Gasketype

A gasketype is a specialized form of typewriter specifically designed for punching (or, in the case of reuseable media, editing) dieseltech computer programming gaskets.
Externally, a gasketype resembles a typewriter with a deep base and a few small dial, spool, or plackard indicators used to keep track of the write head's location within the program being written, though some versions come with additional indicators and jacks for teletype or RadNet inputs (see Mechanics & Inner Workings for details) Many gasketypes feature protective covers and handles for programming on-the-go.

Mechanics & Inner Workings

Like the manual typewriters from which they are descended, gasketypes come in a wide variety of forms and with a wide variety of additional quality-of-life features. For example, some come with special patching heads close accidentally opened pores on a sheet of gasket, while others have a mechanical printing buffer so that each line can be edited before it is finally punched. Many come with flipboard-style character display windows, allowing the machine to read a gasket for it's user on an instruction by instruction basis. Some are attached to autonets or the RadNet as an input/output device.
Most gasketypes are designed to only write instructions based on a pre-set format (i.e. GasKIT or Ixiotaba), but a few can work in multiple instruction sets.

Significance

The invention of gasketypes has enabled a consistency of quality not previously achievable by manual gasket punching, furthering the standardization of programming languages and gasket formats. The gasketype has become an important tool in the repertoires of programmers, engineers, gear-grinders, and bards-recursant alike. Inexpensive gasketypes are also of cultural importance because they have democratized dieseltech programming, allowing for 'frivolous' uses of the tech - such as programming stage automata or encoding programming gasket grille cyphers - which would previously have been too labor-intensive for most people to pursue.

Item type

Tool

Rarity

Gasketypes are common wherever dieseltech computers may be found, especially in industrial hubs like Eudoxia, research and development hubs like Register, or in Navigator's Guild offices (where they can be used to inscribe Guild Contract Cards).

Weight

5 lbs

Dimensions

1.5' x 1' x 1'

Base Price

150 NGC