Friday, January 27, 2023

The technology I used as a writer

Writers are dependent on technology as much as anyone else, whether they write by hand or use machinery. You can see here the technology I used as a writer from 1981 till the new millennium. I bought the 1960s Imperial typewriter at the bottom as an antique 10 years ago, but the white Olympia above is my first typewriter, bought in Jordan in 1981 when I was working for the Jordan Times. I used it for a long time until buying an electric typewriter in the early 1990s. On top is my second laptop, a Bondwell 486 using diskettes bought second hand in 1998 or so. It worked for about 3 years before packing up. Typewriters age well. Laptops don’t. Tapping on a typewriter keyboard is a real life experience compared to a computer keyboard. A computer will keep you connected. You can mail your docs, photos, videos. On the other hand, with a typewriter, you have no spam, viruses, malware or ransomware. I can start using my typewriters again after so many years. All I need is a little machine oil and a new ribbon. But I can’t revive this laptop., and they are expensive. When this one crashed, I had to wait more than ten years to buy another laptop. If there’s no power, I can still type, and I don’t need breaking news when I’m doing creative writing. Finally, when I remove the top and look inside, it fascinates me. The laptop is just a plastic box with a motherboard inside.