🚀 go-pugleaf

On Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 5:13:30 PM UTC-4, Andreas Kohlbach wrote:
> On Sat, 17 Mar 2018 12:56:32 -0700 (PDT), hanc...@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> >
> > I think almost every programmer prepared some documentation on
> > punched cards and printed it out.
> 
> This you can do with any text editor. I do not use LibreOffice here when
> when coding (using vi or Emacs).
> 
> >> Apparently the IBM MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter) from 1964
> >> would match that description which was used only with an IBM
> >> Selectric. But there should had been applications which would not depend
> >> on an external type writer rather than using a dedicated printer, no?
> >
> > Not sure of your question.  The IBM MT/ST and MC/ST was integrated
> > with a Selectric typewriter which provided the keyboard and 'printer'.
> > As others mentioned, they were word processors.
> 
> I think I understand a word processor is something you edit a text. It
> assists you by wrapping text and allow modification of characters, like
> bold. Only *after* you are done editing you would print it out or save it
> to a file. You could move paragraphs around and often do mail
> merge. Things a Selectric could not do.

I think of a word processor as something that _stores_ text so
that it does not have to be retyped.  Everything is icing on the cake.

> The Selectric did not (for my knowledge) had a display. Even if it might
> had "write ahead" you could not see what you wrote until it was printed
> on paper. If you made a mistake it was too late. Because of that
> typewriters soon vanished after word processors were available in the
> late 70s to early 80s.
> 
> Which again raises the question: if word processors were around before
> the 70s, why didn't they supersede typewriters in offices already?

First, word processing machines were very expensive, far more so
than a typewriter.  Back in the early 1970s, I made $2.15/hour as
a typist--it was cheaper having people like me bang out reports,
even with multiple drafts, than getting something like an MT/ST
(which they did have.)

Second, typists prepare many different kinds of documents.  Some
do lend themselves readily to word processing due to the repetitive
nature of the text.  But other typewritten material does not lend
itself to word processing.  This would include custom letters,
documents prepared from computer output (before consolidated
merged processing), forms, envelopes, postcards, and index 
cards and file tabs.

In more recent years, the PDF format has become very common, so
forms can now be prepared on-line.  Also, email is almost standard,
so forms can be sent on-line to another person without printing.
This automation of form preparation has eliminated a great deal
of typing.  But until these things happened, typewriters were
still required.