IBM Selectric
Ball-element typewriter
The IBM Selectric was an electric typewriter introduced in 1961, revolutionary for replacing traditional typebars with a rotating spherical element (the "golf ball") that struck the ribbon.
This allowed faster typing without jamming and interchangeable fonts by swapping the ball.
The Selectric dominated offices for decades until personal computers made typewriters obsolete: My mother learned to type on a Selectric.
- word processorsSoftware for writing documents
- correction tapeAdhesive strip hiding mistakes
- business machinesCommercial workplace apparatus
- interchangeableAble to replace another
- thwackSharp striking sound
keyboard layout · element · typewriter · power cord · tactile feedback · courier · golf ball · workplace productivity · carbon · carbon copy · whiteout · retro computing · digital fonts · tab · IBM · platen · return · font
- Typewriterstypewriter, carriage, platen, typebar, ink ribbon
IBM Selectricword processor
Document creation software
personal computer · Microsoft Word · laser printer · Google Docs · MacBook
IBM Selectricmanual typewriter
Non-electric typing machine
handwriting · pen and paper · fountain pen · pencil · quill pen