Whenever I see old devices given new life, my heart skips a beat. I had to admire the work done by this year's winner of the IBM Smarter Planet Award. Joe Hounsham of Plymouth University in the UK modified his 1930s Remington portable typewriter (below Underwood in my order of favorites) to connect to a chat room. Enough of my talking. Just see the Dico in action and commend this work:
As for the utility of the machine, I'm unsure. For me, it's unimportant. It inspires. It stimulates the imagination. It reminds me of something Ray Bradbury would have dreamt of, a writer whose future was one of gears and wires and metal crickets. "Hidden films clocked though well-oiled sprockets, and the walls lived." Most importantly, in an era where these beautiful machines are chopped up to make jewelry, it is a reminder that we can breathe life in discarded machines...I cringe when I see a typewriter that has been mutilated for its glass keys. For more information on the interactive typewriter, click
There are far more creative things that can be done than creating jewelry...
...like this, for instance. Solenoids, wires, some transistors ensure that this is not your grandmother's Remington
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