iTypewriter

Nostalgia strikes again. Austin Young has built the iTypewriter, an old-fashioned typewriter that interfaces with the iPad. This allows the user to experience the old-fashioned feel of typing on mechanical keys, while still using the latest technology.

Personally, these things leave me quite cold, but in this case, what I enjoy is the "interface" between the typewriter and the iPad. It's not something electrical, but a purely mechanical solution, visible in the video below.

As for me, I spent years breaking my fingers on an Olivetti Lettera 32 (I spent all of college on it, including my thesis), and given my passion for audio, the sound reproduction I found in FocusWriter is enough for me. It's similar to WordPad, in the sense that it's not a full-fledged WP like Open Office, but it can, if desired, emit the typical keystroke and carriage return sounds of an old typewriter.

Austin Young himself has also developed another project, iTurntable, which allows you to control a digital player like the iPhone with a turntable complete with a tonearm to suggest the ancient feel of old 33 rpm records.

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