The Typewriter Database News
Sub-brands now linked to top-level Brands in some searches. Thu, 02 Apr 2015
I've modified the queries that return results in the "Brand" searches so that if you search a top-level Brand (like "Brother"), you'll also get results from Brother's sub-brands (like Wedgefield, Mongomery Wards, Western Auto, etc..)
The inverse is not so, thus if you specifically search a sub-brand (like Wedgefield) you will not get results from the other sub-brands or the top-level brand.
This is meant to allow you to see the progression of model designs if you sort the result by year, and you get to see the machines made by that company but sold under different brands. It is primarily useful to me to visualize where models go in the timeline - catching misfiles and misdates is much easier in this view, as well as acting as a visual reference that helps to make the serial number pages a little clearer in my head. Hopefully you will also find it useful.
Underwood Model names mostly Normalized! Sat, 21 Mar 2015
Confused about why some of your Underwood galleries have had the model names changed? There's a reason for it, namely simplicity and clarity in navigation and logical grouping of like machines. Read about it in more detail below, there's much more coming down the pike...
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Say Hello to TWDB Mobile! Fri, 20 Mar 2015
When I set up this current layout for the Typewriter Database, my primary concern was optimizing for SEO, Desktop browsers and printers. Increasingly though, mobile devices are becoming the preferred devices for finding information, and so it's about time to take a stab at creating tools for accessing the TWDB elegantly on smartphones and tablets. The full realization of a mobile-friendly TWDB is still a ways off, but we'll call this a fairly useful first draft...
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Express Portable serial numbers now revealed! Sun, 08 Mar 2015
Thanks to Richard Polt for the translation of the relevant passage of the 1953 and 1962 Herstellungsdaten, we now have a short but complete guide to Express serial numbers, a short-lived bakelite portable produced between 1951 and 1954.
Typewriter Patent Database now online! Sat, 31 Jan 2015
Thanks to Richard Polt who sent over a copy of Dirk Schumann's Typewriter Patent Database DVD. It took some finagling of the data, but the Patentbase is now a part of the Typewriter Database, with patents linked to Google Patents. Enjoy!
Updated Corona 4 numbers Wed, 31 Dec 2014
In my continuing quest to make sense of the most senseless bits of the Smith-Corona page, the Corona 4 serial number list has been updated. Full story below.
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Standard Folding serial numbers added. Mon, 29 Dec 2014
I was digging around in preparation to re-do the Corona 4 serial number section when I noticed I had numbers for the old Standard Folding #1 and #2 from 3 sources that all matched up really nicely. I added this to the Smith Corona page just above the Corona 3, and attached the Standard Folding category to the Smith-Corona serial number page along with Corona and other marques.
Added Top-20 Models Sun, 21 Dec 2014
There's now a list of the top 20 Models, listing machine galleries by the most uploaded models. Of course, the problem with this is that often, people enter the same model under different names. Such was the case with the runaway favorite, the Royal Quiet De Luxe, which was often listed as a "QDL" or "Quiet Deluxe". With certain popular models such as this and certain Olympias, I took the liberty of running a few name normalization queries to set the mis-named ones right. I may add such queries to the nightly batch jobs at some point in the future to keep these particularly often mis-named models normalized.
Added section showing Serial Number pages by last modified date. Fri, 19 Dec 2014
Finally got around to filling up the third slot on the Manufacturer listing page. It's now occupied by a list of Manufacturers ordered by the serial number file's last modified date - newest at the top. Yeah, this page takes awhile to generate, be patient. It's doing quite a lot of stuff to present the information so ordered.
Fixed timestamps for News Fri, 19 Dec 2014
When I rush-built this little news updates app, I never bothered to get the timestamps working, so just didn't display them. Today someone nudged me to display timestamps, and so now I know someone actually reads these news blurbs.
So, I fixed them. Unfortunately, now all news previous to today is dated today. So it goes...
