Everything old is new again to somebody, somewhere. While plenty of inventions get their 15 minutes (if that) of fame and are never heard from again, some things find a bit more staying power. In this Geek Force Network article, I extolled the virtues of material goods from the recent past that someday might find new life in the world of “retro tech.”
(And to complete the story that I started here about my niece wanting a typewriter for Christmas — she got one! And she’s already used it to type her first letter — typing paper, ribbon, clackity keys, and all. Amazing.)
My pre-teen niece recently celebrated another birthday. Prior to the festivities, I asked her what she was hoping to get.
“A typewriter!” came the enthusiastic response.
Taken aback, I paused. “Like… a computer?”
“No…a typewriter,” she repeated as if I had become deaf, and dumb.
“Oh. A typewriter. But why?” I queried.
She didn’t skip a beat. “Because they are cool.”
Well, duh.
Still, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the image of an young, modern girl sitting down to formulate a document via and old-fashioned typewriter, but what did I know. The fact that she even knew what a typewriter was floored me. But it became a strangely proud moment as I considered “hey, my niece knows what a typewriter is! Take that iPad society!”
It also got me thinking about the notion of “future retro,” which I might have just made up or might actually…
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