Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!agate!darkstar!ucscf.UCSC.EDU!isbell From: isbell@ucscf.UCSC.EDU (Art Isbell) Newsgroups: comp.sys.next Subject: Re: Keyboards, Frame, CL wrt 2.0 Summary: keyboard design suggestion Message-ID: <10172@darkstar.ucsc.edu> Date: 17 Dec 90 16:13:19 GMT References: <4512@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> Sender: usenet@darkstar.ucsc.edu Distribution: usa Organization: very little -- only me! Lines: 28 In article jm7e+@andrew.cmu.edu (Jeremy G. Mereness) writes: >I would like to see alternative options to the NeXT keyboard, possibly >from third parties. The NeXT keyboard is attractive in its matching >obsidian black, but for Unix/C people, it is pretty hellish. Even the >non-extended Apple keyboard manages to get all the keys in there without >resorting to the keypad or a set of keys above the numbers-row (they put >the tilde, pipe, etc on either side of the space-bar). All in all, I >like that configuration best, although the feel is less than ideal. > I find the original keyboard design to be almost ideal. Although it is not marked, gets a tilde, but the backquote is inconvenient for those of us who still use vi and do some shell programming. Having a compact keyboard is nice, but I think the space bar is way overdone. I imagine most people use only the center third of the space bar. I would like to see a keyboard with a left and right Control key in the row of Alternate and Command keys with a shortened space bar. Then the Esc key could be moved to the former Control position and the tilde-backquote could be moved to the former Esc position. I'm sure someone can come up with something clever for the former tilde-backquote key on the keypad :-) I am certainly not a great typist, but even I don't find the Return key to be too small, so I really don't understand the need for an L-shaped return key. -- _____ ____ Art Isbell |\ | | | | \ 315 Moon Meadow Lane NeXT Registered Developer | \ | ___ |____| | | Felton, CA isbell@ucscf.UCSC.EDU | \ | |___| | \ | | 95018-9442 (408)438-4736(B) | \| |___ | \ |___/ (408)335-1154(H)