Blog 6: EOTO: Typewriter

 

    Technology has and continues to evolve everyday-a prime example of this would be the typewriter. The typewriter was first patented on June 23, 1868 the patent was given to Christopher Latham Sholes; however, this was not the first printing machine to be thought of. In 1714, Henry Mill came up with the idea of a mass printing machine, and earned a patent for his idea; however, no design or physical machine was every built. From 1868 to 1873, 50 typewriters were manufactured, but none were sold, resulting in the sale of the patent to a gun manufacturer. This sale resulted in the Sholes and Glidden typewriter, this design gave us the QWERTY keyboard design that we know and use today on all our computers and most other devices. They keyboard was also designed to have the keys spaced out so they would not jam when typing. It was, however, more of a decorative machine that looked like a sewing machine. In fact, it was manufactured by the Remington arms company in the sewing machine department. While this design was a bigger hit than the original, it still wasn't a big hit, thus creating the Remington-S&G's successor.  

    The design of the Underwood 1, created in 1896, was extremely popular with the four-row keyboard, front key striking that allowed users to see what they were typing (all typewriters before this did not have this design), and included the shift key to allow capitalization. This machine had superior design compared to all the machines that came before it. By the end of the 20th century typewriters were common machines to be seen in offices and other work places; but, unfortunately, they created a lot of noise, paving the way for the Noiseless Typewriter Company. Unfortunately, it did not go as well as it's designers originally planned. In 1935, IBM Model 01 was released as the first successful electric typewriter. This design allowed for lighter keystrokes and the keys were less spaced out as a result. IBM was so successful they continued to redesign and improve their models. In 1961, the IBM Selectric typewriter was released. This model had a keyboard that looks similar to the ones on our computers today. It was able to have different fonts, italics, etc on the same paper. IBM quickly became the front runner for typewriter design and sales until personal computers and laptops started to make their way into the market. 

    While our society has moved on to new technology like Macs and other PCs and laptops typewriters were and still are extremely beneficial in society. Many third world countries still have typewriters manufactured and are used daily. They are more beneficial to them as typewriters require no electricity and are a cheaper alternative to expensive computers. Typewriters are extremely precise, so they are still used a lot to create forms. There is an instant print out, you do not have to deal with printers, once you are done typing you just take the paper out and there you have your finished paper. There is no negative outcome to your eyes even after hours of use unlike with computers and their screens. However, there are still disadvantages to this machine. You can not just hit backspace when you mess up, you have to white out, allow it to dry, and start all over hoping you didn't forget your thought during the process. You are only able to make one copy at a time, and you can not include graphics with it. 

Citations:

Xavier.edu "A Brief History of Typewriters" https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-history.html

BT.com "The History of the Typewriter" https://home.bt.com/tech-gadgets/computing/accessories/from-the-writing-machine-to-the-computer-keyboard-the-evolution-of-the-typewriter-11363991455145

Itstillworks.com "Advantages of Typewriters" https://itstillworks.com/13638091/advantages-of-typewriters