“X” is for “Xerox”
This blog is part of a very special series created and written by Phyllis Knox, “Alphabetic Musings”, whereby she chooses a word starting with a particular letter from the alphabet and injects it with her storytelling magic.
I went to Google and typed “Words starting with the letter X”, and the following are the fouteen words it gave me: x-ray, xerox, xeric, xenon, xylem, xebec, xyster, xylose, xanthic, xiphoid, xanthous, xylocarp, xylophone, and xylograph. Even byjus.com did not recognize nine of them, while I, recognized only three. Then again, the letter ‘X’ is the third-to-last letter of the English alphabet. And one of the least-used letters in the English language, represented in less than one percent of the English vocabulary.
I can only use the words x-ray, xylophone and xerox meaningfully. While I have been x-rayed a few times in my lifetime, I know little about that process scientifically. That’s a pass. Likewise, I know nothing about playing or listening to xylophone music. That’s also a pass. Therefore, only one word in the English language that starts with the letter ‘X’ is within my scope of knowledge to blog about. Here goes…
The brand name Xerox is a household word. They make laser printers and print production equipment used the world over. Their Canadian main offices are in Quebec City and Montreal. Their legal names are Xerox and Xerox Canada Ltd., but it is not a Canadian company. It owned by FujiFilm, the Japanese multinational conglomerate. They acquired Xerox in 2018 for six billion dollars, thereby saving the company, which was floundering due to technological change, management failure, and board irresponsibility.
There is a difference between photocopying and xeroxing even if they are often used interchangeably. Photocopying is to make duplicate copies of a document using xerography technology, which is similar to the technology used in a laser printer. Xeroxing is to use the brand name photocopier and it differs from a regular photocopier because it has added features, such as colour printing and scanning directly to email or cloud storage.
The “ancient” way to make copies: a typewriter and carbon paper.
I can still remember using a typewriter! It feels like it existed during the reign of the dinosaur! We would practice and practice with the goal of typing sixty or more words per minute. Making a typing error or a “typo” meant a whole process of time and effort to correct that is no longer needed in today’s computer-driven world. Spelling and grammar checks did not exist. I can remember making copies on my typewriter using carbon paper. Do people even use carbon paper anymore?
Phyllis
P.S. I truly enjoy using many of the technological wonders available in our everyday world. Given my age and background, I am more often than not surprised by every new machine invention. New and updated technology is right there at our fingertips, but I struggle to use them sometimes.
