Who remembers the clickety-clack sound of the old mechanical typewriters? Qwertick is a tiny (only 34 KB) free and portable tool with just a single function– that is to replicate the clickety-clack sounds made by old mechanical typewriters. Obviously, Qwertick is not a terribly functional or versatile piece of software and is primarily for novelty value. Plus, for anyone of my vintage who remembers the sounds made by the old mechanical typewriters, it does invoke a certain nostalgia.
The sounds are extremely close to the real thing even replicating the sound of the carriage return when you press the Enter key. Press the play button below to hear Qwertick in action:
That’s me typing into a Word document on my PC’s keyboard with Qwertick active. I can bash out around 35-40 words per minute– not too dusty for a two-finger typist. 🙂
When running, Qwertick places an icon in the notification area of the taskbar (aka the system tray) which when clicked opens a tiny window with just two options: mute/unmute or click the X in the top right-hand corner to close out.
BOTTOM LINE
At a mere 34 KB Qwertick isn’t going to revolutionize the way in which you use the computer but, in the words of a commenter on MajorGeeks– it is quirky, nostalgic, and music to my ears. I love it!
- Download Qwertick direct from the developer: Nattyware: Download Qwertick
- Or from MajorGeeks: MajorGeeks: Download Qwertick
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On the other hand, Jim, there are people who use a noisy mechanical keyboard with their computer and would prefer that the clickity-clack sound not be heard by others on Zoom calls or other conferencing services. To this end, there is an app called Unclack that turns off your mike while you are typing. Sorry, Windows users, it’s only available for Macs. Look it up at unclack.app.
Hey Patrick,
I hadn’t thought of that, good point. I didn’t realize mechanical (gaming) keyboards made that much noise (I presume that is what you’re referring to).
Hi Patrick. Are there quiet keyboards? Might not hear any clicks from the keyboard, but I do hear my finger pressing on the keys. Might be because I pound harder, Mindblower!