NYC keeps ahead of the curve, invests $1 million into typewriters

When we look upon the typewriter, we tend to think of it as a somewhat romantic, antiquated technology for the English major in us to write that great mystery novel we've been toying with -- not something we'd imagine anyone would still be using in a professional setting. Unfortunately for New York's boys in blue, that's exactly the situation they find themselves in. According to NY Post, the city has plunked down $982,269 in a contract with New Jersey-based Swintec to provide thousands of new manual electric typewriters bound for NYPD offices over the next three years, with another $99,570 going to a company for maintaining the current lineup. While arrest reports have thankfully gone the way of computers, property and evidence vouchers continue to be written up out the old fashioned way, with officers complaining about having to seek out ribbons when they (often) run dry. In some way, it's kind of funny... but mostly, it's just sad.

[Via Yahoo! Tech]

[Peter @ Jul 14th 2009 11:48PM]

oh

[Jagger @ Jul 15th 2009 1:59AM]

What does it take to proof read an article?

"...technology for the English major in us to write that great mystery novel we've toying with..."

We've toying with? More like: "we're toying with" or "we've been toying with."

Ironic and unprofessional.

[TeddyLikesComputahs! @ Jul 15th 2009 3:14AM]

I think it's gonna be one of those ultraportable net-typwriters, so they can easily chase criminals around.

[neofolklore @ Jul 15th 2009 8:20AM]

@Jagger

I heard the SS were recruiting Grammar Nazi

[wagon @ Jul 15th 2009 9:31AM]

i don't think that's Nazi at all... Jagger makes a very good point. there is next to no proofreading on this site and I would say 1:6 articles have some sort of typo.

stay clssy Engadget...

[roknfunkapotomus @ Jul 15th 2009 9:34AM]

@Jagger
Technically it should be "with which we've been toying." If you're going to be a grammar nazi at least do it right!

[Dead_Rebel @ Jul 15th 2009 9:57AM]

You grammar homos need to chill. You do know this is a BLOG right? They don't have to be professional. They don't have to proof read. They also don't need to please me, you, or the next guy reading this comment. They can do whatever the hell they want with or without your approval. So you're vein attempt at grammar correction was moot. You impressed no one and basically showed us all how you fail at life. Go cut your wrists, listen to some emo music, and think about the times you could have had if you had gone to college, got a real job, and not played the pseudo-intellectual on the internet pwning nubz with your 1337 grammatical sk1llz.

[wagon @ Jul 15th 2009 10:57AM]

wow, where to start...

went to college, have a great job, hate emo music...

all we are saying is that it takes a whole minute to proofread a one-paragraph article so why not do it?

[JustinM @ Jul 15th 2009 11:10AM]

@Dead_Rebel:

You know they get paid for this, right? If you get paid, you gotta have standards.

BTW, I'm at work right now, not listening to emo, and my wrists are fine, thank you. I do have some hangnails to take care of, though.

[Atenlaugh @ Jul 15th 2009 11:42AM]

I look forward to the day when wrist-cutting emo kids aren't grossly and unfairly stereotyped as literate.

[chris @ Jul 15th 2009 1:25PM]

I cut myself today at work today :( I swear the exacto knife slipped.

[ghex88 @ Jul 15th 2009 5:43PM]

Energy saving drive. Why must you power on the energy hungry computer just to type?

[Pat @ Jul 18th 2009 12:17PM]

to further Dead_Rebel's point ... You also don't have to read this blog if you don't like it!

[kojo87 @ Jul 14th 2009 11:49PM]

something kind of cool about NYC coppers still using typewriters

[Chuckles McGee @ Jul 15th 2009 1:17AM]

Hack that!!

[Nikesh @ Jul 15th 2009 10:41AM]

I dunno. On the one hand, I find it hilarious that the cops have to suffer at the keys of a manual typewriter. On the other, I wonder if they'd be less hostile and trigger-happy if they didn't have to carry the frustration of using a typewriter.

[shootingblue @ Jul 14th 2009 11:50PM]

Don't think its just NY. The typewriter is still a very popular tool in Chicago as well along with a lot of carbon paper.

[Izzy @ Jul 15th 2009 12:45AM]

Carbon Paper, wow, brings back memories.

And the source of the "cc:" I think.

[MowDownJoe @ Jul 15th 2009 1:17AM]

I'm sorry... whenever someone says "Chicago" and "typewriter" in the same sentence, all I can think of is Resident Evil's most broken weapon ever.

[IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII (BarCODE) @ Jul 15th 2009 2:39AM]

Chicago typewriter was a name given by the mob.

http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id84.htm

[someguy7234 @ Jul 15th 2009 4:36AM]

@Barcode
In case anyone else didn't get that "Chicago Typewriter" refers to the Tommy-Gun because when it fires it sounds like a typewriter....

At any rate, I think its funny that they are buying them from Swintec who I can only imagine has the motto "swindling coppers of of money with every sale"
They make clear typewriter, which would be so 1992 if it wasn't so 1982- they cost mare than a netbook (from $160 - $800).

[IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII (BarCODE) @ Jul 16th 2009 8:59AM]

I thought it was because Mobsters used it to write their names in lead on a wall?


"Have a nice day"

[Mike @ Jul 14th 2009 11:51PM]

Well, at least there aren't any OS wars in the precincts of New York...

[Ohio Bob @ Jul 15th 2009 1:13AM]

The companies name is swintech or swindletech........

[Darrell @ Jul 14th 2009 11:54PM]

On computers they STILL use this old IBM OS that was made in the 80s for basically all of the city's systems, from NYPD to Food Stamps. The new computers run XP, but they have this emulator so that they could log into the decades old system. But hey, I guess keeping up to date would be too much of a drain on the taxpayers. Basically what would you rather have, a story about taxpayers complaining that they're spending money on old tech, or a story about taxpayers spending money on 'unnecessary' technology and rising taxes?

[David @ Jul 15th 2009 4:07AM]

See... this is something I wouldn't mind seeing tax money go to. How about we update things once and awhile and make them run more efficiently. I swear, the way the money is spent is so stupid!

[Sarig @ Jul 15th 2009 10:39AM]

But then, updating for the sake of updating is a waste, unless there's gains. If a system works, it works!

That said, I'm pretty sure typewriters are very inefficient compared to computers, but using a decades old OS for a specific task isn't necessarily a bad thing.

[rm @ Jul 15th 2009 12:15PM]

Which OS from the 80's? Looks like most of the IBM originated mainframe OS's were introduced in the 60's and are currently updated and supported.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_IBM_mainframe_operating_systems

Have to agree with Sarig updating for the sake of updating is pointless.

I also wouldn't knock using a terminal emulator, sometimes that is all you need and can be quite efficient.

[Nick @ Jul 15th 2009 1:23PM]

@rm - he's could be talking about OS/2 that was released by IBM in the 80s to compete with Windows.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS/2

[Mark @ Jul 14th 2009 11:54PM]

"manual electric typewriters"?

[oGMo @ Jul 14th 2009 11:56PM]

Versus "word processors" (typewriters with LCDs) or non-electric typewriters?

[Greg @ Jul 15th 2009 12:14AM]

It has a keyboard like a computer keyboard which activates a motor that strikes the paper with the correct character, instead of the force hitting the keys moving the typeset.

[Andrew Merskin @ Jul 14th 2009 11:56PM]

Wow... insane.

[idiot @ Jul 14th 2009 11:56PM]

computer keyboards don't slam into your face as hard as typewriters can

[Thunda Chunky @ Jul 15th 2009 12:11AM]

+3 for you. I lawl'd, then my ass fell off. You might say I laughed my ass off

[Thunda Chunky @ Jul 15th 2009 12:14AM]

@ idiot

I just reread your comment and L'dMAO again. I'm just gonna leave it under my seat LOL.

[Jdub @ Jul 15th 2009 1:23AM]

Homerowed!

[Ariel @ Jul 15th 2009 2:53AM]

Although my initial response was humor, I don't get it. Can someone explain how typewriters slam into your face?

[Ariel @ Jul 15th 2009 3:00AM]

Actually, I believe Jdub's comment answered my question.... lol.

[Calvin @ Jul 15th 2009 5:36AM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU011Edk5J8
???

[Charlie @ Jul 15th 2009 12:00AM]

Shocker. Computers break down all the damn time, typewriters work endlessly (by comparison) makes sense from a cost point of view if you ask me.

[Dew @ Jul 15th 2009 12:05AM]

+1, not to mention all the energy saved from not running a PC 24/7

[ChaosEntity17 @ Jul 15th 2009 12:05AM]

Enjoy making a mistake and having to type the whole damn thing over again.

[Seminole @ Jul 15th 2009 12:11AM]

ChaosEntity17,

You haven't heard of white out have you?

[Dusty @ Jul 15th 2009 12:53AM]

You know what else never breaks and doesn't use any electricity? A pen and piece of paper! If you asked me, they've spent too much money on those confounded typewriters! So many things can break and a pen a pad is so much cheaper. Imagine all the time they will waste changing printer ribbons and learning to type. Stick to what works, that what I always say.

No, seriously though. It's silly to argue the advantages of a computer over a typewriter. They should enter the data into a fancy computing machine, store that information in a database, index it, make it search-able over their internal network, run analytics on the data, gain new insights, print it as many times as they wish without it losing quality, back the data up in geographically disperse data centers, and archive it. Or they can just write it down and put it in a drawer. Whatever.

[This Is Me @ Jul 15th 2009 9:42AM]

Seminole: "You haven't heard of white out have you?"

Not do-able on carbons and likely not allowed due to changing of official documents (i.e., some kind of evidence tampering).

Alternate response: "White Out" not allowed as it is racist; e.g., when California required computer manufacturers to change master/slave statements in computer documentation about hard drives and RAIDs some years ago.

[Aaron @ Jul 15th 2009 1:28PM]

Hey, great idea! Lets just use horses instead of cop cars and pitchforks and torches instead of pistols and rifles while we're at it!

[blayne.20 @ Jul 15th 2009 12:10AM]

First!!! Haha just kidding. I couldn't resist!

[atomicmatt @ Jul 15th 2009 12:09AM]

did you notice that there new CLEAR typewriter is entitled New York. I wonder if that is where the money came from to design this new piece of relic.

http://www.swintec.com/clear-typewriters/242-2416dm-7k-cc-new-york.html

How sad, I also heard they still use these during confessions and interviews.:

http://www.reeltoreel.de/worldwide/Images/A700-05.jpg

[ill trooper @ Jul 15th 2009 4:33AM]

"Sad" is that condescending comment of yours. Both of those things are awesome!