Typewriter - a Dead Communication Technology - Essay Example

A typewriter a “Dead” Communication Technology xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Course xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecturer xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date Typewriter a “Dead” Communication Technology A typewriter is an automatic or an electromechanical machine for writing in typescript like the ones fashioned by printers’ type that is keyboard controlled types striking a ribbon that transmits ink or carbon impressions onto the paper. A typewriter was at first intended for the blind, but an idea for a new machine was considered. The notion of a typewriter dates back in 1714, when Henry Mill filed a vaguely-worded copyright for a temporary machine or a way for the astounding or letters transcribing one at a time or gradually one after another. The idea was to engross all the writings in a paper or parchment so that the machine or the system may be of great use in settlements as well as public records. The impression was deeper and lasting than other writings which were not to be removed or imitated without noticeable discovery. But if the invention of Mill’s gained great use in settlements, there is no record that exists (The Great Idea Finder 2007). There were some serious efforts to create a mechanical writing machine which includes Burt’s topographer in 1829, the Thurber machine in 1843, and the mechanical topographer of Jones in 1852. None of these was successful. Christopher Lathan Sholes, a milwauke printer, a politician and sometimes inventor, started to work on a machine that was given a name of typewriter later in 1867. Promoted by James Densmore, Sholes kept on improving the machine between 1867 and 1873 getting the help from Carlos Glidden who was a lawyer, a civil engineer and a draftsman by the name Samuel W Soule, and Matthias Schwalbach who was a machinist, a tower clock maker and an inventor. By 1873, two efforts to make a machine by Densmore which was the first in Chicago and the second in Milwaukee had failed. On 1 march 1873 a company of E. Remington & Sons, which were makers of firearms, farm equipments and sewing machines, agreed to create the machine. The chief mechanic in the sewing machine department of the company and the superintendent of mechanics adapted the Sholes form and redesigned it to mass production systems (Cortada 2000). On 30 April 1874, the first “Sholes & Glidden” machine was taken to Milwaukee, and two months later it was introduced to sale to the public. This was a blind writer, whereby the operative could not view what was being typed and wrote capitals only. The machine was mounted on a sewing machine base whereby it used a foot treadle to revisit the carriage, which showed the influence of the sewing machine mechanic. Several revisions were done to machine until 1878 when the introduction of Remington #2 machine was done. This machine had great improvement which wrote both capitals and lower case letters, had a hand-returned carriage and was planned for table-top use. In Remington #2 machine, a sewing machine base was derelict but it remained a blind writer (Hoke 1985). After their discovery, typewriters rapidly became indispensable machines for all basically writing other than individual connection. The machines were extensively used by professional writers, in homes, in offices and for business communication. The sales of typewriter were slow at first but later increased quickly in 1880s in which the machines marked the saleable acceptance and in particular after 1882, when the rival machines such as Caligraph, the Crandall, the Hammond and the Hall, started crowding Remington market. By 1900, Remington firm had sold more than half a million machines. When the use of typewriter became widespread, it was mainly controlled by women. The attempt to create a visible rather than blind machine led to various inventive methods of obtaining the type bars to the platen. The early visible writers include the Williams and the Oliver. In 1891, the Daugherty visible was the first frontstroke typewriter to go into production. In this machine the type bars rest beneath the platen and hit the face of it. This mode of typewriter started to achieve superiority with the Underwood of 1895. The #5 was the most accepted model of early Underwood which was created by millions. All the typewriters by 1920s were practically look-alikes: front stroke, QWERTY, type bar machines which printed through a ribbon, by use of one shift key and four banks of keys. At that time, Sholes had already attracted the attention of Thomas Alva Edison, who forecast that one day electricity would power typewriters. Edison created a typewriter that was driven by a sequence of magnets which was a development related to his design of the stock ticker. The magnetic typewriter demonstrated far realistic than Edison’s stock quotation machine. At that time, Electromatic Typewriters were producing electric typewriter and were making modest amount of money in the procedure. In 1933, Business Machines Corporation bought the tools, patents and production amenities of the firm and in 1934, they invested million dollars in typewriter research and services facilities and started marketing what would become the first entirely successful electric typewriter, the IBM model 01. In 1942, the company added a comparative spacing to typewriter technology, whereby a new carriage mechanism abolished the irregular appearance of typewritten material where narrow letters take as much space as wide letters (Jensen 1988). Proportional spacing gives every letter typed as much space as necessary which greatly developed the look as well as the eligibility of typewritten material. BMI introduced a revolutionary way to make a typewriter work and work well. This was IBM Selectric typewriter which replaced type bars and moving carriages with a printing element, a sphere not bigger than a golf ball, which have all alphabet lettering, numbers as well as punctuation symbols. The elements shifts along a slender metal rod, tilting and rocking at extremely high speed as it choose the desired letter. The BMI Selectric 11 typewriter was introduced in 1971, containing dual- pitch mechanism, it enables the typist to switch from ten-pitch (ten lettering per inch) to twelve pitches (twelve lettering per inch) for typing in business structure. Another feature of selectric 11 typewriters is IBM Tech 111 ribbon enclosed in a snap-in/snap-out catridge, Mylar ribbon need to be changed five times per year as contrast to 64 changes required with the previously used ribbon. In 1973, BMI corrected the selectric typewriter made history in typing as it makes typing errors to disappear from the original copies. As IBM (2012) states, the typewriter equipped with special lift-off tape, it enables typist to lift-off tape mistaken lettering from typed copy. Lift-off tape totally removes ink impressions from the paper, letting the operator to simply type in the correct lettering and go on typing. BMI selecrtic 11 have become most popular for learning in schools and in most features business. Later on, BMI developed a more advanced Selectric typewriter with communicating Mag Card and magnetic card typewriters which are able to send prerecorded data to each other at any distance through voice-grade telephones. Communicating Mag Card typewriter enables magnetic card typewriters to give input to computers and receiving data from them (IBM 2012). IBM Mag Card 11 typewriter was introduced in 1973 which its electronic memory holds up to 8,000 lettering which is equal to 2 and a half pages of typing. Once in memory, data can be documented on magnetic cards at 200 letters per second. A BMI memory typewriter was introduced in 1974 which facilitated typists to complete their work with shortest time and effort. This memory in a typewriter stores everything typed and facilitates the typist to recollect and revise previously typed materials. The IBM Right to left correcting Selectric typewriter was in the market in 1977. This reverses the performance of the conventional model planned for English and other western languages. It prints right to left, matching to the direction of these languages. Later on, IBM6240 Mag Card Typewriter which gives high speed, high value impact was introduced in 1977 operating at a speed of 55 lettering per second with a changeable operating print wheel accessible in 10 and 12 pitch (IBM 2012). The looming obsolescence of the typewriter started in early 1980s with the rise in recognition of word processor as well as personal computer. This discovery rapidly overshadowed their predecessor, mostly because of their competence and capability of storing as well as retrieving documents. That is the same efficiency that drove Henry Mill to get a patent in 1714 for a machine for letter transcribing onto paper or parchment. Most of the companies that used to manufacture typewriter has shut down due to lack of customer. This is because most of the people, offices and business have abandoned typewriters of late and switched to computers. Some of the companies which used to manufacture typewriters such as brother donated their machines to the Science Museum in London in 1985, after the computers dominated the world (Miller 2012). Conclusively, typewriters were Henry Mill invention that was intended for blind people but later it was developed to visible machines. The idea behind typewriters invention was to engross all the writings in a paper or parchment so that the machine or the system may be of great use in settlements as well as public records. Different and improved typewriters were developed at different times with different features that enabled the typist to work efficiently. Typewriters era came to an end at early 1980s when word processor and personal computers were introduced in the market. References Cortada, J. W. 2000. Before the Computer: IBM, NCR, Burroughs, and Remington Rand and the Industry They Created, 1865-1956. Princeton University Press. Finder, T. G. I., 2007. The great idea finder. [Online] Available at: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/typrwriter.htm [Accessed Saturday August 2013]. Hoke, D., 1985. The Woman and the Typewriter, Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum. IBM, 2012. IBM. [Online] Available at: http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/modelb/modelb_informal.html [Accessed Saturday August 2013]. Miller, G., 2012. Thesteepletimes. [Online] Available at: http://thesteepletimes.com/the-fog/the-death-of-the-typewriter-the-death-of-an-era/ [Accessed Saturday August 2013]. Jensen, J. 1988. Using the typewriter: secretaries, reporters and authors, 1880–1930. Technology in Society, 10(2), 255-266. Read More