Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!sequent!mntgfx!dclemans
From: dclemans@mentor.com (Dave Clemans @ APD x1292)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: CAPS LOCK DEVICE REQUEST
Message-ID: <1989Aug23.154923.226@mentor.com>
Date: 23 Aug 89 15:49:23 GMT
References: <890822.13033556.019146@SFA.CP6>
Organization: engr
Lines: 35

From article <890822.13033556.019146@SFA.CP6>, by Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET (Z4648252):
> 
>     During the WOA at Dallas, lowly user that I am, I asked several
> developers and commercial ST miracle workers if it was possible to build
> a caps lock indicator for the ST.  I discovered that *I must be the only one
> who needs this*!  Not one single developer saw the need.  They looked at
> me in awe and politely listened.  Yes, it was possible they said, but no,
> I'm not interested and the need is really not there, they indicated.
>     Sigh.  Try logging on a mainframe that is case sensitive or accidentally
> bump the caps lock key when fat fingering.  For a touch typist who spends
> more time looking at the copy rather than the screen, it can be infuriating
> to see your screen output in the wrong case.  If a LED indicator could be
> had, then your peripheral vision would see the caps lock indicator.
>     Yes, there are corner caps/lock indicators that are software driven.
> However, these may not always work for certain programs and, when using
> the ST in emulation mode for either Spectre or IBM, then the user has to
> tap the keys a couple of times to determine the case.
>     At any rate, is anyone else interested in a hardware caps/lock
> indicator?  If so, how would one be built?
> 
> Larry Rymal in East Texas <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET>

I don't know if it's made anymore, but one of the first third party
upgrade products that came out for the ST when it was first introduced
was a battery backup for the keyboard processor (so that you didn't have
to set the clock each time you turned on the system.  That board also had
a caps-lock LED that with suitable modifications to the ST case could be
brought out and made visible.  The company that built the board was named
Giodata, or something like that.

The board did have the problem (like most "clocks" that were in reality just
battery backups for the keyboard processor) if the system was off continously
for a week or two.

dgc