Throwback Technology Thursdays: the Typeball!

Next in our Throwback Technology series:  the Typeball!  

Also known as a "golf ball" (probably due to its size), or a typewriter element, the typeball contained all of the characters that a typewriter could type out on paper.  It was a revolutionary invention in 1961 by IBM that saved space inside the typewriter (from the individual characters on metal stems that would come up and strike the paper on older typewriters -- as shown in the photo below).  It also allowed for the easy changing of the typewriter element so that you could type different fonts by popping out the typeball and setting a new ball in its place.  Much of the above information (and some below) comes thanks to the Wikipedia entry on the IBM Selectric typewriter.

"typewriter 2" by spikeyhelen is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The two typeballs in the image at the top of the post (and the handy IBM carrying case) were used in the library by past staff members.  They are for the Prestige Elite and Delegate fonts, and, from a bit of research, appear to be from either Selectric I or Selectric II typewriters.  The Selectric II arrived on the scene in 1971.  Both of those typewriters had 88 characters on the typeball, which appears to be true for these balls.  When the Selectric III came out in 1980, its typeballs started allowing for 96 characters.

In my library career, I feel like I keep arriving in libraries at the tail end of various technologies.  I did use a typewriter as a student assistant to type "See Also" reference cards for the Michigan State University Library's card catalog (where I also shelved catalog cards from my freshman to junior years).  "TYPEWRITER see also WORD PROCESSOR", and so forth.  I helped move the card catalog into storage during my senior year.

Here at Gardner-Harvey, my arrival in 2002 came at around the time the staff decided to move our single public typewriter (which bothered some as too noisy for a quiet space like a library) onto the lower floor of the library (then, as now, a study area.  It sat there for a few years, mostly unused, until we decided that our lone staff typewriter was not really needed anymore, and that the public one might as well go, too.  Of course, we did have two different people come looking for a typewriter to use the week after it was removed (that is sadly part of the ragged end of one technology and the transition to another -- ask me about fax machines some time).

If you'd like to see our typeballs (but sadly not a full typewriter) stop by the library.   More throwback technology is coming at you next week!

Throwback Technology Thursdays: the Headphone Splitter!

 

Next in our Throwback Technology series:  the Headphone Splitter!  

Now, you may have used a headphone splitter before, just a Y-shaped cable that has its single end lead into a phone and its forked end lead to two spots to plug earbuds or headphones into for a shared musical or audio experience.  But in a library or a school setting, these splitter boxes were common for a time.  

The basic operation was to have a line or cable coming into the box from an audio device like a stereo, a record player, a cassette player, or a VCR or DVD player.  Then, in each corner of the box you'd have a place to plug in a set of headphones.  In the image above, you can see the black cable leading from one corner and twisting around to the 3.5mm plug in the lower center of the picture.  That would go into the audio device, and then the four silver circles would be where you would plug headphones in.  The boxes were purchased when the larger 1/4" jack was used on headphones and other devices, and two of them have metal or plastic adapters in them to accommodate the smaller 3.5mm jack.  There are also short silver-colored sticks in the center of the box that were used to adjust the volume for each of the pairs of headphones that were plugged in.  

This speaks to me of a different time and place related to technology.  First of all, you might only use a splitter like this in a place where you wanted to, at the same time, allow multiple people to listen, but also contain the sound.  So, a library or school setting makes sense, where a small group of students might watch a DVD together, or listen to music without disturbing others around them.  But we also have to think about a time when the devices to play those sounds might be less common (like a VCR), and too expensive that every individual who needed to use it could have their own.  And certainly, these devices were readily used in classrooms or homes without headphones.  We could also imagine a situation where the medium you were using (a VHS tape, record, cassette, or DVD) might be in limited supply, so that everyone would have to come to the library to listen or watch.   

That certainly drove the need for the splitter, where four students might come and sit in the library's instructional materials center (IMC) room and watch a nursing videotape(that doesn't leave the library), while next to them another four students might watch a DVD for another class.  In a limited space you could accommodate multiple listening needs for not only individuals, but small groups, too.  

Now, the splitter is limited to four users, and today we might think of other ways to accomplish a shared listening experience.  With more study rooms, you could have a larger group watch or listen to something together without headphones.  Or, you could have any number of people listen individually to something in the library with headphones or earbuds from their phones or laptops, or a library computer.  And depending on the media (streaming video comes to mind), individuals could view a streaming video from home or anywhere else.  

If you'd like to see the splitter and imagine listening in the past, stop by the library.   More throwback technology is coming at you next week!

Throwback Technology Thursdays: the Cassette Tape Adapter!

 

Next in our Throwback Technology series:  the Cassette Tape Adapter!  

OK, why does that cassette tape have a tail?  That is no tail, my friend, but rather an example of a moment in transitional technology.  We all face these transitions, when technology Y starts to supplant technology X, but we still have technology X and we want to keep using it.  And only when we get to technology Z do we decide we might just need to give up on X.

In the meantime, though, something like this cassette tape adapter might just work for what we need.  In this case, this fine object, a headphone jack and cable on the end of a cassette, might seem like an odd merging of devices.  But this is no mere gluing together of objects with the hope of attracting attention, or making it easier to find your favorite cassette by tying it to your arm.  

The cassette adapter came about as a way to plug a cassette into the cassette player of a car, and then plug the cable into a CD player.  That way, you could play one of those newfangled CDs in your car without installing a car CD player.  You could use a much cheaper portable CD player instead.

Of course, as with all technologies, this had some issues.  The one I experienced the most was that the tape on the cassette would break, rendering the device useless.  But for the most part, the tape would stay together and keep transmitting the signal from the CD player or other device through the car's audio system.  And other devices clearly became important as we moved beyond the CD for media to listen to.  Anything you could plug into a headphone jack, an iPod, your phone, an MP3 player, could send out sweet sounds for your driving enjoyment.

This device may not be completely in the throwback category.  According to this 2011 New York Times article, the last car manufactured with the option of a factory-installed cassette player was a 2010 Lexus SC 430.  So, while there are certainly cars on the road with cassette players (Car and Driver in 2020 estimated that the average car is 11.9 years old), they are rarer and rarer indeed.

We've now moved on to Bluetooth transmission of audio from your phone to your car, or using an AUX cord, with a stop along the way for the FM transmitter (which, when plugged into your device) could send your audio onto an unused radio station address on the FM dial).  

This will likely not be our last example of transitional technology (I know I have an FM transmitter somewhere).  If you'd like to see the cassette tape adapter, or one of our cassette player/recorders, stop by the library.   More throwback technology is coming at you next week!

Need help with a final paper or project? Try a research consultation!

A recent survey of Middletown campus students revealed that only 30% of you know that we offer research consultations to give you advice on where and how to search for information on your research assignments.  We are here to help you save time and find quality information to improve your grades!

Of course, in a normal semester, many students just drop by the library with a question about searching, sources, or citations that can lead to a longer conversation.  This semester, we are receiving many questions by email or chat, but we also wanted you to know that you could arrange a time to talk with us about your research needs on Zoom.  It can be helpful to work through your research together.

You may watch our new two-minute tutorial on how research consultations work (starring Theo-Saurus the library dinosaur), or you can request a consultation.  We are committed to finding a time to meet that is convenient for you.

TEC Tuesday Online! Dog Toys project is posted!

Update:  the project video has been posted at the link below!  Enjoy the project, and if you need anything, let us know!

Did you know that you could easily make a toy for your dog?  We'll give you all the steps to make it happen and give your dog something new to chew.

The TEC Lab is moving online this semester to bring exciting making projects to you on the first Tuesday of each month.

On Tuesday, November 3, 2020, we will post a video and instructions on easily creating a dog toy to bring your pooch (or someone else's) hours of fun.  In addition, if you need any supplies for the project, we'll make them available for you to pick up from the library.

See the TEC Lab Makerspace: Workshops page for more details (posted on the 3rd)!

The above image was provided through a Creative Commons CC-BY-2.0 license by Ralph Daily.