Typewriter aficionados in U.S. revisit history

I think they look great as a decoration.****

Type writers have have a noise issue. Lord Dunsany the fantasist from the early 20th Century would write with a quill pen. He'd be lounging away and have some sudden inspiration, rush to his desk and produce a short story in no time. These excitations brought on by his Muse would later inspire H.P. Lovecraft and Steven King amongst others.

When I got rid of my Brother typewriter in favor of my Panasonic word processor, I had no regrets.

zichi, that was an IBM Selectric.

I love film cameras, mechanical watches and bicycles. But I never want to see or work on another typewriter as long as I live. Yes, those machines had their virtues. They were cheap. You could get a 50 year old typewriter for $15-$25 at a tag sale and be assured of available ribbons for it. When I broke down you could have it fixed cheaply, or you could get another used one. But working with them was such a pain. One mistake and you had to retype the whole page. And the clatter-clatter inevitably made people hate you. And then when the ribbon stared to fade you went crazy trying to change it. Computers are expensive and quickly outdated. But they save you sanity.

One thing I liked about the old typewriter was when frustrated I could as much as toss it and not break it. With the computers I have to treat 'em like a baby ... can't get mad at 'em 'cause they are delicate ... plus they cost a lot of money to either repair or replace. Moreover, my fingers were stronger thanks to the spring system in the typewriter. They are still strong, but I can't go around banging down on the computer keyboard anymore 'cause this causes problems in the wrist & forearm area as there is no spring system there anymore.

"Kabukilover," above, writes that "one mistake and you had to retype the whole page" on a typewriter. Well, using a typewriter taught me NOT to make mistakes. Thus I can now sit down and type perfect page after perfect page if I concentrate properly.

Had to get rid of my typewriters 'cause they rusted away ...

Well, using a typewriter taught me NOT to make mistakes.

Lucky you. Not everyone can do that. I have no romantic notions about the typewriter any more than I do the bicycle. Both are things that some people prefer and others find inconvenient. For me there new technologies make it easier to work and move about in the modern world.

As for pop-ups & email distractions, disable them while working. Doh! It's a machine. Control it! Don't whine about it controlling you.

Well, one can buy relatively good 'writers for about 500 yen at Yahoo Auction. No one seems to want them anymore.

http://auctions.search.yahoo.co.jp/search?ei=UTF-8&p=%E3%82%BF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%97%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BF&slider=0&s1=cbids&o1=a