Technabob » typewriter

Chromatic Typewriter Lets You QWERTY Up Some Paintings

Hazel Chua — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:29:35 +0000

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I guess from that statement, we could say that art, in itself, is pretty much subjective. You could throw water bombs filled with paint on an empty canvas, and call the end product art. You could work with charcoal and do portraits, and you’ll still end up with art.

You could also take an old typewriter, replace the ink pads with colored paint pads, cover the letter keys over with labels drawn with corresponding colored markers, and come up with a typing art machine. And this is exactly what Washington-based artist Tyree Callahan did. Not only does it produce paintings, but the typewriter itself could be seen as a work of art itself.

Callahan calls his modded 1937 Underwood Standard typewriter the “Chromatic Typewriter.” He has submitted it to the 2012 West Prize competition, where top prize goes to the piece of artwork with the most votes.

[via Dark Silence in Suburbia via Colossal]

Drink Your Own Words with the Cocktail Typewriter

Conner Flynn — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:00:34 +0000

While typing and drinking is a combination that many writers throughout history are familiar with, here is a new take on the combination. Morskoiboy created this amazing typewriter that will let you actually taste your words and mix cocktails simply typing their name. I’ll have a qwerty please.

Neutral liquids are attached at the top,(alcohol, milk or water) while tubes at the back are attached to different colored liquids, whether it is “G”- grape, “O” orange, “J” – Jagermeister, etc.

As the liquid at the top flows, you type in the letters that make the colored liquids flow along with it. It’s up to you as to which keys go with what liquid, but the liquid-filled 7-segment display always shows the letter you’re typing.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Now that is a stylish way to make drinks. Or should I say type drinks? Whatever. Now if it could just help us remember where we live after too many drinks, it would be perfect.

[via Geekosystem via Ubergizmo]

QWERTY: The LEGO Typewriter

Technabob — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 19:00:50 +0000

Every time I see something like this made out of LEGO bricks, it makes me want to run to the store and buy a batch just so I can try and make something as cool.

This particular LEGO creation is an antique typewriter, loaded with nifty details, including letters on the keys (though I don’t know where you get LEGO letters.)

It was created by Matt Armstrong (aka “Monsterbrick”) as part of his Steampunk LEGO Inventions series, and it truly is an incredible bit of LEGO work. While I doubt that it actually functions, he sure did a good job making it look like it could actually type. Even if he did have the mechanism working, I’m pretty sure you can’t make a typewriter ribbon out of LEGO bricks.

Regardless of functionality, I really like the little touches like the octopus and tridents on the front. I guess it’s a nautically-themed typewriter. I like to imagine it as the keyboard that Jules Verne might have done his writing with this.

[Flickr via Brothers-Brick]

Stype Typewriter: Chat on Skype With Walternate

Lambert Varias — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:22:14 +0000

In the sci-fi TV series Fringe, there’s a typewriter that some of the characters use to communicate with a parallel Earth, where the typewriter’s equivalent exists. Whatever is typed into the typewriter in one world gets typed into the typewriter in the other world and vice-versa. Daniel Huhndt may not have a contact in a parallel world, but his Stype typewriter crosses worlds as well – the analog and the digital.

With the help of “some solenoids, relays, pushbuttons, some parts of a cheap keyboard, an arduino mega and a mac mini” , the typewriter can be used to send messages online. Whatever is typed into the paper gets sent, and the replies are automatically typed into the paper, archiving the conversation in the process. Whether our daily conversations are worth documenting is another matter.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Daniel planned on using the Stype to chat on Skype – hence the name – but in the demo video above the user is chatting with ELIZA, an early proto-chatbot. I wonder how you’ll send links, pics and videos on Stype.

[via WeWasteTime & Engadget]

Wozniak’s Conundrum: Mac + Typewriter = Steampunk PC

Lambert Varias — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:11:40 +0000

Upgrading a computer’s hardware with updated components is a good way of prolonging its life. But Steve La Riccia was able to achieve the same thing by doing the opposite. His fully functional steampunk computer is an amalgam of a 1991 Mac and a 114-year old Remington typewriter.

Aside from the typewriter, the mod also has a couple of other pieces ancient equipment. The mouse for instance, is a repurposed Morse code telegraph key, and the 56K modem is made up of old telephone parts. And it has a floppy drive.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

It’s a shame the video doesn’t show the computer in action, although I did find the screenshot below on the Mac Store’s imgur page. Apparently Mac OS 7.5 was released in the Victorian Era, because that’s what this computer is running. It has a word processor, a calculator, a spreadsheet program and even a flight simulator and Tetris.

As you heard in the video, the mod is on exhibit at The Mac Store in Eugene, OR. I hear the second generation of the Steampunk Mac is going to have one USB 1.1 port and will run OS X Garfield.

[via GizmoWatch]

Typewriter Waffle Maker Types 1 W(Affle) Per Minute

Technabob — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 21:02:21 +0000

This waffle maker fashioned out of an old typewriter is full of win.

Chris Dimino took an old Smith-Corona Coronamatic typewriter and replaced the keys with a fully-functional waffle iron. I love how the waffles look like keyboards. Not only do they look way cooler than conventional Belgian waffles, they’re actually better at holding syrup and butter thanks to all the added QWERTY nooks and crannies.

He made this thing for a traveling exhibition called “The Next Best…Ding!“ a couple of years back. Maybe this newfound publicity will encourage Dimino to work on a production run of these. If not, are you reading this, Cuisinart?

[via Walyou]

Neo-Victorian Keyboard and Monitor [Steampunk]

Lambert Varias — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 12:40:43 +0000

Here’s something that the LXG would greatly appreciate: hardware modder/antique & scuttlefish lover/ potential Cthulhu worshipper Paradox has created what he calls a “Neo-Victorian keyboard”; he also modded a widescreen monitor to go along with it.

Paradox said that it took him well over a month to modify a 12.5″ x 6″ mini USB keyboard and turn it into the temporal aberration you see above. He modified nearly 2 sets of typewriter keys and hand-made the wooden spacebar.

Even though it looks rickety, Paradox said that the keyboard is really smooth and easy to use, and if for some reason the innards break, you can easily take it out and replace it – with what I don’t know, maybe innards made of sacrificial offerings embossed with chants – which means you’ll still have the scary exterior.

To match the keyboard, Paradox framed a 24″ widescreen Samsung LCD monitor, and then attached it to a desk arm so that it can be “positioned in any angle and stretch out a radius of a couple feet.” Also, the desk arm makes it look like the monitor is floating in mid-air.

As you can see there is a hinge in the frame that allows access to the monitor’s controls.

I don’t think he’s selling the monitor mod, but Paradox is selling the keyboard for a whopping $600. If you find his scuttlefish steampunk style appealing, you can contact him here. Don’t ever contact me. Kidding.

Paradox is planning on making a matching computer case. And then he’ll summon Cthulhu. By email.

[Tentacle Paradox via Steampunk Workshop]

Jeremy Mayer’S Typewriter Robots Will Blow Your Mind

Technabob — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:00:55 +0000

It’s not that I haven’t seen robotic sculptures before, but I can say with confidence that I’ve never seen any as intricate as Jeremy Mayer’s incredible typewriter robots.

Mayer builds his amazingly detailed sculptural creations entirely from parts found on old typewriters. His human and animal organic forms give new life to the cold metal of these mechanical relics.

The Tahoe City, California artist disassembles old typewriters and then reassembles them without glue, solder or welding.

His organic, metallic sculptures are a reflection of his fascination with how scientific progress continues to lead us towards the emulation of nature in technology.

Be sure to head on over to Jeremy Mayer’s online portfolio to see many more photos of his elaborate sculptures. Mayer is next expected to exhibit his works at La Jolla’s Device Gallery in the Summer of 2009.

[Thanks for the tip, Sara!]