Typewriter resurgence amid internet age

In a world of almost ubiquitous touch screens, typewriters are
technology from another age.

Manually typewriters may not be made anymore, but one remaining
manufacturer in the US state of New Jersey still turns out electronic
machines.

And in a backlash against the internet age, there is now a younger
generation who are unwilling to turn the page and embrace new
technology.

Nick Harper reports from New York.

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UPSOUND TYPEWRITER CLACKING
TAKE VO
A very distinctive sound, recognizable even over the noise of New York City.
In the heart of Manhattan, Allan Andre creates instantaneous poems on
his typewriter.
UPSOUND TYPEWRITER CLACKING
In the ten years he's being writing-on-request he estimates he's
penned at least 7000 poems.

SOT - Allan Andre, Poet
"It's very physically satisfying to type on. And it also I think
reminds people of a time when we built consumer products to last and
serve people and be household items for a generation, as opposed to
just having throwaway plastic stuff."

TAKE VO
Of course it's not just poets and writers who owe their livelihood to
typewriters.
A company Swintec in New Jersey is one of the remaining manufacturers
in the United States of electronic typewriters. And they have some
very niche clients.
TAKE VO
They sell see-through typewriters to prisons, allowing guards to
easily check inside for hidden contraband, like drugs or weapons.
Sales Manager Edward Michael feels, in this computer age, typewriters
retain their appeal because they remain unhackable, social media-free
machines.

SOT - Edward Michael, Swintec
"When you turn a typewriter on you can't sit there for 45 minutes and
check your emails, you can't go on Facebook, you can't go on different
programs. You turn it on and you go right to the application you
turned it on for. You type a letter and when you've finished you turn
it off and you're finished. It gives you 100% productivity - no wasted
time."

TAKE VO
Doctors also see them as a potential remedy to help people break
internet addictions.
Psychiatrist Sean Luo specializes in the area, but says its a
condition that still needs more research to properly diagnosis.

SOT - Dr. Sean Luo, Psychiatrist
"These effects are so new, especially with the emergence of of very
intrusive social networking applications the effect of that should be
studied and it hasn't been studied especially for people with existing
psychiatric conditions."

TAKE VO
Clearly vintage still has value, and could offer the online-obsessed a
way to unplug.
But as Andre admits the internet still has its uses - for buying his
beloved typewriters.

SOT - Allan Andre, Poet
"If you get them off of Craig's List or eBay they're usually not very
expensive. That's a positive use of the internet."

SOC

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