The most popular solution in this space was a Selectric, a typewriter with an interchangeable type ball, introduced by IBM in 1961.pic.twitter.com/y1ttaIVyQN
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There was even Typit II, actually compatible with the Selectric ball typewriters, a font-swapping tech coexisting with a character-swapping one.pic.twitter.com/PRcuFZHlFw
Eventually both, and all the others, were undone by computers which allowed for 31 characters, then 63, then 127, then 255, and now god knows how many via Unicode. Early on, it happened did with Alt+numeric keypad combination (still works on Win – and Mac after enabling it)…pic.twitter.com/DjDExyDKXU
…and then via graphical user interfaces and touch screens. But that’s a whole different story.pic.twitter.com/alSDuedsAu
I love that Typit existed. It’s such a weird hack, and a clever way to solve a particular problem. It’s kind of like a Chrome extension or a Greasemonkey script for typewriters, once again blurring the lines. And speaking of which, I like it for one other reason:
It is a proof that “press any key to continue” existed in the world before computers.
(BTW this thread is dedicated to the hard work and inspiration that is @shadychars.)
(I realize now that I forgot to do the most important visual juxtaposition – and notice that even the sizes of both containers are rather similar!)pic.twitter.com/6ypL074Oyv
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