Topicless thread

[Chocofreak13]

selectrics seem to be the hot new thing.

[Bella]

Selectrics have been the hot new thing for the last several decades. I've seen more than one person become excited just talking about them, several other people were considering the one I bought and it doesn't even work, and it's damn near impossible to get a working unit for less than a few hundred dollars because there's still a huge market for them. Not just collectors either, writers love 'em and they're still used in offices around the world.

Also, it's considered some kind of masterpiece of engineering... and perhaps the most mechanically-complex typewriter ever crafted ... one of the most beautiful pieces of industrial design ever created by IBM ... in fact, this article makes an argument that it helped solidify the house design style of IBM and other aesthetically-iconic companies to come, notably Apple.

[Nichi]

I'm one lucky bastard, then; since I got a working one for $5 >:3

Granted, it needs to be cleaned, but hey; can't complain with a working Selectric for $5

[Chocofreak13]

indeed.

though i still don't know what sets it apart from other typewriters. i like my olivetti.

[Nichi]

Mainly the historic significance and the cool-as-hell type element; which looks like a golf ball with letters on it

[Chocofreak13]

so......it's more popular because it's prettier?

:\

[Nichi]

Well, the type element has advantages over the traditional typewriter, as it allows for one to type very fast without risk of the teeth jamming up. That's what makes it appealing, aside from historic significance...at least, I believe so. Bella or Stew would be better at answering this than I am ^_^;;

In other news, it's hard to believe I'm almost through the work week; just today and tomorrow to go, and then I get a normal weekend before my work schedule returns to normal

[Chocofreak13]

have fun~~~

so i'm out today, because i don't feel safe traversing the CARPET OF SNOW out there.

colour me wimpy, but my mother's car isn't exactly what it used to be. :\

[Nichi]

I don't blame you. If it where snowing like that down here, I wouldn't want to take my truck out in it until I got new tires for it

[Chocofreak13]

my mum needs a new wheel well for her car, i guess. either way, it makes the car drive in a very rattly way and i just don't trust it. so here i stay. :\

[Bella]

indeed.

though i still don't know what sets it apart from other typewriters. i like my olivetti.

Did you read the article? That's like asking "I don't know what set the first Macintosh-" or "the IBM PC apart from other computers". They're revolutionary machines.

Except there isn't a huge demand for working IBM PCs and Macintosh 128k's today, nor do many people (besides hobbyists) still use them. And the PC and 128k aren't great feats of engineering when compared to other computers. In that respect, the Selectric could be thought of as being superior from a design POV.

[stewartsage]

The Selectric is just fantastically innovative and a triumph of industrial design; everyone has their preference for IBM, Royal, Olivetti, Remington, what have you but the Selectric is just a classic.

[Chocofreak13]

you guys keep saying that, but you offer little proof. tell me, what sets it apart? what special features are there? can it type whole words automatically? can it be adapted to print things from a computer? list some stuff then i'll start believing you. :\

[Bella]

The Selectric was the first typewriter to ...
-Have a moving type element and stationary paper, thus eliminating the need for a platen-carrying carriage.
-Use a ball element instead of the clunky, loud and jam-prone typebars that were common at the time of its creation.
-Use an easy-change cartridge instead of ribbon.
-Successfully implement changeable typefaces.
-Successfully implement multiple languages.
-Have a built-in correction feature.
-Implement dual-pitch type.
-Use a binary digital-to-analog converter to select the character to be typed.
(Explaination here)

A few things that make the Selectric remarkable:
-An extremely popular design: it captured 75% of the typewriter market in its heyday and remained the most popular typewriter for two decades.
-It was a smash hit from its inception: in 30 days IBM sold as many Selectrics as they'd forecasted they would sell in the first six months.
-One of the fastest typewriters ever made, no lag between striking a key and the type appearing on the paper.
-Could be modified into a computer terminal. (Read more about it here)
-In 1964, the first word processing system was built around it: Selectrics could be connected to a magnetic tape storage system (called the MT/ST), allowing for input data to be loaded onto computers, later modified, etc. 
-In 1966, the heavily modified Selectric Composer was created. It was the world's first "desktop publishing" system, decades before microcomputers claimed that title.

That's not even touching on the subject of the mechanical complexity of its design, the amount of thought IBM put into its outer appearance and how iconic it's become from a design point of view or talking about how popular they've remained throughout the years.

[Red-Machine]

I'd use a dedicated word processor to write my fics if I could.  Maybe an Amstrad PCW16...