LOL!

Tell her I said 'hi' and that I have an olivetti valentine! ;)

Darn, there was a really nice centaur pic on Renderosity, and when I saw it I thought of you but now can't find it anymore. :(

[kentauros]

53. Okay, I'll tell her

though I don't know if she'd know what it is.

By the way, even though I didn't comment, I did like the images you PM'd, especially the Eagle from Space: 1999 :D

Don't worry about not being able to find the centaur pick; I'm on a mailing list where folks routinely scour the 'net for images, so it will likely show up somewhere :)

[sazemisery]

8. That is one awesome typewriter!

When all my friends went to college, circa 1974-1978, I followed. Didn't have the money or resources to enroll, so I ran a "taxi" service for students in my apartment complex (no parking hassles that way), typed papers for a price, and slung drinks in a hotel bar. Life was easy then. As my hero, Dr. H.S. Thompson said, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."

That is one NICE typewriter.:hi:

[Heidi]

9. Oh, my GAWD! I lovelovelove you!

Look what CMW and I got our friend's little boy for Christmas!!!! :rofl:

http://www.redmolotov.com/catalogue/tshirts/all/gonzo-fist-tshirt/lightgreykidstshirt.html

[sazemisery]

42. Teh T-shirt is awesome!

Way to go! :hi:

[HopeHoops]

12. Well, now I know where they got the design for the Osbourne computer.

I suspect it was heavier than the typewriter. I had to lug one around for a while, so my memory may be colored on this matter a bit, but it was a heavy sucker.

[Heidi]

13. Check this out: the Olivetti Valentine reimagined as a laptop

by industrial design students at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna:

Short slide show: http://www1.uni-ak.ac.at/industrialdesign/joomla/index.php?option=com_projectmanagment&typ=project_single&project=8&media=1

[callous taoboy]

6. My last semester of college I destroyed my typewriter.

I had typed many papers on it and it was beginning to act up. I'd type an "m" and get "mmmmmmmmmmmm."
While typing one of my last papers at 2:30 a.m. I'd finally had it. I picked that mother up and slammed it on the ground and then jumped up and down on it.

[Heidi]

7. Had you shot your typewriter,

you'd have done Hunter S. Thompson proud. :rofl:

[Captain Hilts]

34. Remember the scene in "Julia," in which Fonda, as Hellman throws hers out the window?

[Tabasco_Dave]

10. If i was the professor

i would call his bluff and make him take his notes on the typewriter.:rofl:

[Heidi]

11. He didn't appear to be a very adept typist, did he?

I, on the other hand, could in all my nerdish glory meet your challenge, Professor Tabasco_Dave! :rofl:

[mulsh]

14. I still use my Underwood Manual when the power goes out.

here's a link to an add for the same model. Great little machines.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17401298

[Heidi]

15. Very, very lovely machine, mulsh!

Call Me Wesley has his eye on a 1920s Underwood, so I have a feeling that by nightfall we will be the proud owners of a seventh manual typewriter. :)

Thanks for keeping your manual typewriter in service. These are wonderful, sturdy old machines, aren't they? :hi:

[mulsh]

22. 7 manual typewriters, wow, one for every day of the week.

You guys may single-handedly save the manual typewriter. I love my old Underwood in ways I've never cozyed up to a computer. I think it has something to do with the bell.

I'm lucky in that Berkeley Typewriter Repair is still in business. Patrick's Stationary in SF used to stock typewriter ribbons, not sure if they still do. I don't know where you guys live but here's a link to typewriter repair businesses through out the US &the United States anthe world.

http://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-repair.html

[Heidi]

23. That's a Will Davis link!

He's _the_ manual typewriter guru in North America and his advice is worth its weight in gold. :thumbsup:

We live in southern Switzerland, about five minutes from the Italian border, and my local stationers shop is owned by a wonderful Swiss-Italian man who had a collection of more than 30 manual typewriters that he recently donated to a museum in Schwyz...consequently, he's my connection to a steady supply of typewriter ribbons. I'm very lucky that way!

And you're right, mulsh, there's something comforting about the bell, though I can't put my finger on exactly what that something is. :hi:

[Captain Hilts]

26. Use it for letters and postcards. nt

[merh]

16. For you & CMW!

http://www.soundjay.com/typewriter-sounds.html

:hi: :hug: :grouphug:

[Heidi]

21. MERH!!!!!!

I _love_ these sound effects! When I typed on my patio last summer, our neighbor (a retired banker who owns the vacation home next to our house) walked over to the fence and told me the hammers hitting the paper and platen reminded him of his younger days. He walked away with the biggest smile. :)

P.S. :hug: :loveya:

:*

[merh]

27. I used to have the program on my computer that made the

typewriter sounds as I typed. It helped me learn the computer in a comforting sort of way. I first went to work in offices where we used the typewriters and carbon paper and white out, the machines for word processing were luxuries that we eventually acquired but not right away because they were bulky and expensive. Even then, only the chosen few were allowed to use them. Computers were not the norm, it took several years after the word processors before they became an office feature and then, again, not everyone had one.

I had a couple of three old manuals before Katrina. I like to think that now some fish is playing with the keys on some reef somewhere.

:hi:


:hug: :loveya:

[datasuspect]

17. i took my Royal Quiet Delxue into starbucks with me

when people looked at me, I exclaimed: "I. Am. A. Writer." and looked insultingly at them.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

18. does that include curling your upper lip and raising your eybrow?

because, dude. that is an awesome look on you :D

[Heidi]

20. !

"There is nothin' wrong with these people that one Foghorn Leghorn video would not cure." -- Mojo Nixon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRcaRQZ4p2g

[Heidi]

19. Some of us do that.

The hardcore typewriter fans, and especially the younger ones, engage in public typing as a kind of performance art. I've never engaged in public typing, but next summer, I may. :D

"I. Am. An. Arteest." :rofl:

[Captain Hilts]

24. I still use my Hermes 3000 for letters.

[Call Me Wesley]

28. Nice!

we have a Hermes Media 3 here and it's very smooth typing. :hi:

[Heidi]

30. Bless you, brother-in-arms! Here's a two-fer just for YOU!

[Captain Hilts]

32. I'm getting all moist-eyed! Mine's from 1967. Mum got it to type dad's

master's thesis.

I'm about to buy a new ribbon. It's time.

Fabulous picture and scan!!!!!

I'm overcome!

[Heidi]

35. Oh, dear, though. CMW just minutes ago bought our seventh manual typewriter.

At this point, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's a beauty but needs a lot of TLC, and it's the oldest machine we've ever had. :yoiks:

Before anyone assumes we're made of money, we're definitely not. CMW paid circa $95 for this machine (Swiss seller) and it's one of his Christmas gifts. I'm afraid I'll be afraid to even touch it. x(

[Heidi]

36. P.S. Get a SILK ribbon, if you can. They hold ink a LOT better than nylon!

I just sent a silk ribbon (for a Royal) to a DU friend in the US. With moderate use, a silk ribbon can last for years as opposed to nylon ribbons which I blow through like Kleenex (so to speak). :(

[Captain Hilts]

37. You're Swiss! No wonder you have a Hermes!!

I will look for silk.

Typewriters can be had pretty inexpensively, but, as you point out, repair is a beast.

http://mytypewriter.com/hermes.aspx

[Heidi]

38. I'm an American from OKLAHOMA!!!!

I only live, work and herd cats in Switzerland. :rofl:

P.S. Most people don't know this, but many common manual typewriter repairs can be done with needle-nose pliers, long tweezers, small flat-tip and Phillips screwdrivers, and a flashlight. The most important thing to know, if you attempt to dismantle a manual typewriter, is to (use your cell phone) photograph EVERY step of the operation. There are a jillion tiny screws and springs, and they're all important. Canned air, a stiff brush and gun oil are other helpful tools. If uncrafty/unhandy Heidi can do minor manual typewriter repairs, ANYONE can. (And I am NOT kidding you, friend. I am exceptionally UNHANDY.)

[Captain Hilts]

39. Yes, that's what's great about non-high tech technology...

I help restore a historic submarine and that's how we do it too!

[Heidi]

40. It wasn't the USS Batfish, was it?

:rofl:

One of my dear friends in high school and college was a guy (bless him, he was a great friend) who often bragged about his dad being a security guard on the USS Batfish, moored at the Port of Muskogee (Oklahoma). However, I often thought, "Alex, why does a submarine anchored in Muskogee, Oklahoma, need security? Is there a reasonable danger that someone will tow it away???????"

[Captain Hilts]

41. I know a Batfish veteran...and there's a sub in Nebraska too!

I actually spent time on the one in Nebraska while it was in commission.

It's kinda weird to have a sub in OK! And an NBA team!

[Heidi]

43. Okay, this is gettin' freaky.

I lived in central Nebraska for 15 years. That was SOME kinda cold and more snow than I could reasonably shake a stick at. (No joke: six-foot snow drifts at the end of the driveway, created primarily by the snow removal crews cleanin' the streets.) :scared:

[enigmatic]

58. Well, as long as we're whipping out our Typers..

I have one of these babies hidden away in storage, ready to make their Grand Entrance back into my upstairs recording/writing room:



I bought mine for 10 bucks at a thrift store several years ago to replace the one I originally had (same model) when I was still living in the US; the person who originally owned was a repoter for UPI.

I loved that Smith-Corona..

[Heidi]

61. What a fine machine!

Just beautiful! I hope you're giving it a life in writing; these machines were built like tanks and I sense that they _want_ to be of service. (Or maybe I have too much "mono no aware" with regard these old things. I dunno.)

Wishing you, Mrs e and e-kitty a warm holiday season, my friend. :hug:

:loveya:

[enigmatic]

65. You too, Heidi!

:hug:

[baldguy]

31. He could've brought in an Osborne Portable from 1981

Though this thing is 26 lbs. The typewriter probably weighs less.

[Heidi]

33. Someone noted the similarity upthread. The Osborne isn't exactly a design masterpiece, is it?

YIKES! :yoiks:

[kentauros]

52. Yeah, but it doesn't have the sweet sound of a typewriter bell.

DING!

Just the roar of the hard-drives, floppy drives and power-supply fans. I'd be surprised if anyone could hear the professor over that thing :P

[graywarrior]

44. !

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Heidi]

45. Illustrator doesn't run on it, though.

Are you disappointed, or celebrating? :rofl:

[graywarrior]

46. Celebrating!

9 out of 22 students presented their work. Mine rocked. I'd post it here but I don't have Illustrator or InDesign on my computer.

[Heidi]

47. Oh, dear.

A PM to CMW would fix your unfortunate situation, sweets. Just sayin'. :D

[graywarrior]

48. CMW?

[Heidi]

49. You know.

That Swiss guy who hates pizza. The one I fondly refer to as "my future ex-husband."

[graywarrior]

54. O O O!

[tigereye]

55. kids now can't imagine what it was like to have to type papers and use

correct-type on em. Crazy. I still remember the clunky desk-top computer I typed post-grad papers on and was thrilled to be able to "save" sections and move them around!


:rofl:

[yawnmaster]

56. how about the retro word processor...

you know.
Paper and pencil.
(you can even use the pocket dictionary and thesaurus!)

[Inchworm]

59. Hi you!

I can't type or compute, but I can always say I loves you. :)

:hi

:loveya:

[Heidi]

60. Right back atcha, sweets!

You failed to include a kiss, but I'll overlook it (this time). :*

:loveya:

:hug:

[Inchworm]

62. The err lies in the failed "hi"

:* :*

[Heidi]

63. Woo-hoo!

:bouncity-bounce:

Happy Friday, friend! :hug:

[Inchworm]

64. Back atcha!

I'm secretly hoping for a snow day...

Not counting on it though :)

:* <=kiss