Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Printer

I placed a sheet of paper on the scanning bed of an all-in-one printer, pressed copy and anticpated a copy. Instead, after an ominous creaking sound, a message appeared directing me to open a door and correct the paper jam. Opening the door revealed the innards of the printer, but no paper jam.

Even printers may err when sending a message, so I pressed copy again and again the same message appeared. This back and forth between the printer and the subsequent door removal continued for fifteen minutes. At that point the printer changed tack and sent the following message: no paper. Perhaps it didn't like the paper, so I put some new paper in the tray and pressed copy. Again the message: no paper.

I recognize defeat.

But why not share the laser printer.It's embilical cord was an Ethernet cable attached to the router. This should be a simple matter, but no matter what I did I couldn't add the printer. Frustration set in after nothing worked.

Weren't we better off when a lined yellow pad and an ink pen or a Royal typewriter with keys that made clicking noises when pressed satisfied the desire for a hard copy?

Now books five inches deep expound upon the intricacies of software. Help articles on every topic proliferate like invasive weeds on the Internet.

I once owned an IBM Selectra with a typeball.No longer did type bars hit the ribbon and leave an ink imprint. The type ball rotated and the carriage sat immobile. It all happened seamlessly.I recall my delight when I purchased a second typeball with a different font.

Of course the clackety clack of the type bars on my first Royal announced-- work in progress. That first typewriter was a birthday gift from my parents when I entered high school. In order to create the appropriate mood for writing I either played an LP of union songs or Pictures at an Exhibition.

It's not that I want to go back to ink ribbons, white erasure tape, or carbon paper for copies. But I may retreat to an ink pen and a composition book.


















0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home