What Hath Woz Wrought (1979)
In 1979, Andy Hertzfeld developed the Apple Silentype printer, a silent, cost-effective device using thermal paper. It faced safety issues and was replaced by the ImageWriter by 1983.
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In September 1979, Andy Hertzfeld began working at Apple Computer, where he was tasked with developing the Apple Silentype, a low-cost graphical printer. Unlike traditional printers, the Silentype utilized thermal paper and a microprocessor-controlled print head, allowing for silent operation and efficient printing. Hertzfeld collaborated with Victor Bull, the hardware designer, to create software that would control the printer using the Apple II, thus reducing costs. The printer was designed to print graphics and text, with the first message printed being “What Hath Woz Wrought?” in homage to Samuel Morse. Hertzfeld faced challenges, including ensuring the printer's safety to prevent overheating, which led to a memorable incident where a test caused the printer to catch fire. Despite finishing the firmware by mid-September, production delays from Trendcom pushed the release to early 1980. The Silentype was well-received initially but was eventually replaced by the ImageWriter dot matrix printer by the end of 1983.
- Andy Hertzfeld developed the Apple Silentype printer in 1979.
- The printer used thermal paper and was designed to be silent and cost-effective.
- The first printed message was a nod to Samuel Morse: “What Hath Woz Wrought?”
- A safety incident occurred during testing, resulting in a fire.
- The Silentype was eventually replaced by the ImageWriter in 1983.
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4 commentsUnfortunately, adding a clock to the thermal element was a software solution masquerading as a hardware solution. If you have a piece of your system that can start a fire, you need to be sensing temperature, somehow. Sensing anything else is daring reality to get creative with your abstraction model.
Printer heads being on for 10ms isn't a problem, overheating is. Might have been cost-prohibitive or too complex to add in a thermometer and use that to shut down in addition to the 10ms test, but in a perfect world..
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