Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!dimacs.rutgers.edu!mips!smsc.sony.com!dce
From: dce@smsc.sony.com (David Elliott)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Permanent caps lock mode - how does it happen?
Message-ID: <1990Oct19.234850.24454@smsc.sony.com>
Date: 19 Oct 90 23:48:50 GMT
Sender: dce@smsc.sony.com (David Elliott)
Organization: Sony Microsystems Corp, San Jose, CA
Lines: 17

This may be platform-specific, but it's possible that someone can
help me.

We use Sony NEWS workstations with US/English keyboards.  There are a
couple of extra keys (marked Nfer and Xfer) on either side of the space
bar.  People accidentally enter some unknown key sequence that puts
them into permanent CAPS LOCK mode (the caps key won't get them out) or
into permanent CTRL LOCK mode.  This isn't confined to one xterm --
it's global.  We have no idea how to get out of this mode except to
bang on the keyboard or play the game xhextris (and this doesn't always
work).

We can reproduce the behavior, but only by randomly banging on the
keyboard.  Even using xev to analyze the keystrokes doesn't give us
anything useful.

Can anyone give me any insight into what is going on?