Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > History
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-19-2014, 12:56 PM
 
326 posts, read 496,289 times
Reputation: 170

Advertisements

throughout high school, 1986-1990 i used either a computer at school (no idea which) or a crude word processor by Brother. In 8th grade we took a typing class using typewriters, but i don't remember ever using typewriters for school aside from that.

oh, and has anyone posted pics of hipsters using typewriters in cafes yet?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-19-2014, 01:13 PM
 
526 posts, read 895,283 times
Reputation: 812
in the late 70's our office had one "mag" card shared by 4 secretaries.

In 2006 I had the hardest time finding any IMB correcting selectric to fill out an job app. I found a library that had one (and lots of libraries that didn't).

I never reliably figured out how to scan forms so I could fill them in - sometimes it worked/sometimes it didn't.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-19-2014, 06:28 PM
 
Location: Miami, FL
8,087 posts, read 9,779,216 times
Reputation: 6650
1995. I bought a computer and printer that year.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2014, 11:10 AM
 
4,363 posts, read 7,023,487 times
Reputation: 5206
I think it's funny - that when the Democrats during the (2000 or 2004?) Presidential campaign, produced copies of "old 1972" documents trying to prove that George Bush, Jr., back when he was a young Air Reservist, had missed some of Reserve duty dates, or gone AWOL, everyone believed them, and "60 Minutes" did a televised story on it.

UNTIL someone pointed out that the "supposedly old" documents actually had variable-spaced fonts --- and typewriters back in 1972 all had mono-spaced fonts (meaning that characters such as "W" or "M" occupied the same width space as an "I" or "1").

Then it was, OOPS! Those documents must be forgeries, photocopied several times over to make them look "old".

Last edited by slowlane3; 04-21-2014 at 11:30 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2014, 01:30 PM
 
3,695 posts, read 4,964,007 times
Reputation: 2069
Quote:
Originally Posted by slowlane3 View Post
I think it's funny - that when the Democrats during the (2000 or 2004?) Presidential campaign, produced copies of "old 1972" documents trying to prove that George Bush, Jr., back when he was a young Air Reservist, had missed some of Reserve duty dates, or gone AWOL, everyone believed them, and "60 Minutes" did a televised story on it.

UNTIL someone pointed out that the "supposedly old" documents actually had variable-spaced fonts --- and typewriters back in 1972 all had mono-spaced fonts (meaning that characters such as "W" or "M" occupied the same width space as an "I" or "1").

Then it was, OOPS! Those documents must be forgeries, photocopied several times over to make them look "old".
Nope, The only reason I know this is because I learned to type on an 1960's model in High School. Some typewriters had proportionally spaced fonts which is an type of variable spaced font. The problem with the documents are more to do with chain of custody and they are not the originals.

http://http://selectric.org/ibmtypebar/index.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=WBw...pacing&f=false

Last edited by chirack; 04-21-2014 at 02:06 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2014, 05:10 PM
 
Location: Philaburbia
41,737 posts, read 74,703,059 times
Reputation: 66675
I still use a typewriter ... they are indispensable for filling out forms, etc.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2014, 01:38 PM
 
43,292 posts, read 44,007,680 times
Reputation: 20388
I remember working as secretary while I was doing graduate school part time in the early 1990s and using an IBM selectric typewriter as my office didn't have a printer at the beginning. Then after we got a printer, I was still using the typewriter to type individual envelopes as the printer didn't have that capability. (When we had a large mailing list, we would print labels but not for a single envelope that had was going to just one person.)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2014, 04:19 PM
 
Location: Cushing OK
14,539 posts, read 21,168,909 times
Reputation: 16936
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chava61 View Post
I remember working as secretary while I was doing graduate school part time in the early 1990s and using an IBM selectric typewriter as my office didn't have a printer at the beginning. Then after we got a printer, I was still using the typewriter to type individual envelopes as the printer didn't have that capability. (When we had a large mailing list, we would print labels but not for a single envelope that had was going to just one person.)
When I was working as a programmer, we had a small system which did the mailing for one of the execs. She had a list and would send forms with the names to be added. We probably spent more time on her tiny system than the bigger ones. But she'd call and demand her stuff get there the next day which got passed on to the Operations manager to explain why not.

But she'd send one or two forms and really thought we ran everything for that. Instead, my boss borrowed the selectric the secretary had and typed out a couple of labels on the same paper. She never guessed. When we'd have enough forms we'd run it since all she wanted was her labels.

She did sign paychecks so she got to be a pain.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2023, 10:02 AM
 
10 posts, read 3,304 times
Reputation: 60
This is an old thread, but still relevant, so here we go.

Typewriters mostly disappeared in the 1970s and 1980s when computers and word processors took over. In a work setting, where the goal is to produce a product quickly and efficiently, computers (and even early word processors) were a huge improvement over typewriters; they didn't jam, they allowed corrections to be made on-the-fly before printout, they became far cheaper to own and maintain (especially if you needed a computer anyway) and they were quieter. This allowed for "typist" jobs to be eliminated, saving company money on payroll. Once something saves a company money, that's it.

In the home space they lived on a little bit longer, and when they truly disappeared is a little more gray. We had an electronic typewriter that still got use into the late 90s, even as we had a PC with a word processor, but ultimately this type of situation died off as computers became cheaper. By the late 2000s, they were rare birds. I remember a Selectric in the school library, which was used for hacking out one-off library index cards and spine labels. There was the occasional one (usually a daisy wheel electric) kept in some people's closets for the occasional envelope or check. There was the one that grandma had but didn't really use anymore which needed a new ink ribbon gathering dust. Sometimes you'd see one used as a decoration, particularly the older ones with the nickel brushed keys.

But despite this, they did sometimes hang on. I myself used one into the 2000s, a cheap 70s portable manual that a priest gave to my grandma, who gave it to me "as a toy." It was used for journaling, and even occasionally for school essays. This was the in-between time when computers were cheap enough for a middle class family to own but not quite cheap enough to give all your kids their own computers. The typewriter allowed me to do my homework in my own room instead of the family computer room where I could be distracted. It wasn't too uncommon for me and my siblings to have to work on essay assignments at the same time, so I'd occasionally just be nice and use my typewriter instead. I think some of the older teachers offered me a little bit more leniency on things like typos and spelling mistakes when I did this, because they understood that it was allot more work.

I personally like and own typewriters into adulthood, but I didn't have to use them for too much real work. My thought is that for somebody who actually had to do real work with a typewriter, they're seen as awful machines because they remember the White-Out, cutting and pasting, retyping, retyping again, constant clatter, stuck keys, difficult copies, etc.

But for light writing where x-ing over mistakes is good enough, or for doing first drafts and then bringing into a word processor to revise, they're not bad at all. In some ways they offer a better raw writing experience. They make for distraction free writing, and the sound and weight of them makes you feel more productive.

I find it easier to get my raw thoughts down on a typewriter than on a computer, then use the computer to streamline everything. The typewriter is easier than hand writing because my arm gets tired after a couple of pages. If I start on the computer, I get caught up in revising and re-revising and never get anywhere, while with the typewriter I give more forethought to writing, commit the thought to paper, and if I don't like it -- oh well -- that's a later problem because it's already committed. Technically I could impose the same limitations on myself in Word, but it's too tempting to revise on the spot.

It also helps that I enjoy repairing devices and electronics, so the mechanical aspect of the machine itself is engaging to me. I've gotten many an old thrift store typewriter back into good mechanical condition, only to pass them along to curious friends and family. I find them enjoyable and rewarding to work on. If you don't like this type of work, and don't live near one of the last remaining typewriter repair shops on this planet, an older manual typewriter might not be for you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-23-2023, 11:38 AM
 
12,066 posts, read 23,110,538 times
Reputation: 27161
Why is it still relevant? It seems to have happily died eight years ago.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > History

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top