Official News page 5

REAL LIFE NEWS: THE END OF MECHANICAL TYPEWRITERS - OR IS IT?

by Hazed

Now here's an interesting thing. An article which came out a couple of weeks ago stated that mechanical typewriters were no more, since the last firm that produced them, Godrei & Boyce, shut down production and was left with an inventory of just 500 machines.

This came as no surprise since obviously, everyone uses computers these days. The company ceased production of mechanical typewriters in 2009 and their stock has dwindled until they are left with around 500, most of which are Arabic language models.

Before 2009 they produced between 10,000 and 12,000 machines a year, since there was still demand in India. Their main customers work in "the defence agencies, courts and government offices". Well, forcing people to use typewriters rather than computers does stop them wasting time surfing the net!

But then a few days later, articles appeared refuting the original reports. Reports of the death of the typewriter were premature. Other companies have piped up that they are still producing the machines, and that Godrei & Boyce were by no means the last company in the world to do so.

Ed Michael, General Manager of Sales at Swintec, based in Moonachie, NJ, said that his company has manufacturers making typewriters in China, Japan and Indonesia. There's still a thriving demand for them, in prisons.

Yes, prisons.

Correctional facilities in 43 states have contracted Swintec to produce manual typewriters with transparent cases. This is so inmates cannot hide contraband inside them. They even produce clear ribbon cassettes. So for now, the typewriter isn't dead after all.

In the future, prisons might move over to something a bit more modern: there are several systems in development that would allow prisoners to send emails using dedicated kiosks, without letting them use the net. If email replaces paper mail it could reduce the threat of items being smuggled in along with the letters, as well as being cheaper.

So wait a few years and maybe the news stories about the death of typewriters can be trotted out again!

Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/26/r_i_p_mechanical_typewriter/
http://www.minyanville.com/dailyfeed/2011/04/25/contrary-to-reports-typewriter-industry/

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