In my keyboard research, one of the most amazing and constant features is how *early* some of the ideas appeared. Often, the things that seem to only make sense in the computer universe, existed much earlier, in the physical world.
-
Show this thread
-
Take this, for example. It’s a panel you might recognize from your Mac, or Android phone, or any other device – a simple way for anyone who’s not a typesetter to access special characters unavailable from the keyboard.pic.twitter.com/IbpAqXZCbI
2 replies 0 retweets 11 likesShow this thread -
That’s easy for computers that can hide things inside, but what about typewriters? From their very first year, it has always been an issue of what to do when you needed to print a character that your keyboard didn’t have.
1 reply 0 retweets 9 likesShow this thread -
Overtyping could only get you so far, and pencilling or penning things in after typing was cumbersome and unprofessional.pic.twitter.com/9EYMDQEb6g
1 reply 0 retweets 15 likesShow this thread -
And so, some typewriters started offering changeable or mutil-faceted typebars, but that would only get you a bunch of new characters… not nearly enough. (Dial-A-Type™ is such a great name, though.)pic.twitter.com/Pg06eYJLWF
2 replies 0 retweets 28 likesShow this thread -
Others allows you to buy a new key and a matching typebar. But usually, only a few designated keys were swappable.pic.twitter.com/LbMsNcUGgz
2 replies 0 retweets 23 likesShow this thread -
Other typewriters – this is not a joke – offered twin models that effectively joined two typewriters together, but that was ridiculously expensive, and only extended your runway via 40 or so new characters.pic.twitter.com/Tz4rg5Ssqx
3 replies 5 retweets 33 likesShow this thread -
Replying to @mwichary
Is that a LAVENDER TYPEWRITER???
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes -
Replying to @LisaIronTongue
Might be a bad photo. I think it looked more like this:pic.twitter.com/FrfkWuPEG4
1 reply 0 retweets 1 like -
Replying to @mwichary
Some shade on gray would make more sense than lavender.
1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
This is the best I can come up with in this particular department!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3lznXUC31o …
-
-
Replying to @mwichary
Ooooooh!
0 replies 0 retweets 0 likesThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.