1962 Vintage IBM Typewriter Training Film IBM Selectric Proper Typing Procedures, w/ Bud McDole

[@gregmcdole7727]

Hey thanks for posting this! Bud McDole is my Dad. He still blows me away as a 92 year old! He did this whole thing with no notes…memorized it all! Crazy! Anyway, thank you again. He is getting a kick out of seeing it. Please like and share away folks!

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

Hey Greg. He was fascinating to listen to and a lot of what he says still has use today. Was he an actor or broadcaster or did he work in an office or with typewriters?

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi Greg, you are very welcome! It was a great experience helping to bring this film back to life. This really took me back to the 1960's when life was a slower paced affair, and people really appreciated quality products and service. Your dad's pacing as instructor/narrator was excellent! He made the material very easy to watch and provided a great level of detail. He would have made a great classroom instructor as well. I am very thankful that you and your dad (and IBM) were willing to share this bit of history with others! Thanks again! ~ Victor

[@gregmcdole7727]

@@WhatALoadOfTosca he was a Radio Broadcaster for the Light and Life Hour during this same period. But he worked for IBM for the first few years selling these typewriters before moving on to their early computer systems! Thanks for asking!

[@WhatALoadOfTosca]

@@gregmcdole7727 Thank you. Glad to hear he is still alive.

[@phoenixtypewriter2136]

That is way cool !

[@phoenixtypewriter2136]

1st version IBM selectric 1 indeed ! 1st version margin sliders, 1st version card guide, 1st version type ball . . . . Awesome

[@cowboyfrankspersonalvideos8869]

I took a semester of typing in high school in 1968. I was the only boy in the class so took quite a bit of ribbing near the beginning. I don't remember them teaching me any of these tricks except for the posture. I think posture was more important back in the manual days when you had to press hard on the keys and when a typist spent most of the day typing constantly. As it turned out, that class was just about the only thing I took in high school that served me well in my adult life now with computers.

[@fesaopilger]

You are doing an awesome work by preserving and spreading history. I like seeing such amazing content.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi Fernando, thank you very much for the kind words. I am very glad you found our channel! ~ Victor, CHAP

[@ganzonomy]

Even with my collection of IBM models F and M, this is good advice for accuracy, speed, and comfort. I use this advice both at home and in the office. 👍

[@SSChambers1]

I didn't realize that the humble typewriter could be so sophisticated. I never realized you could do any of the techniques in this video. Impressive for its time. Amazing how far technology has come!

[@Welther47]

Technology always develops to a certain point, and then we do things completely differently.

[@X-OR_]

The Sound of a IBM SELECTRIC reminds me of going to the Doctor office and waiting in the waiting room while the ladies in the office type out the patients records.

[@carlospulpo4205]

or for us naughty children....sitting in the principals office.

[@timsmith2525]

Wow! I wish I had seen this back in 1978!

[@drof2th]

I don't think I'll ever get frustrated with my word prosesser program again!!!!

[@loveisall5520]

I'm glad I was never shown this in the sixties when I learned typing! Amazing how style has changed, but love that Model C IBM...

[@agd29ifi]

The IBM Selectric was the very typewriter that I learned to type with after spending my childhood with my two finger and later my index and thumb together. I got use to it fast, primarily without looking at the keyboard. 🙂

[@compu85]

The tip about making a pleat sheet is actually really handy!

[@joshuagalka3526]

Incredible!

[@captainkeyboard1007]

The typewriter, especially the IBM Selectric was my "springboard." I liked the typewriter better than doing data entry, keypunch style. That is what led me to earn the name "Captain Keyboard." Today, I do more than just typewriting taks. Despite of the low sound quality, the Vintage IBM Typewriter Training Film is very comprehensive.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi Cap'n, thanks for the kind words. We were very lucky to save this film. The original 16mm was just a few years away from becoming "vinegar," if you know what I mean. ~ The film's level of detail is quite classic and the gentleman in the film got to see it again after so many years. ~ Victor

[@captainkeyboard1007]

@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject You are welcome, Victory Victor. Happy April to you. I hope that you be great and blessed in the entire month and year. I do understand that the sound equipment was not high quality as that in the later years. I was also an audio fan when I had my high fidelity stereophonic system of components since 1978. Thank you for typing to me.

[@somedudecalledben]

Wow, what an interesting video. I thought that this would be just a fun video to watch but I actually learnt a lot about my typewriter that I didn't know.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Hi Ben, glad you enjoyed it. Hope you will check out some of our other tech videos as well. ~ Hunter

[@Stache987]

I think he's using a model that looks like a executive model, they are neat, although proportional spacing makes it difficult to line back up for corrections. I did most of my pre-typing class learning on one my mother had, I was so saddened to find she traded that boat anchor in for a desk. It was one of the first using a plastic like ribbon for ink.

[@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject]

Yes, I think you are correct! It looked like an Executive model to me also. There were many early electric typewriter models with subtle yet very important differences. Thank you for your observation and comment! ~ Hunter, at CHAP

[@alfredklek]

I have a Selectric I and exclusively use a Model M with my modern computer. I was taught how to type in something like 1994 (it was mandatory and co-ed) using not only these techniques but also these specific formatting rules. Were these common practice or did IBM teach me how to write form letters?

[@thesteelrodent1796]

"her feet are flat on the floor"... she's wearing heels, mate I learned to type on one of those old curvy Selectric. My mom bought it used in the 1980s and it worked flawlessly, like it was brand new. A couple of the keys were cracked, so if you hit them crooked they'd flip over, but that only encouraged us to type properly. It was only rarely used and at some point in the 90s when my dad wanted to use it the metal bands that control the ball snapped, but otherwise it never had a single fault in the time we had it. My dad sold it after he got his first PC in 1994 and assume he got a decent price for it since those first generation Selectric were already collector's items by then

[@Gracee40]

How many of you remember carbon paper?

[@albear972]

Good film and good hints/tips to use the Selectric back then. The making lines with the typewriter hint seems very iffy. The end product looked very amateurish and honestly crude. And I saw that the San Francisco PBS TV station, Before PBS, KQED was part of making this film.

[@norcal715]

First again!