If you're under a certain age--forty or so--it's hard to appreciate how different the world was before computer-based typography became common, especially when easy to use, professional-level (or close to it) typography came into the reach of average people rather than specialists. Type used to be set letter by letter, manually. No, really kids. If you think not having a remote control is archaic, imagine setting type by hand (or even using a typewriter).
And then there's this from the article, something I hadn't known.
It was Mr. Seybold, according to his son Andrew, who first used "what you see is what you get" in reference to computerized word processing, after watching "The Flip Wilson Show," on which Mr. Wilson used the phrase to describe his female character Geraldine.
(I guess getting the Flip Wilson reference sort of dates one as well.)
[via Dan Bricklin's Log]
Posted by johndan at March 17, 2004 09:42 PM
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