Impact still have today

What Impact Does the Typewriter Still Have on the World Today?

By Erik Arvidson, eHow Contributor | updated September 14, 2011

http://www.ehow.com/info_12061097_impact-typewriter-still-world-today.html
BackgroundThanks to computers, printers and word processing programs, the typewriter may be an obsolete appliance in most workplaces and homes in the 21st century, but its impact is still felt in multiple ways. The typewriter helped create an entry point for women to seek office-based typing jobs, which created further opportunities in the workplace that have continued to evolve. It also defined the modern computer keyboard layout. Handwritten letters, which involved a personal style and skill of the writer, were replaced by typewritten ones in which letters and words are standardized.

The first practical typewriter was developed in 1867 by Christopher Sholes of Milwaukee -- it was initially mounted on a sewing machine stand. The first electronic typewriter was invented in 1914, and over the following decades, continued improvements were made to the typewriter to add speed, accuracy and ease-of-use to typewriting. Beginning in the 1980s, businesses and consumers began using personal computers equipped with word processing programs that let users to easily edit and format documents electronically, while printers gave users the ability to print documents quickly. As of the date of publication, there are only a handful of companies worldwide still manufacturing typewriters.

1. Women in Business

   • While the typewriter can’t be single-handedly credited with giving women more opportunities to enter the workplace and gain economic power, it did have a significant impact on women’s roles in the modern workplace -- one that's still felt. Donald Hoke, a historian for the Milwaukee Public Museum, wrote that the development of the typewriter was a key contributing factor in the increase in stenographer and typist jobs that provided employment to women, especially in the first half of the 20th century. Many of those women employed in typing jobs may have otherwise worked in factories or in a domestic role. Over time, women gained more economic power and a larger voice in business thanks in part to the typewriter, according to the Virtual Typewriter Museum.

   QWERTY Keyboard

   • Today’s modern keyboard layout used with computers and mobile devices, which is also known as the “QWERTY” keyboard, had its origins with the first typewriters designed by Sholes. They are named QWERTY keyboards after the first six letters on the left side of the first row of letters -- Q-W-E-R-T-Y. Richard Polt, an assistant professor of philosophy at Xavier University, wrote that the first typewriter had this layout to separate pairs of type bars that were frequently used in typing, thereby preventing the machines from jamming. Over time, the QWERTY layout became universally accepted and was adopted by modern computer manufacturers.

   Handwriting

   • The typewriter and subsequent use of computer-based word processing and printers has decreased the need for good handwriting skills, according to a December 2009 article by Anne Trubek, an associate professor at Oberlin College. Trubek also wrote that people tend to connect handwriting with personal identity, as each person’s handwriting has unique features that can’t be communicated on a type-written page. Someone who has good handwriting skills is connected with intelligence and virtue. Trubek also wrote that schools shouldn’t teach good handwriting to students because it’s a skill no longer needed tocommunicate.

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