Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uflorida!haven!mimsy!mojo!russotto From: russotto@eng.umd.edu (Matthew T. Russotto) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc Subject: Re: New Mac Keyboard Message-ID: <1990Oct24.211026.694@eng.umd.edu> Date: 24 Oct 90 21:10:26 GMT References: <4694@sage.cc.purdue.edu> <1590@camex.COM> Sender: news@eng.umd.edu (The News System) Organization: College of Engineering, Maryversity of Uniland, College Park Lines: 31 In article <1590@camex.COM> kent@camex.com (Kent Borg) writes: >In article draphsor@elaine4.stanford.edu (Matt Rollefson) writes: >>ar4@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Piper Keairnes) writes: >> >>>Why on earth is the Caps-lock key far left on the middle row of keys on >>>extended keyboards, where the Control key should be? Is this in accordance >>>with an accepted standard, for ergonomic reasons, or what? >> >>The explanation that Apple gave at a recent presentation was that it had >>been changed to conform to "international standards". Now, why anyone >>would want to have the control and escape keys in the wrong place as a >>standard is beyond me, but... :) > >Simple. There are (at least) two ways to arrange a keyboard. For a >programmer or for a typist. > >Programmers want the control key above the left shift key. Typists >say: "What's a 'control key'? Where is the shift-lock?" Funny, I have an ancient (pre-Apple II) electric typewriter. The shift-lock is BELOW the shift keys, on both sides. (where the control key is on the Extended keyboard) >Control keys should be as obsolete to computers as UPPERCASE >ONLY...maybe we should banish *both* keys. Control keys are necessary for those of us who still use Unix (remember that old dinosaur) to read news... Just think of it as another 'option' key. -- Matthew T. Russotto russotto@eng.umd.edu russotto@wam.umd.edu .sig under construction, like the rest of this campus.