Computers for the preparation of texts appeared relatively recently, but attempts to invent mechanical writing devices began almost three centuries ago. In 1714, the British Queen Anne authorized the issuance of a patent to an engineer named Henry Mill, certifying that he invented "an artificial machine, or a method of applying letters, one by one or sequentially, one after another, as in handwriting." Unfortunately, in theory this was easier to implement than in practice. Mill failed to build a working typewriter; Dozens of other inventors suffered a similar fate trying to put the same idea into practice. This could not be done until the 60s of the last XIX century, when a newspaper editor and a publisher from a piece. Wisconsin (USA) Christopher L. Scholes finally solved the problem.
In the character of Scholes there was something bringing him closer to a modern hacker. After receiving the state post of Milwaukee Port Customs Officer, he left newspaper activity, however, he often recalled long hours spent writing and rewriting articles when his only tool was a goose quill or steel-tipped pen. There must be a more convenient way, and Scholes was determined to find it. Since the new job did not require much effort — Milwaukee was not a major international port — Scholes found enough time for his favorite activity — technical inventiveness. Working in a local workshop, Scholes and his companion Carlos Glidden came up with an apparatus for sequential numbering of book pages. From this simple device and the typewriter originates.
Scholes patented his device in 1867. Six years later, Remington and Sons (Remington & Sans) began to produce Scholes and Glidden’s typewriter, a solid weapon company that later became Remington Rand (Remington Rand) and in 1951 began to produce and sell UNIVAC UNIVAC, the first commercial computer in the United States. After the American Civil War (1861-1865), Remington, expanding its product range, began to produce sewing machines in addition to weapons. This was reflected in the typewriter models: they were decorated with cheerful floral patterns and they were fastened to the frame of the sewing machine in such a way that pressing the pedal caused a carriage return.
| The first typewriter, created in 1873 by Scholes and Glidden, was quite attractive in appearance, but not very convenient to use. At the machine of this design, hammers with letters hit the roller from below, and the typist could not see the printed text. |
The first typewriter model had serious flaws. The machine cost for those times is quite expensive, $ 125, and you could only print on it in capital letters. In addition, since the letters set in motion by the keys were hidden under the carriage in order to see the printed text, it had to be lifted.
The success of the typewriter did not come immediately, but some of the first buyers rated it very highly. Among them is the former typographic typesetter Samuel Clemens, who wrote books under the pseudonym of Mark Twain. Striking the keys with one finger (the blind typewriting system was invented a few years later), Twain typed a letter to his brother:
" I'm trying to get used to this newfangled typewriter, but so far, it seems, without much success. However, this is my first attempt and I still think that I will soon and easily learn how to use it ... I believe that it will print faster than I can write. It fits a lot of words on one page. It writes clearly, does not smear and does not put ink blotches. "
Mark Twain
A few years later, Mark Twain was the first writer to submit a typed manuscript to the publisher. (According to Twain’s own recollections, these were “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” but historians have found that “Life on the Mississippi.”) Twain was so taken with mechanical typing and typing devices that he later invested $ 300,000. She proved impractical - and Twain went broke.
Other companies soon released their typewriter models, including those that made it possible to immediately see the printed text, as well as models with a change of register, on which it was possible to type in both lowercase and uppercase letters. The effectiveness of the improved models and the fact that they "do not smear and do not put ink blots," eventually dispelled all doubts of entrepreneurs, and the typewriter became a common tool of labor.
One of the stubborn opponents of the new technology was the developing firm Sears Roebuck, which sold by mail orders. The management of the company believed that typewritten letters were too impersonal, and even after the typewriter became widespread in the 1890s, the company secretaries continued to write all the correspondence by hand in order not to offend the feelings of their traditional farming clientele with new-fashioned “machine” letters.
The typewriter not only revolutionized clerical work, but also changed the composition of office clerks. By providing women with a socially acceptable occupation, in addition to the household, the typewriter became a powerful tool for their emancipation, opening the door to where only men had previously worked. The typewriter, Christopher Scholes noted shortly before his death in 1890, “obviously became a blessing for all of humanity, especially for its female half. My invention turned out to be much wiser than I thought. ”
However, the women soon began to realize that they were freed from the kitchen stove only to become typewriter slaves. This device did not forgive mistakes: it was necessary to accidentally press the wrong key and had to reprint the entire page. The appearance of an electric typewriter in the 20s of our century did not solve the problem. It worked faster and was more comfortable for fingers, but still one inadvertent blow to the wrong key inevitably caused errors.
When the first computers appeared after the Second World War, the modified typewriters, naturally, began to be used to print output information of the central processor. Approximately ten years later they were already used to prepare the data. However, the problem of errors and the associated tedious reprinting remained, which looked even more annoying against the background of the high speed of the central computer processor.
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History of computer technology and IT technology
Terms: History of computer technology and IT technology