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USB typewriter for iPad



Much has been written about writing on the iPad. Those tapping out more than a few lines often opt for a Bluetooth keyboard. But the cool kids get one of these:

The USB Typewriter.

You can star in your own personal film noir fantasy with this USB-powered input device that works with any USB-capable computer, including the iPad. When mounted in back and connected, the iPad rides the carriage* from right to left as you type. It even registers a carriage return automatically and places the cursor beneath the previous line.

The best part is that there are several models to choose from, ranging in price from US$400-500. DIY types can order a $200 kit to convert their own typewriter. We love it.

*Youngn's: The "carriage" is where the "paper" used to go and get struck by the "ink ribbon." Ask an old person. He'll tell you all about it.

[Via WIRED]

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iPad

Much has been written about writing on the iPad. Those tapping out more than a few lines often opt for a Bluetooth keyboard. But the...
 

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moos

Bookmarklet here http://blog.42at.com/tap-tap-sound-fx-using-html5 gives same old typewriter feel for any web page. Try it out.

June 17 2010 at 6:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bozo

Annoyingly the video won't play on an iPad ... the play button has a circle with a slash through it superimposed on it. Not something I've seen before.

June 16 2010 at 11:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David Huff

"Ask an old person..."

Old person my a**! You buncha young punks. I remember when us IT geeks didn't have 1's and 0's to compute with. Just 0's. And we liked it that way!

June 16 2010 at 9:45 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ves

A very nice gadget for the Apple/iPad lovers.

June 15 2010 at 5:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nate Smith

To further make my point, here's a post I wrote titled "How to be a fully functional blogger on the iPad." I wrote this post, uploaded and embedded the photos, and published it all from the iPad in exactly the same way the post describes. I actually find more time to blog as a result of having my iPad with me all the time.

http://dirtyrottenapples.tumblr.com/post/567390822/how-to-be-a-fully-functional-blogger-on-the-ipad

June 15 2010 at 4:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nate Smith

Nope! There was a learning curve at first, but isn't there a learning curve for every new input system? The other night I noticed that while I was blogging, I was looking up at the TV watching, and I looked down and noticed I hadn't skipped a beat or made a mistake (at least not one that the iPad's auto-correct feature didn't catch for me.)

(this is the same Nate Smith that commented first, I just signed in differently.)

June 15 2010 at 3:53 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Nate Smith's comment
Brett

I'm with Nate; I've found it relatively easy to adapt to typing on the iPad. I haven't written anything lengthy yet, but mostly because my wife's using the iPad most of the time (should have gotten two).

Whenever I type though, I find myself not really looking much. Once your hands are in the correct position, it just feels natural - just with less clicks and clatters.

June 15 2010 at 4:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Nate Smith

Every article I read about typing on the iPad claims that anyone writing more than a few lines chooses a keyboard of some sort. Maybe I'm the only one but since the iPad wad released I have written and published my blog entirely from the iPad using a combination of Pages, Tumblr, and Flickr. A lot of my posts tend to be pretty lengthy. Check out www.improvisingfatherhood.com. Any text post dated after April 3rd was published from the iPad. Anyone else blogging or just writing on the iPad without a keyboard, and loving it as much as I am?

June 15 2010 at 3:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Nate Smith's comment
Karen LH

Isn't it hard to touch type without any tactile feedback?

June 15 2010 at 3:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
milkmage

@karen
nope. it feels a little weird and there's definitely some getting used to it, but it's really not too different than a regular keyboard.

i was surprised at how quickly I was able to touch type (punctuation and caps are another matter, but otherwise it's pretty quick)

June 15 2010 at 9:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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