Old Technology Making A Comeback?
Perhaps some of the old-tech really deserves a second coming with looming power cuts this winter.
Ever seen one of those machines as in the picture above?
If so, you either were visiting a museum – or are born a long time ago. Actually, I typed many pages, including my scientific theses on a similar device.
This kind of old-tech appears to be making a come-back. At least that’s what the Daily Mail reports from the British government facility Whitehall. The reason is a fear of potential (electricity) blackouts this coming winter.
Carbon Paper
Needless to say, even in the worst times, civil service communications must keep flowing and, if necessary, by carbon paper copies to all correspondents. However, these old-type devices required equal force on each keystroke to produce a clean document, especially if several carbon copies were needed.
One big plus is that these machines had woven ribbons that were used repeatedly (in reversed direction), thus making it extremely difficult or impossible to leave a readable trace of anything typed. A second plus is that they don’t need any electric power at all.
IBM Selectric
In the ‘60s, a new invention came about: the IBM Selectric, an electric ball typewriter. It allowed much faster typing, easier corrections, and simple change of fonts. It could also produce high quality carbon paper copies. One big (security) problem though was that any snoop could temporarily remove the plastic ribbon and read the entire typed text. Of course, it also required electricity to operate.
Fast Forward to the 2020s
Just like the old rotary phones that, by the way, also do not require external (i.e. for base-/hand-set) electric power, many members of the currently young generation might not even know what the old manual typewriters looked like.
Now, it’s electronic keyboards in various forms that, together with instantaneous worldwide electronic communication enable one to send any text or picture to a myriad of recipients in split seconds.
Despite all attempts to securely encode sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands, with enough computing power, just about any security code can be cracked. Furthermore, any computer program or hardware with secret backdoor(s) is vulnerable or could be used to access anything written or said over the electronic channels.
“Hacking” – a criminal business and high-stakes warfare
“Hacking” of all kinds of electronic communications, data files, and computer-driven devices has not only become a big business for criminal elements but also an important part of modern electronic warfare. A high-stakes competition all around that neither side appears to be able to decisively win.
Perhaps, some of the old-tech really deserves a second coming.
See more here canadafreepress
Bold emphasis added
Please Donate Below To Support Our Ongoing Work To Defend The Scientific Method
PRINCIPIA SCIENTIFIC INTERNATIONAL, legally registered in the UK as a company 
incorporated for charitable purposes. Head Office: 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX.
Trackback from your site.
Jerry Krause
| #
Hi Klaus,
Great Article again!
Nothing beats the book (or printed page) which only requires NATURAL SOLAR RADIATION to read nearly a hundred years after it was printedL. My example: ‘English and Engineering’ 2nd Ed. (1923), edited by Frank Aydelotte. In its preface I read: “The various changes made in this edition are intended not to alter the character of the book but only to carry out somewhat better its original purpose. That purpose is: (1) To teach the student to write not by telling him how, not by doing his thinking for him, but by stimulating him to think for himself about his own problems, about his work and its place in the world. (2). To lead the engineering student to think of the occupation for which he is preparing himself not as a trade but as one of the liberal professions. (3). To lead him to see how his work of designing material conveniences for men is bound up with the world of science, of literature, and of moral ideals.”
Have a good day, Jerry
Reply
Jerry Krause
| #
Hi Klaus,
Just learned that you had written another great article in 2015 (https://principia-scientific.com/laughing-gas-a-laughing-matter/). Which is before my time at PSI. But to check the date of your article I googled it and discovered that people under 21 cannot buy whipped cream because laughing gas is a propellant. Readers you need to read Klaus’s 2015 article to learn what laughing gas is.
Have a good day, Jerry
Reply