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From: gene@cooper.UUCP (gene)
Newsgroups: net.info-terms,net.internat
Subject: Re: In search of a sane keyboard standard
Message-ID: <325@cooper.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 12-May-86 16:35:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: cooper.325
Posted: Mon May 12 16:35:11 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 14-May-86 21:01:44 EDT
References: <2071@cbosgd.UUCP> <787@bentley.UUCP>
Organization: The Cooper Union (NY, NY)
Lines: 27
Xref: linus net.info-terms:468 net.internat:31

This may seem totally trivial, but I'm very annoyed at the seemingly
stupid practice that has been followed on most IBM personal computers.
Namely, the practice of putting the <ALT> keys on either side of the
<SPACE> bar, and the <SHIFT>s fringing the last alphabetic row of the
keyboard.

Maybe it's just force of habit, but it seems much more logical to be
able to hit the <SHIFT> keys with your thumb when typing uppercase
letters, and to hit the less frequently used <ALT> keys with the last
finger of the active typing hand. (Try it.)

If _I_ had my personal choice, I would swap the keys and use them as
I just mentioned. I suppose, also, that practice at IBM keyboards
makes this inconvenience almost transparent to the typing "pro".

At any rate, I would like to get some response, positive and negative,
to my little proposal.

							- Gene



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