Tuesday, June 17, 2014

How far that first typewriter has come

Top row: typewriters - Bottom row: computers
When I was in high school, I was taught to type on that first typewriter, the Underwood, in the upper left. I remember that it took a LOT of strength to depress those keys properly, so that they would strike the paper. My pinky fingers weren't as strong as the others, so I had to work to get those letters to show up. You couldn't type very fast, or you'd find, as you checked your work, that you had misspelled the words. Then my first actual fancy typewriter, still manual, looked like that red portable Olympus.

Most of my working days before the advent of computers were spent typing on that final one in the top row: the Selectric. I supposed we used that one exclusively in our office because all you had to do to change the type was to replace the little ball, and it was electric (hence the name). I actually bought one of these for my home use, and as I remember I paid quite a lot of money for it, even though it was well used.

In the mid-1980s, we moved to computers, if you can call them that when you relate them to what we use today. That first picture in the second row is a Micom computer, which all the secretaries in my office shared. It used 8-inch floppy disks; you put in the disk and launched the program, and it would type out your manuscript. We were producing scientific papers, so you couldn't very well use a dot matrix printer. Everything was typed out, letter by letter. You could finally fix a typo on the screen and not have to start over! Wow, was that ever cool.

Then came my first actual personal computer, an Apple II, which had a 3.5-disk drive and seemed so very small! I had its use all to myself, and my productivity went way up. I loved this computer and was very sad when we moved to PCs with Windows 98. But I did get accustomed to it very quickly. The days of keys striking a paper through a ribbon were long gone.

That final picture is of a MacBook Air, on which I am typing this post. It's all right there in that little tiny flat thing in that last picture in the bottom row. When you open it up, you have the keyboard, and the internet gives me the ability to talk face to face with my sister, import pictures from my camera or iPhone, and basically be connected to the world.
My MacBook Air
How far we have come from those faraway days when I first learned to type on that old Underwood! And now many people type into tiny little phones, using their thumbs, one stroke at a time. But it's all MUCH faster that I was able to accomplish on that old manual typewriter. I found this funny, very short little video showing a woman who was out of the work force for awhile and returned. You would only understand this little 5-second video if you are a Boomer or older.


:-)

26 comments:

  1. lol...funny vid...i think i worked on all of them but that first one...though i would love too...ours in high school still had slides and letters on arms and correction tape...now with Dragon software you dont even need a keyboard too....crazy huh?

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  2. I still have my old typewriter!!! With ribbon...and the ribbon was red on top and black on bottom...remember those?

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  3. oh, that made me laugh!

    i have a huge, heavy old royal typewriter here in my office that my sis and i used as kids. in high school, i used the ibm selectrics, mostly. then came the computers with the green screens. intercompany communication was FABULOUS. then emails. then the web! eek!

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  4. I do remember that. So well. And still have my typewriter too. And touch type...

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  5. I remember the Selectric (or something near to it - Brother maybe?). I learned to type on it! Remember the carbon paper?

    At my very first job we didn't have computers. But eventually, we got one. To share. No one but me wanted anything to do with it.

    My how times have changed.

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  6. That was so-oo funny! And yes, I learned to type at a typing school in downtown New Orleans on one just like that first one.

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  7. Ha ha, yes I can relate. I also followed most of your trail except my Olympus was blue. I was just talking to a friend on the phone about how did we ever make it without computers? I don't want to go back.

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  8. I had a Smith Corona electric in college -- boy did I think I was cool! Used a Selectric for years. Now a desktop and a laptop. But I cannot get the hang of thumbing my smartphone.

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  9. I went through exactly the same sequence, even that first one. Though I still prefer typing on a full size keyboard.

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  10. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! My first computer was also an Apple product, but like you abandoned it at the office. I was thrilled to finally return to Apple with my very own Mac a couple of years ago.

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  11. Cool video! I never learned to type properly..I have my own system. I took typing in summer school but got Poison Ivy so bad they didn't want me in class. The typing teacher was a dirty old man so I never returned to have him touch my shoulders or look down my blouse. I get by:)

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  12. Love the video!
    In high school I learned to type one of those ancient old typewriters. My first typewriter for college was a little red one like in your picture. I remember going through a lot of white out.

    Do you remember the first word processors? It looked like a typewriter except for the tiny digital screen that showed the line you had just typed but not the whole document.

    My first PC was a Mac SE, I loved that little thing. Actually the Mac made it very easy for me to transition to Windows 98, they were similar in many ways.

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  13. I had an old Underwood like that first one, an old used one, that I took to college. I was a terrible typist, and avoided typing whenever I could. I remember using Erase Ease paper in college, even though the professors didn't really like it.
    The word processor was a wonderful invention for me!
    I do love all of the improvements that have been made in my lifetime.

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  14. I have a similar history. I was a legal transcriber for ten years and wore out my Selectric.

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  15. Yup, I am a boomer all right. Lol. That video struck a bell. You neglected to mention the IBM Mag Card. It was invented during the period between the electric typewriter and the computer.

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  16. That video cracked me up! I remember having that exact same reflex for awhile when first typing on a computer.

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  17. I used to type papers for College Students, so remember a great deal of these - yep, olde wizard here on the keys and still enjoy showing off a wee bit with my speed and nary a mistake. he,he Lovely, interesting post DJan and the video was amusing; I had to chuckle as it is quite funny. Thanks for the history and the giggle. Have a wonderful day.

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  18. It all sounds familiar. My piano lessons helped me a lot in high school typing class. And I could type much faster then that now on my spouse laptop with its small keyboard, jumpy cursor and numerous "errors" by smudging the wrong keys. Oh well its progress, I guess.....:)

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  19. I learned to type on an old manual like the first one you picture. Typing test goals were 60WPM, minimum. We had a lovely old Corona or Smith manual (very old, probably 1940s) we bolted to our first desk when we married. The desk was mahoghany, very plain, ca 1920s or early 30s, with a flat top and a hideaway for the typewriter. You could raise & lower the typewriter by lifting a lever or panel or something. It was so practical. Wish I still had it.

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  20. I learned on an old Underwood, too. In fact, for nostalgia's sake I bought a similar one a few years back on ebay. It is too hard for me to use much at all with my bum arm (yes, those keys are hard to press down all the way and this explains why I pound too hard on my keyboards and never could get used to an eleeeectrrrrric typppppewrrrriterrrrrrrr--LOL!). I just love seeing the strength of that black machine poised there on my desk, though...all cleaned and oiled with a new ribbon...ready and waiting. ;)

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  21. last month I took my manual typewriter to Cayucos and gave it to a lady there whose daughter collects old typewriters. I won't ever use it again and saw no point in it sitting in my closet any longer. My parents purchased it for me in 1967 to help me learn how to type. In 1987 we bought our first PC. Today I am typing on my second MacBook Pro. We have come a long way in 47 years.

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  22. I also learned to type on one o those real typewriters. I had no fingernails to speak of. And when I look at my MacAir and my iPad,I'm truly blown away by how far we are removed from those clunky typewriters.

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  23. Too funny!!! I have my old typewriter too. I just couldn't give it up. It's in my daughter's attic in Illinois. I was thinking about writing a post about telephones.

    Your MacBook Air looks wonderful. I've been salivating over one I see at the store every time we go there.

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  24. I remember typing class in high school and how much I disliked it. Now my fingers fly on the keyboard so easily I don't even think about it, but I sure don't type like one is supposed to. I use the same four fingers for all the letters. LOL! I still have an old typewriter in the closet.

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  25. It seems that things are changing faster and faster. the more power we get from computers to more programs we get to do our work.

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  26. I am 39 and I first learned to type on that old Underwood too. Btw, the video made me laugh !

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