The electric typewriter versus the manual one is sort of the difference between an automatic washer, and a wringer. My father bought a Smith Corona electric with the automatic "power return" carrage long before I was born, and used it in his home office to write up reports and stuff. Hummmm... Clackity Clackity DING! Whirrrr...clackity.... When I was a young child, I used to "help" him do is office work. He also had an old Burroughs electro-mechanical adding machine (no micro-processors!) He'd call out the numbers, and I'd enter them into the machine...kachunk kachunk, and the paper tape would spit out the back! I couldn't imagine a whole office full of these machines, it must have been pretty noisy back in the day!
He's been using a computer for about the past 10 years to do everything he needs to with spreadsheets, E-mail and the like. His office is pretty silent now, just the sound of his I-pod playing through his stereo as he gets his stuff done. His old Smith Corona, and the Burroughs resides at my house now, and I decided to pull them out and make sure it's still working good. I opened up the suitcase that held the typewriter and was instantly taken back into childhood from the smell of the ink and the oil inside. Even the feel of the machine was something I'll never forget. As a child, it felt like I was commanding a heavy piece of equipment as I touched the keys...it didn't take much effort to depress the a key, but the whole machine would vibrate to the hammer hitting the paper, and the carrage advancing a notch. The hum of the induction motor as it sat there and idled brought back memories. Even the output of the text brought brought back memories...the "o" filled in and made a dot, and I remember Dad having to use this little toothbrush thingy to clean it out. The ribbon ink is getting a little dried out, wonder if I can find one for this machine? I thought this machine looked so nice against my own handwriting at the time, but now, the type looks so crude against the fancy proportional text that lazer printers and tru-type fonts produce!
I decided to play with the adding machine too, and went a little "old fashioned" for one of my own jobs. My taxes aren't too complex, so I started adding things up with it.. kachunk kachunk kachunk! It's nice getting a "hard copy" you can check. This machine also has that unique oil smell to it. I was instantly 6 years old again, sitting at my own chair on the other side of Dad's desk helping him with his daily paperwork!
Now, somewhere around here, I've got his old red rotary telephone. That was his "hotline" he told us that work calls came in on,and to speak clearly to people on it and take down all their information so he could call them back! We had two lines going into the house, and that phone was on his business line.
He's been using a computer for about the past 10 years to do everything he needs to with spreadsheets, E-mail and the like. His office is pretty silent now, just the sound of his I-pod playing through his stereo as he gets his stuff done. His old Smith Corona, and the Burroughs resides at my house now, and I decided to pull them out and make sure it's still working good. I opened up the suitcase that held the typewriter and was instantly taken back into childhood from the smell of the ink and the oil inside. Even the feel of the machine was something I'll never forget. As a child, it felt like I was commanding a heavy piece of equipment as I touched the keys...it didn't take much effort to depress the a key, but the whole machine would vibrate to the hammer hitting the paper, and the carrage advancing a notch. The hum of the induction motor as it sat there and idled brought back memories. Even the output of the text brought brought back memories...the "o" filled in and made a dot, and I remember Dad having to use this little toothbrush thingy to clean it out. The ribbon ink is getting a little dried out, wonder if I can find one for this machine? I thought this machine looked so nice against my own handwriting at the time, but now, the type looks so crude against the fancy proportional text that lazer printers and tru-type fonts produce!
I decided to play with the adding machine too, and went a little "old fashioned" for one of my own jobs. My taxes aren't too complex, so I started adding things up with it.. kachunk kachunk kachunk! It's nice getting a "hard copy" you can check. This machine also has that unique oil smell to it. I was instantly 6 years old again, sitting at my own chair on the other side of Dad's desk helping him with his daily paperwork!
Now, somewhere around here, I've got his old red rotary telephone. That was his "hotline" he told us that work calls came in on,and to speak clearly to people on it and take down all their information so he could call them back! We had two lines going into the house, and that phone was on his business line.
