tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post5060179066577159645..comments2024-03-25T08:42:25.940+01:00Comments on Retro Tech Geneva: Typecast: Crowd-sourced compendium of typewriter knowledgeAdwoahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00457285629002149759noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-91127945797524667572011-01-20T00:27:31.124+01:002011-01-20T00:27:31.124+01:00Very interesting.
So far as I am aware, the linea...Very interesting.<br /><br />So far as I am aware, the lineal corporate descendant of the vaunted L.C. Smith & Bros. / Corona Typewriter Company empire occupies one small office in nearby Cleveland, probably with one or maybe two desks and seemingly no actual manufactured product available at the moment. I cannot imagine that either of the people likely to actually work there (perhaps a Will Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04371377137844175320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-50124811868291950832011-01-18T17:24:28.577+01:002011-01-18T17:24:28.577+01:00Olivetti now owns the following brands:
Adler
Herm...Olivetti now owns the following brands:<br />Adler<br />Hermes<br />Imperial<br />Royal<br />Triumph<br />Underwood<br /><br />(Adler, Triumph, Imperial and Royal were included in Olivetti's acquisition of Litton.)<br /><br />Smith-Corona is now a division of Kleinschmidt, Inc.<br /><br />Olympia I *think* is now held by Toshiba (which has a stock-sharing partnership with Olivetti).<br /><br Machines of Loving Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09286532870875619199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-29885742612046157082011-01-18T11:38:39.345+01:002011-01-18T11:38:39.345+01:00Deek - I don't know how feasible it would be t...Deek - I don't know how feasible it would be to purchase the information and "liberate" it. It would depend on how much this person was asking per copy plus his perception of the perceived market for this information. If he is very optimistic about his prospects, as I could imagine he very well might be, the price could be quite high and thus not worth it for most of us (personally,Adwoahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00457285629002149759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-22098829175339712952011-01-17T19:04:07.866+01:002011-01-17T19:04:07.866+01:00I am fully aware that copyrights on the handful of...I am fully aware that copyrights on the handful of manuals which I have scanned and uploaded (and those I am hosting on behalf of others) are still owned *somewhere*. You might be surprised at how many defunct brands are owned by Olivetti. If ever I'm asked by a copyright holder to remove them, I will.<br /><br />The twofold intention behind them is to help out the person who just needs to Machines of Loving Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09286532870875619199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-19311893825926014932011-01-17T15:14:34.606+01:002011-01-17T15:14:34.606+01:00To that last point, we could always "crowd so...To that last point, we could always "crowd source" the money to by the information behind the paywall and then make it available for free thereafter.<br /><br />Is there a central repository out there for typewriter manuals? If not, that's a really good idea...deekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18140131381076720375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-58898290390603523082011-01-17T07:58:10.973+01:002011-01-17T07:58:10.973+01:00@Notagain - Indeed, I think what is happening is t...@Notagain - Indeed, I think what is happening is that the current copyright owners do not realize - or care to enforce - their rights in the case of typewriter-related ephemera. The copyrights are still valid, though, which leaves us in a bit of an awkward position. In any case, I find scanning and posting not to be too much trouble, but I already had the documents anyway. If I was going out of Adwoahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00457285629002149759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-10214892585681575062011-01-17T03:38:18.284+01:002011-01-17T03:38:18.284+01:00I am continually amazed by the amount of rationali...I am continually amazed by the amount of rationalization people engage in regarding issues of legality, and questions of copyright law are among the most common. And the most common misunderstandings in copyright are "fair use" and "make a profit", followed closely by "let 'em sue me". Mostly it seems to be a case of "I want this stuff and I'm confident Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03324098741441811269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-2476594015548736442011-01-17T00:31:46.144+01:002011-01-17T00:31:46.144+01:00I think it's absurd for a company to get narcy...I think it's absurd for a company to get narcy about re-publishing an operating manual for a product that's no longer manufactured, and whose company has gone out of business. A greedy person with too much time on his hands dreams up ways to annoy people who are actually keeping his product alive. I would seriously doubt that an issue like that would even go to trial - there is such a rino breebaarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08732964644950027323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-82715328794577143192011-01-16T22:25:09.094+01:002011-01-16T22:25:09.094+01:00What a coincidence! I just made http://typewriters...What a coincidence! I just made http://typewriters.ch/typewriter_manuals.html . Hello right-holders? I will check the flickr licences, though.shordzihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04824301365798484902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-23013610595799210502011-01-16T17:58:23.548+01:002011-01-16T17:58:23.548+01:00I love this discussion. It brings up both the str...I love this discussion. It brings up both the strength and weakness of crowd-sourcing. It's great that we can usually get some kind of answer, but the gaps are frustrating. Sharing what amounts to ephemera shouldn't be a legal issue, but somebody somewhere still owns it, probably without realizing it. Scanning and posting does take time and effort - the way to make it pay is to use itnotagainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02915679111849352765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-3356217773724018362011-01-16T16:10:52.647+01:002011-01-16T16:10:52.647+01:00Snohomish - Good observation about the used book s...Snohomish - Good observation about the used book stores, although I suppose there could be the contention that a book is not as easily duplicated as a digital file. The original book, whether or not the text is still under copyright, would have been obtained by the bookstore at some cost. <br /><br />Deek - That's a great point; it's probably not in anyone's interest to enforce Adwoahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00457285629002149759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-69365217937981105892011-01-16T15:37:29.297+01:002011-01-16T15:37:29.297+01:00The new cliché is "information wants to be fr...The new cliché is "information wants to be free." With the Internet, anything that consists of a patterning of matter rather than matter itself (text, images, sounds, numbers -- but not food, equipment, etc.) can be distributed in great volume, at great speed, at negligible cost. For instance, I just electronically published an issue of a newsletter on another obscure topic (not Richard Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16232053429935587826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-88634146195701022982011-01-16T15:32:37.290+01:002011-01-16T15:32:37.290+01:00I don't know the legal status of posting manua...I don't know the legal status of posting manuals and the like of typewriters. I am sure, in some scenarios, it is violating copyright laws, but like most laws, there needs to be someone enforcing said law. I think a lot of times, a company will send a cease and desist order and if you don't comply, then there could be some court actions.<br /><br />With that being said, I wouldn't deekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18140131381076720375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6021475418975786274.post-58347343938701241162011-01-16T15:12:43.247+01:002011-01-16T15:12:43.247+01:00Regarding the first part, it is indeed interesting...Regarding the first part, it is indeed interesting that communities centered around various interests and hobbies have developed via the internet, providing a way of sharing information, how-to advice and such. With typewriters it is kind of funny that we use such a modern, advanced technology to research old, out-of-date technologies.<br /><br />Regarding the second part, it seems that if Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com