Typewriters - anyone still use them?

I do. I still have my typewriter that I got from my 8th grade graduation like almost 18 years ago or whatever.

The thing still works and is in good decent shape.Its been 2-4 years since I actually used it. I'm old school and would rather use my typewriter along with 3 subject notebooks to write than using the PC's crappy wordpad

There's an electric "portable" one over my Grandma's house somewhere.

My family used to have one when I was about 5 years old, but I think we threw it away because it died out.Noteldnep

It run out of battery?

There's an electric "portable" one over my Grandma's house somewhere.

dercoo

I forgot what thread I was reading

and

I wish I had one, that'd be awesome

Just wish typewriter ink ribbon wasnt so damn expensive these days especially if they're still being sold in Ben Franklin aka B&F stores in small towns.

I aint gonna go spend 20-30 bucks on a package of typewriter ink ribbon at a small town department store.

You should see the price they want to sell for a computer keyboard. 50 bucks just for a freakin computer keyboard at a Ben Franklin store

I think my mum still has this old typewriter she's kept in her "just in case" mood. Though the whereabouts is uncertain. I like using OmmWriter and pretending though.AirGuitarist87

Just reminded me of this!AirGuitarist87

I use one because I hate the silence of keyboards when I write stories

No, kind of wish I had one though.

Don't a lot of writers still use them?

I don't really understand the people ITT saying "I wish I had one" A typewriter is just a much worse version of a word processorJML897

They're fun and old school.

It's just kind of like saying I wish I had an NES or something. It's outdated, but it's still cool.

Nope, although I think my parents still have one stored away somewhere.

I can't even remember the last time I saw one.

You do realize that with certain brands of typewriters you can bold and underline and do other tricks withtyping.

maybe you should go play with your Xbox if you don't like typing the old fashioned way with typewriters.

Damn kids these days....

You do realize that with any brand of pen you can bold and underline and do other tricks without typing.

maybe you should go play with your PC if you don't like writing the old fashioned way with quill pens.

Damn senior citizens these days....

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No, kind of wish I had one though.

Don't a lot of writers still use them?

Optical_Order

I'm sure some writers do, most especially the older ones wo couldn't adapt to modern times. But honestly now, anybody serious about writing should be using a word processor. Every story ever written goes through numerous revisions, and having to waste through so much paper to elaborate through this creative process (to say nothing of typos) is not the way to do it.

The non-tangible nature of a digital screen can both present your words as you give form to your ideas (very same as seeing them on paper does) but also makes the creative process fluid and dynamic, being able to edit on the fly - be that minor word tweaks or major paragraph restructuring. Try that after having already applied ink to paper. Type writers are a very static and rigid way to create documents of what ever nature (business, creative, scientific, or what ever).

The fact is there isn't a single advantage a type writer has over the digital writing media, whereas electronic word processors have dozens upon dozens of advantages a type writer can never ever provide. There should be no rational reason to say why people can't adapt from type writers to words processors either. The keyboards are essentially the same, just with a few extra keys. Being able to write an essay on one is the same as doing it on the other.

Now 20 years ago I would have maybe conceded the cost factor. That to afford a computer to have access to this writers tool of unlimited potential might be a deterrent to some, who's only viable option would be a cheap type writer that they can go about fulfilling their creative needs. But these days with prices the lowest we've ever seen, if we're talking about your barebones hardware sufficient just for writing and basic internet needs (gaming rigs need not factor here), it's affordable to most people.

Type writers are so obsolete and archaic to their digital counterparts, it isn't a competition at all. In the end they are both just machines, plastic and metal. The true essence of writing comes from the person. Just that the word processor allows them to bring that idea to life so much easier, working with the writers creative and thinking approach, instead of forcing them to work within the limitations a static machine has.

well without a type writer i cant save my progress on resident evil. so yea i still do

im using one right now

Does Resident Evil Typewriters count?

I've been using my old one (non electric), but the ribbon is dieing out (the letters are fading) so I'll be looking for store that hopefully can help me out.

Just reminded me of this!AirGuitarist87

WOW, LOL!

lol No, I haven't used one since the mid '90s.

Me, I personally do still use my old typewriter that I've had ever since middle school. Formatting a letter or even short stories by indenting and whatever else is more accurate then trying to fiddle with the formate stuff on Wordpad or Notepad whichis crap.

My grandma has this old one in her backroom that she uses every once in awhile

New episode of Pawn Stars just had someone bring an old 1980s typewriter/electronic word processor. Good lord LOL The size of that thing. I want one now

In the 90s I did.

Nope. I think it ran out of ink ages ago..

I just got a Resident Evil nostalgia out of this thread.

Long live typewriters.

Nope. Never even used one.

I guess. Even then I can understand anNESsince it has different games and you can play them with the original controller. With a typewriter it might be cool to use once and then you'd realize "Oh yeah, this sucks" before going back to a computer. JML897

New episode of Pawn Stars just had someone bring an old 1980s typewriter/electronic word processor. Good lord LOL The size of that thing. I want one now

slamminjammin69

And best part was, apparently, that thing was dated even then.

They also mentioned the dot matrix stuff. God its been so long since I last used dot matrix printing paper since I was in middle and high school during the mid 1990s

Why would anyone prefer a typewriter over a word processor? The mere fact that you can backspace on a computer but not a typewriter automatically renders typewriters completely worthless. Nevermind that with a computer it's a breeze to do things like underline, bold, italics, spacing, page alignments, and special characters whereas with a typewriter you need to get very creative and very expensive to do those same simple tasks.gameguy6700

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"]Why would anyone prefer a typewriter over a word processor? The mere fact that you can backspace on a computer but not a typewriter automatically renders typewriters completely worthless. Nevermind that with a computer it's a breeze to do things like underline, bold, italics, spacing, page alignments, and special characters whereas with a typewriter you need to get very creative and very expensive to do those same simple tasks.Nicksonman

You can backspace the print head position, but not delete the last character typed by doing so. Like I said in my post, the writing process in digital is so much more fluid and dynamic than with it's analog counterpart.