Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!ut-sally!ut-ngp!infotel!pollux!bobkat!m5d From: m5d@bobkat.UUCP (Mike McNally ) Newsgroups: comp.terminals Subject: Re: Brain damaged terminals Message-ID: <275@bobkat.UUCP> Date: Thu, 11-Dec-86 10:17:38 EST Article-I.D.: bobkat.275 Posted: Thu Dec 11 10:17:38 1986 Date-Received: Sat, 13-Dec-86 22:42:41 EST Reply-To: m5d@bobkat.UUCP (Mr Mike McNally) Distribution: na Organization: Digital Lynx; Dallas TX Lines: 42 All this talk about brain-damaged terminals has got me thinking about why I hate most terminals. Right now I'm using a Wyse 60. It has quite a bit of intelligence, including programmable character sets (fun, but almost useless), lots of emulations (useless to me on a Unix system), lots of strange block-transmit modes (useless), PC-AT keyboard emulation (bizarre, and useless), sixteen special function keys (not entirely useless; at least they're programmable), numeric keypad (useless), built-in calculator (a particularly stupid calculator), calendar, alarm clock, and ASCII chart (the stupidest ASCII chart I have ever seen). On and on and on. The keyboard is cluttered with things like "Print", "Send", "Prev/Next PAGE", "Funct" (really great: transmits ^A^M, just what I needed). The intelligence has some problems, but I can forgive them. I'm a programmer. Certainly there are lots of people out there who are programmers as well. All of these people (for the sake of argument, allow me this) use terminals, and probably most of them don't use the AUX port in bidirectional mode, and don't ever press the SEND PAGE button except by accident, and get really upset when they hit the PRINT SCREEN button and have to wait for the terminal to make believe it's printing the screen (a VT100 emulator I used had this feature; the PRINT SCREEN key was conveniently located right next to the arrow keys). Are there any terminals designed such that features useless on my UNIX system (or RSTS, VMS, or whatever) can be left out entirely? Like block mode? or keyboard lock (what a good idea; lock the keyboard when a ^O is received...)? or...wait...the man who gives me the injections is back...I have to go now...no! I don't want the jacket!... I get so upset when I think about terminals. -- **** **** **** At Digital Lynx, we're almost in Garland, but not quite **** **** **** Mike McNally Digital Lynx Inc. Software (not hardware) Person Dallas TX 75243 uucp: ...convex!ctvax!bobkat!m5 (214) 238-7474