Post 2: Ordering and Waiting

After ordering the scanners in post one, I had to wait several weeks for them to arrive. I spent the majority of this time searching for manuals online to little success. Although many people are fanatics about old Apple hardware or typewriters, there is little to no information available on scanners. Some of the best information I found was through old computer magazines that include reviews and ads for the various scanners. Magazines such as PC World and Computing Magazine have been essential to understanding this early technology.

Furthermore in an effort to educate readers on the history of scanners I have assembled various documents from the inventors of scanners. The scanner was developed at the National Bureau of Standards, therefore I spent time going through their online archives in order to discover original reports written by Russell Kirsch, the head of the image scanner department. These documents included not only the very first account of using and creating a scanner, but updates from later years as the technology evolved. I planned to use this to inform my readers as well as illustrate the connection between standardization of institutions and writing.