And I still have it. Maybe, if I continued to type on it, instead of switching to an electric model and then a personal computer, I could have written something half-decent:
wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/12/ … es+2%29%29
Now, I got the secret of McCarthy: no blue screens, no Word trying to continuosly reformat at its own taste your manuscript, no break to update the system to the latest, more colorful version.
Paolo
A MacBook Pro, eh? I think somebody needs to clue McCarthy in on Scrivener.
If only SCR came in “cartridge” form…
As I read it, this was a guess of the reporter. But it seems the replacement was another Olivetti typewriter. (Then, tell Keith the typewriter sound is not important in Scrivener…)
Paolo
Wow, does that photo of the Olivetti bring back memories! I began writing on my mother’s old 1960s-era Smith-Corona portable typewriter back when I was a teenager, and I can’t count how many high school and college research papers I typed on that thing. I still love a good typewriter. (In fact, I was just telling my husband this morning how I’d like to get my hands on a 1930s typewriter, the kind my grandmother had.)
The funny thing is that my MacBook Pro doesn’t fulfill all the roles the old Smith-Corona did, and the Smith-Corona couldn’t possibly replace the Scrivener-loaded Mac. I love them both! 8)
It’s a Christmas miracle! After hearing about my wish for a vintage manual typewriter, my husband asked his mother and grandmother about the old hulk that was collecting dust in their basement. So, during this holiday visit, Gram proudly showed me her 1949 Royal KMG, which still works! And she gave it to me! I’m a very happy camper!
Jacqui, we await for your tale about this great discovery. I guess it will not pass without a ton of emotions.
Paolo
I made it through four years of college pounding away on a Royal KMG vintage 1940-something. I’ve often wondered how much more I might have enjoyed college if I’d had even the most basic computer and text processor! Those old typewriters may be cool to look at, but give me a computer – any computer – and a word processor any day!
While attending at the Civil Service, I was emplyed as a translator of letters from foreign offices. They gave me an old, parly malfunctioning mechanical typewriter. I was able to type on about a letter-a-day.
Then arrived an electric typewriter, the one with the small display where you can read the typed text before confirming it: it was just fantastic, and a speed bump.
Then, I was moved to the main office in Milan, and we have a shared PC. Not only everything worked faster, but I could also use it, during the limited free time, to type my own things.
Give me a computer with the feeling of a typewriter, and I will be more than happy. (Even if I must admit that laptops with a full-screen editor, and maybe a good external keyboard, are an excellent approximation.)
Paolo