geekhack

geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: xsphat on Wed, 17 June 2009, 00:18:18

Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: xsphat on Wed, 17 June 2009, 00:18:18: Introducing my new daily riter, Page.

This is what a lot of people call the best typewriter ever built. It writes so nice, and though I'm not completely used to it, I have to say it's pretty fine.

One thing all of you can appreciate is the backspace key is in the same spot as the HHKB.

Anyway, on to the pr0n.

(http://files.getdropbox.com/u/76433/For%20message%20boards%20and%20ebay/Olympia%20SM9%20porn/SM9%20front.jpg)

(http://files.getdropbox.com/u/76433/For%20message%20boards%20and%20ebay/Olympia%20SM9%20porn/SM9%20right%20side.jpg)

(http://files.getdropbox.com/u/76433/For%20message%20boards%20and%20ebay/Olympia%20SM9%20porn/SM9%20left%20side.jpg)

(http://files.getdropbox.com/u/76433/For%20message%20boards%20and%20ebay/Olympia%20SM9%20porn/SM9%20back%20side.jpg)

(http://files.getdropbox.com/u/76433/For%20message%20boards%20and%20ebay/Olympia%20SM9%20porn/SM9%20guts.jpg)

(http://files.getdropbox.com/u/76433/For%20message%20boards%20and%20ebay/Olympia%20SM9%20porn/SM9%20and%20cart.jpg)

I'll post better pics as soon as my wife finds the camera cable, which may be a while.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: watduzhkstand4 on Wed, 17 June 2009, 01:02:06: this is turning me on =O
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: wheel83 on Wed, 17 June 2009, 01:29:34: I own quite a few royal typewriters. they are all non working really. anyways. why is there no "1" on old type writers? I dont get it.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: xsphat on Wed, 17 June 2009, 01:39:09: Small case L looks the same as 1, or so they thought, so that is what you use.

The thing that bothers me is the apostrophe is shift+8 on them.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: xsphat on Wed, 17 June 2009, 01:41:39: Quote from: ripster;96957
De Luxe

Quite right. That is the consumer name for the typewriter, but enthusiasts know it as SM9 because that is the company's name for it. That, and it sounds better.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: ironcoder on Wed, 17 June 2009, 06:01:24: Sweet! I had an old mechanical Smith Corona from my gandpa. I'm kicking myself every day for losing track of it somewhere in the last 30 times I moved.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: pex on Wed, 17 June 2009, 09:55:13: What kind of WPM are you doing on this thing? Also, it looks like it wouldn't have n-key rollover.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: Rajagra on Wed, 17 June 2009, 12:09:05: DING, THWACK, surely?

Though I remember a carriage release button on a typewriter we had that would send the platen flying across at great speed and the impact would nearly send the table skidding across the floor.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: xsphat on Wed, 17 June 2009, 12:25:31: Quote from: Rajagra;97108
DING, THWACK, surely?

Though I remember a carriage release button on a typewriter we had that would send the platen flying across at great speed and the impact would nearly send the table skidding across the floor.

Must have been a Remington.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: xsphat on Wed, 17 June 2009, 12:26:43: Quote from: pex;97027
What kind of WPM are you doing on this thing? Also, it looks like it wouldn't have n-key rollover.

I'll tell you soon as I find the Ethernet port to connect to the website.

And no, no n-key rollover at all.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: xsphat on Wed, 17 June 2009, 15:36:37: That's an ugly typewriter, but yes that is the sound my family sleeps to as I click away all night on my screenplay.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: keyb_gr on Wed, 17 June 2009, 15:46:36: While the search for the infamous camera cable goes on, may I humbly suggest the acquisition of a matching cardreader? :D
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: wheel83 on Wed, 17 June 2009, 18:19:47: It would be awesome if they had a typewriter like this, but somehow it outputs as an editable text file. trees would hate me, but txt files get lost easily.

and of course it would need an ethernet port.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: pex on Wed, 17 June 2009, 18:52:12: To prevent their keyboards from being taken over by hackers, many users have taken to building airwalls between their input devices and computers. The user types on the type writer, and takes the resultant paper, scans it, and then the computer makes use of the text through OCR.

I think this process is described in the Systems Security Initiative Manual from the Department of Defense.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: DrunkenDonut on Wed, 17 June 2009, 22:56:52: Couldn't resist ....

(http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/funny-pictures-cat-eats-an-ear-of-corn-with-typewriter-sound-effects.jpg)

Hrm.. all this talk of typewriters.. I miss the hummmmmmmmm from my mom's electric, and the thwack thwack from my dad's manual. I should pull it out. I think I know where it is now.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: wellington1869 on Thu, 18 June 2009, 01:19:20: Quote from: wheel83;97221
It would be awesome if they had a typewriter like this, but somehow it outputs as an editable text file. .

I dream of a day when, as e-ink technology develops along with touch sensitivity, someone produces an "endless sheet" of "paper" that you can put into a typewriter, bang out your short story on it, and then download the resulting text file from the "paper" to your computer.

maybe e-ink will bring us all back to 'paper'. We'll be "writing letters by hand" on it once again (and electronically transmitting the result as an email).

yea ok, its late and I'm half asleep.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: xsphat on Thu, 18 June 2009, 01:47:26: Quote from: keyb_gr;97199
While the search for the infamous camera cable goes on, may I humbly suggest the acquisition of a matching cardreader? :D

Good idea.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: xsphat on Thu, 18 June 2009, 01:52:51: What I neglected to mention in the first post is the condition this riter came in. It was like new, no dirt or dust of any kind in it. It looked and smelled refurbished and it still does though I have written around 15 pages on it. The camera has pictures from that day so I really want them, and I feel if I keep on my wife like she keeps on me about doing the dishes, the cable should turn up in short order.
Title: 1971 Olympia SM9 — the writer's machine
Post by: xsphat on Thu, 18 June 2009, 13:21:15: Better pics here. (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?p=97426#post97426)