Maricar S.

Gadoy June 24, 2019

BSChE-5 Library Work in ChE 4206a

AWord Processing

The word processor did not simply come from nowhere. It originated from a series of
innovations that improved writing productivity. The original mechanical typewriter was an
important ancestor in its line of origin. The typewriter evolved further, while making good use of
technologies that were originally developed for other purposes. Over the period of a century
many intermediate products evolved and, without this being pre-planned, paved the way, step-
by-step, for the word processor.

Just as in speciation of natural organisms, the environment played a crucial role in the
evolution of the word processor. Social economic developments like women’s liberation went
hand in hand with the advent of new products like the typewriter and telephone. Later, the advent
of the personal computer and, in its wake, the word processor again changed the labor market.
The office environment in which many people work thus affected the emergence and evolution
of these products. This environment appears to be part and parcel of the evolution of both the
typewriter and the word processor.

Reference: https://www.productevolution.org/2018/02/on-the-origin-of-the-word-processor/