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[OM] Re: [OT] Future Home Computer

Subject: [OM] Re: [OT] Future Home Computer
From: Andrew Fildes <afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 20:05:16 +1100
Fonts have always existed. Technically, every size and weight and style  
of a typeface is an individual font - and I speak as one who has used  
hot metal (monotype, linotype) and even wood block type on one long ago  
occasion. Upper case and lower case because that's how they were stored  
in the cabinet. 'Dis' meant to 'distribute' - that is to break up set  
type and redistribute it back into the case - and was not the short  
form of a non-existent verb.
A printer would have a full set of fonts for just their favourite faces  
(i.e. Times for a newspaper's body copy) and restricted sets for  
headlines plus an assortment of decoratives for fancy work in publisher  
set advertisements and notices. Anything more would take up rooms and  
cost a fortune.
Now, if you want to see an unlikely machine at work, little competes  
with a big monotype machine casting and setting individual type pieces  
from hot metal into lines as the operator typed - all whirring gears,  
grabber arms and fumes like a giant, deranged typewriter - very Heath  
Robinson stuff.
All lost now - a great art gone.
AndrewF


On 03/12/2004, at 7:51 PM, David Carter wrote:

> The font must've been wrong, as font's didn't exist then.
> Although I'm not experienced enough to remember back that far, I think  
> they were
> called typefaces.
>
> David
> sitting here typing into my font driven pc ...
>
> Ross Orr wrote:
>> Rand E wrote:
>>
>>> This graphic is most interesting in that, the large panel in the
>>> background is the control panel assembly for a US nuclear submarine
>>
>>
>> Ding ding ding ding!
>>
>> The un-photoshopped version of the image originates here:
>> http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/news/news_stories/sub- 
>> centen02.html
>>
>>   After which, this website invited people to submit "hacked" versions
>> (most were lame):
>> http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl? 
>> IDLink=1115586&mode=voteresults
>> The by now ubiquitously-forwarded "RAND computer" version was the
>> winning entry.
>>
>> A few things give it away. The shadows and perspective on the TV and
>> teletype look a little off. And why would a computer need a bazillion
>> analog gauges? Work on Fortran had only just started in 1954--I
>> believe the name Fortran may have come later. (Just writing the
>> compiler took 2 years. The official introduction was in 1957:
>> http://www.thocp.net/biographies/backus_john.htm , scroll about  
>> halfway down.)
>>
>> And, if you have some 50's Popular Mechanics issues lying around,
>> you'll see the caption font is wrong. . .  ;-)
>>
>> Now Rand, what I'm dying to know is, what DOES the big steering wheel  
>> thing do?
>>
>> cheers,
>>
>>   -- Ross
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> "Do something foolish once, and it's a mistake.
>>   Do it repeatedly and it's a philosophy."
>>
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