The sound of 'typing orchestra' softening

The sound of 'typing orchestra' softening

By Kafil Yamin

BANDUNG (JP): Passing through a small neighborhood next to
Padjadjaran University, one hears a massive clattering. If you
listen a bit longer, you hear it has a sort of orderly beat, like
a percussion orchestra.

That is the typical sound of typewriters in use. Residents of
the neighborhood, who offer typing services to university
students and lecturers, have been making a living with their
typewriters for years, despite the growing popularity of PCs.

The invasion of computers has caused the typical clattering to
soften from day to day, being replaced by the gentler strikes of
the PC keyboard. But many residents of the "village of typists"
place the value of typewriters much higher than that of the
sophisticated PCs.

"I have a brand new PC which is expensive, but I get more
appreciation from this old-fashioned typing machine," said Asep,
42, a typist who has been eking out a living on his Brother
typewriter for 20 years.

He is not exaggerating when he says his old typewriter has
contributed to the academic titles of numerous university
graduates -- until today.

Likewise, the typewriter has enabled him to feed his family
and send his four children to school. He was able to buy a PC
because of its merits.

"I never underestimate my old Brother," he adds.

Like his fellow typists, he rents a small stall near the
university campus. Students come to his stand for his services.
He charges Rp 2,000 (23 US cents) a page on the typewriter, and
Rp 3,000 per page on the PC.

He earns somewhere between Rp 1 million and Rp 1.5 million a
month, which is just enough to make ends meet. But this is less
than what he used to earn in the past, and the buying power of
the rupiah has declined.

The typists mainly attribute their declining income to the
increasing prevalence of PCs. "In the past," recalls Kosasih,
another typist, "students used our services because they didn't
have their own typewriters and it was difficult to borrow them
from friends during the busy semester."

Also, there was no such a thing as typewriter rentals. Now
students can rent a computer and work on their assignments
themselves.

The typists also blame the new academic policy that no longer
requires last-year students to produce a skripsi, or minithesis,
for their undergraduate degrees.

Taking the place of the minithesis is the so-called final
report, which is not required for students to earn their S-1
degrees.

"The policy is a disaster for us," said Asep. "When skripsi
was one of the requirements, typists used to enjoy what we called
the harvest season. That was a time of big orders. Last-year
students would come to us to type a large number of pages --
around 250 to 300 pages."

"We were often overwhelmed. The workload was often too much,"
he added.

During these times, typists often shared the work among
themselves. A typist who received a big order would transfer some
of the work to other typists who were not as busy. This kind of
cooperation still exists today.

For their part, the typists are aware that many university
students obtained their degrees by cheating. They say they were
often asked to copy an already approved minithesis.

"I just copied it. The only changes were the name of the
author and the date. I just wondered how they could get away with
it," said a typist who asked for anonymity.

Now there is no such thing as the harvest season and the
typists' income has dropped by 50 percent. The final report,
which is only 15 to 20 pages long, is optional, with those
students short on credits allowed to take extra exams instead.

This academic policy change enables students to rent a
computer and spend a few hours completing their work.

Many residents in the neighborhood have given up typing to
find new professions. A few of them had the means to open up
their own computer rentals.

But typewriters have not completely lost their ability to
provide a living. Many students still come to have their
assignments typed out on the old machines, so many of the typists
are not ready to give up on their typewriters.

"I would say typewriters still survive," Kosasih said.

But computers are in steady demand and it is getting more and
more difficult to fix typewriters, especially when damaged parts
must be replaced.

"If we can find a part we need, the price is very expensive.
Maybe because supplies are declining due to the decreasing role
of typewriters," said Asep.

Some have chosen to sell their typewriters cheap to a local
market. From here, the machines will pass to smaller spaces -- a
village or district administration office.

But their decreasing role has made typewriters somewhat
exclusive items. The typists say a brand new Brother costs Rp
800,000, nearly the same price as a second-hand one.

Despite their dogged survival, most of the typists foresee the
future disappearance of typewriters. Does this mean the service
provided by this village of typists also will come to an end?