Xref: utzoo comp.unix.ultrix:1211 comp.terminals:1418 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!aplcen!haven!umbc3!tron!carson From: carson@tron.UUCP (Dana Carson) Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix,comp.terminals Subject: Re: preference for alternate DEC keyboard Summary: general thoughts on keyboard design Message-ID: <427@tron.UUCP> Date: 19 Jul 89 21:21:26 GMT References: <144@jove.dec.com> Reply-To: carson@tron.UMD.EDU (Dana Carson) Organization: Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group, Baltimore, MD Lines: 116 In article <144@jove.dec.com> reid@decwrl.dec.com (Brian Reid) writes: > >Many of you are familiar with the DEC standard keyboard, the LK201. I've >never liked it very much, but I use it because I have no other choice. > >The people in DEC who design keyboards are in a pretty receptive mood right >now, and there is a chance that if there is a clear consensus for what a DEC >Ultrix/Xwindows keyboard ought to look like, that it could get built and be >made available to people who don't like the current keyboard. Mind you that > >The funny stuff in the top left of the keyboard charts has to do with >European characters. Ignore it unless you're a European character. > > Brian Reid > DEC Western Research > Reid@decwrl.dec.com > decwrl!reid > > > >Proposal A: (16.3"x7.5") > >+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ >| o o | >| [O] A | >| | >| --------------------- --------------------- ----------------- ----------------- | >| |F1 |F2 |F3 |F4 |F5 | |F6 |F7 |F8 |F9 |F10| |F11|F12|F13|F14| | ^ | | |<- | ->| | >| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | V | | | | >| --------------------- --------------------- ----------------- ----------------- | >| | >| | >| ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- | >| |ESC|! |@ |# #|$ |% |^ |& |* |( |) |_ |+ | | | |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6 |7 |8 |9 |0 |- |= | | | | | | | | >| ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------- | >| | Tab |Q |W |E |R |T |Y |U |I |O |P |{ |} | Ret| |7 |8 |9 |- | | >| | | | | | | | | | | | |[ |] | | | | | | | | >| ----------------------------------------------------------| | ----------------- | >| |Lo-|Ctrl |A |S |D |F |G |H |J |K |L |: |" || | | |5 |6 |7 |, | | >| | ck| | | | | | | | | | |; |' |\ | | | | | | | | >| --------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------- | >| | Shift |~ |Z |X |C |V |B |N |M |< |> |? | Shift | |1 |2 |3 |En-| | >| | |` | | | | | | | |, |. |/ | | | | | |ter| | >| ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------| | | >| |Com- |Alt | | | |Alt |Com- | |0 |. | | | >| | pose| | | | | | pose| | | | | | >| ------------- ------------------------- ------------- ----------------- | >| | >+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ > > > > Date: Wed, 19 Jul 89 12:29:05 edt From: plaza::michael Please forward for me. Of the three sample keyboards, only Proposal A would be tolerable, since B and C neglect to provide the numeric keypad to which I have already become accustomed. My longest standing gripes about keyboard designers (and their designs) are the arrows and the apparent failure to appreciate how painful it is for any key to be moved from where it was first found. The four cursor keys labeled with arrows should be arranged around a central point so that the key's position relative to that point corresponds to the way that key will move the cursor: ------------- | ^ | | | | ------------- |<- | | ->| | | | | ------------- | | | | V | ------------- If you insist on special keys labeled "Find", "Do", etc., put them in the five holes this arrangement leaves. I think if there's a "Home" key, it belongs in the center of this arrangement, even though "Home" doesn't move the cursor to the center of the screen. On random key relocation: once I've learned where a key is, distance from the standard keypad is almost as important as direction. Every time you squeeze another key inboard of a key I've learned, like Return or Control, you increase the frequency with which I hit the wrong key and reduce my ability to type without staring at the keyboard. Keep the "\"/"|" key outboard of the Return key. Keep the Control key outboard of the CapLock key. Please don't move the numeric keypad further from the standard keypad to make room for new keys. I'd like to see a gap between the Compose/Alt keys and the Shift keys. I'd like to be able to Shift case momentarily in either CapLock state (as opposed to being able to force upper case with the Shift key, but not being able to temporarily override CapLock to produce a lower case letter). I would like explicit Backspace, Linefeed, and NoScroll keys, with Backspace in the upper right corner of the standard keypad and Linefeed and NoScroll in the lower right corner (NoScroll should be outermost to make it easier to pound starting with my hands in my pockets). Don't change the Return to one-key-high, no matter how wide, to accommodate this -- I need a big target. -- Dana Carson Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group Mail Stop 1615 UUCP:carson@tron.UUCP ...!netsys!tron!carson AT&T: (301) 765-3513 WIN: 285-3513