Mad Mod: Turning a Vintage Typewriter into a USB Keyboard
Once upon a time, offices were filled with the heavy “clack-clack-clack-DING!” of typewriter keys. The sound was jarring, but now that it has been replaced with the wimpy muted “tappa-tappa-tappa” of computer keyboards, we kind of miss it. Classic typewriters are also way cooler to look at than most computers, as evidenced in this awesome project from Instructables user jackzylkin.
These instructions teach you how to turn an old typewriter into a USB keyboard for your modern computer. If you have the skills to pull it off (and it takes some know-how) it’ll take a good five to ten hours to complete, but it will be worth the time investment. If you’re not the modding type, you can buy ready-made USB typewriters here. Just imagine greeting your boss in the morning with a tip of your porkpie hat and a flick of your cigar before turning back to the hulking behemoth of a typewriter on your desk.
It's no secret that we've got a love/hate relationship going on with on-screen virtual keyboards. Love the convenience, hate actually trying to hit the right little squares on the screen. We prefer the tactile feel of keyboard, and Brian Min of Qwerkytoys has made us squee with delight at the…
Walking through an office today, you're likely to hear the clicking and clacking of keyboards, but the noise is nothing compared to how loud typewriters were. In an office full of people typing, the sound could be almost deafening. That's why "noiseless" typewriters were such a welcome invention. These fascinating…
The QWERTY keyboard setup is pretty familiar to us today, but before it became the standard for English-language keyboards there were plenty of other layouts that never quite caught on. Old typewriters often feature bizarre mechanisms and uncomfortable-looking keyboard configurations, but their divinely unique layouts are what makes them so…
