Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!boulder!tramp!walkerb
From: walkerb@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Brian Walker)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Food for thought
Message-ID: <11101@boulder.Colorado.EDU>
Date: 28 Aug 89 23:56:38 GMT
References: <21577@cup.portal.com>
Sender: news@boulder.Colorado.EDU
Reply-To: walkerb@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Brian Walker)
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Lines: 40

In article <21577@cup.portal.com> Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com writes:
>Michael Fischer mentioned, in answer to a question about the advisability of
>buying an ST in Europe with the idea of eventually bringing it back to
>the States:
> 
>>You should also be aware that the German TOS and keyboards are
>>different.  The German keyboard has an extra key at the left end of
>>the bottom row that is not present on U.S. machines, the letters "y"
>>and "z" are interchanged, and many of the special characters are in
>>different positions.  Also, the desktop's menus, error messages, etc.
>>are in German.  It is possible (with appropriate software) to redefine
>>the keyboard translation tables so that the keyboard works more or
>>less like the US keyboard, but then the keycaps will be wrong.
> 
[stuff deleted...]
> 
>... the STs
>being shipped to Germany are NOT the same product that potentially could be
>sent to Iowa, but a specialized derivation of the generic ST product.  Their
>keyboards (and related firmware) and TOS are specifically engineered for that
>specific marketplace.
> 
Well, yes and no.  The US and overseas versions of the ST are essentially the
same machine.  In fact, about the only things which differ are in the ROMs,
the keyboard and the power supply.  The differences in the keyboard are
superficial.  Inside, you will find the same board, the same processor and,
yes, the same 'firmware'.  The keyboard isn't very intelligent.  All it does
is report key strokes and mouse movement back to the 68000.  The key strokes
are reported in terms of position.  The ROM code determines how they will be
interpretted.  The extra key found on European keyboards goes in a position
on the right side of where the oversized left shift key appears on the US
keyboard.

The differences are minor.  It would be more accurate to say that the ST has
been GENERALLY engineered for ALL markets.

Brian Walker
walkerb@tramp.colorado.edu      "If we imagine no worse of them than they of
..!ncar!boulder!tramp!walkerb   themselves, they may pass for excellent men."
University of Colorado at Boulder