Type Writer.

In what capacity am I emboldened to write about the type writer?  What did I know about this machine?

I came face to face with this machine when I joined a type writing institute. Completed two thirds of the required attendance, to appear for the Lower Grade Exam, and then discontinued. Would that suffice?

This mechanical contraption had a cavernous mouth. Scores of tongues and teeth adorn the persona, if you care to open the front cover to admire the panorama of dental works.

The keys did not bite you and allows “pecking” at-times or finger-walking all over them as a piano player did.

Conveniently provided space bar, Shift and Tab keys allowed setting of margins, line spacing and selection of Upper (or) lower case of an alphabet. But the type writer gave no freedom to select a font of your choice – the only option provided was ‘take it or leave it’. The machine did not believe in shrinking -had no provision for super-scripting or sub-scripting of alphabets and numerals.

The space bar helped to maintain a healthy distance from each word appearing on the monitor. The machine rang a bell to warn the user that the set margins are about to be breached. How considerate!

You could scroll the monitor by using the lever on both the sides of the machine. In that aspect, the printing roller would also lend a helping hand.

The printing roller generated friction for the scrolling of the monitor, line by line. That was the reason why the type writer used flexible paper as monitor!

Wonder of wonders, the machine was so advanced it used a disposable monitor to give the view of your handiwork - typing. This monitor could be used on the reverse side also. The typed text what you on the monitor stayed for ever as a print!

These disposable monitors can be stored (mass storage) and simultaneously, up to four, copies can be made in real time.  From the personal health point of view, these bio-degradable, paper monitors did not emit harmful X or Y rays! At your bidding, the monitor could change display from portrait to landscape.

The machine boasted an inbuilt printer – a spool loaded with ribbon, on the left hand side, and an empty spool at the receiving end, on the right hand side. You pressed a tooth, the tongue swung in to action and struck at the ribbon.

Presto! The alphabet or numeral appeared on the screen. It used a rewind and reuse technology as far as the ribbon was concerned. Color options were limited to Black, black & red (top half red, bottom half of ribbon in blue).

In the company of learners and speedathon typists, the machine gave out “clack” “clack” sound. Lower speed typers did produce the patter of rain drops on a tin roof. The higher speed typers took you to a battle field where loaded guns were firing with non-stop staccato sound. To the master in the Institute it is sound of tongues getting him business.

This machine had helped many great authors to deliver manuscripts, at a prolific rate.

This contraption was so clever; it had abdicated the memory storage & operating software to the typist – the external CPU. So, was free from virus attacks and booting problems! Did not like pen drives, so did not think of including it. Mundane functions like spell check, delete, cut & paste were left to the human CPU.
Then how did it work? You simply removed the dust cover, wiped the machine with a cloth, insert the monitor, set margins, spacing and start typing. Simplest of all booting techniques totally devoid of any OS to please!  An UPS was not required, as it was running on human power.

For an inanimate thing, it was a great organ donor - keyboard, printer and monitor to the PC. It took birth as a lifeless mechanical machine and is struggling to live amongst the supercomputers’ of this era. May its’ soul rest in peace, when the time comes!