“Now listen to this.
The gentle and soothing lullaby of a piece of machinery so perfect –”
Serial Number: 46-0171787
Olympia Pica No. 12 typeface, 10 pitch, 2.6m/m, 6 lines/inch, keyset tabulator, half-space spacing, vertical spacing, portable, bichrome, segment shift, American keyboard, 44 keys, 88 characters, white and gray plastic body with grey hood and gray plastic keys with white characters
Manufactured in Wilhelmshaven, Germany
I acquired this at thrift for $21.95 on 2026-05-10 for Mother’s Day in immaculate condition! It’s as if someone used it to type up a few essays then put it in the case for 49 years. Other than some minor wear, this may be the singularly cleanest typewriter I’ve ever purchased. As my first typebar electric Olympia, I was so looking forward to taking it apart and giving it a full clean, oil, and adjust, but beyond wiping off some exterior dust, this machine really needs no work. I’m both disappointed and elated at the same time.
“Now listen to this.
The gentle and soothing lullaby of a piece of machinery so perfect –”
—Frank Navasky, YOU’VE GOT MAIL (Warner Bros., 1998)
AOL in 1995.
From the book “America Online’s Internet for Windows: Easy Graphical Access - The AOL Way” by Tom Lichty.
#AOL #AmericaOnline #90sInternet #RetroTech #90sNostalgia #ThrowbackTech #YouveGotMail #RetroComputing
https://apnews.com/article/aol-dial-up-internet-shuts-down-08162912737f2fb221f10ba87ce5fc41
In tech news, AOL has ended its dial-up Internet service.
Also, did you know that AOL still existed, and still offered dial-up Internet as recently as yesterday, September 30th, in the year 2025?
It’s official: AOL’s dial-up internet has taken its last bow. The company confirmed it would discontinue the service on Tuesday, September 30th, citing routine evaluations of its offerings. Dial-up is no longer advertised on AOL's website, and former help pages related to the service are unavailable. AOL, formerly America Online, introduced many households to the World Wide Web for the first time when its dial-up service launched decades ago. The creaky door to the internet was characterized by a once-ubiquitous series of beeps and buzzes heard over the phone used to connect your computer online. Eventually, broadband and wireless offerings rose to dominance — but some consumers still use other dial-up offerings today.
Why is Barnes and Noble buying up another indie chain?
https://web.brid.gy/r/https://lithub.com/why-is-barnes-and-noble-buying-up-another-indie-chain/
Chris Aldrich
Retro Techie
Curt Johnson - Indie Genius
Sayed.app
Michèle Delisle
Dan Jones
Literary Hub