Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!uwvax!rutgers!bellcore!clyde!watmath!julian!uwovax!36_5130
From: 36_5130@uwovax.uwo.ca (Kinch)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: keyboards (was Re: Don't Bash Suns)
Message-ID: <724@uwovax.uwo.ca>
Date: 1 Oct 88 14:07:42 GMT
References: <278@itcatl.UUCP> <3284@edm.UUCP> <349@laic.UUCP>
Lines: 41
Organisation: University of Western Ontario, Canada

In article <349@laic.UUCP>, darin@nova.laic.uucp (Darin Johnson) writes:
> Speaking of silly layouts etc., my most annoying terminal is
> the vt200 series (which I use 99% of the time).  First off,
> it looks nice, has a detached keyboard, doesn't hog your
> desk, keys have a nice feel, etc.  However, DEC, in their
> omniscience, decided to not have an escape key.  In vt100
> emulation mode, you can have an escape key, but it is above
> the "-" key of all places.  In vt200 mode, you don't have an
> escape key at all!!  (presumably, since no VAX/VMS products
> use an ESC, they figured no-one would miss it)
>
This is a real pain in the butt!  Everybody around here keeps asking
me why I use vt100 mode on this DEC vt220 terminal, (it is the only
true DEC vt220 that I am aware of on campus), and I keep telling them
that I use EMACS and need and escape key. This has gone on so long
that I have not even bothered to learn the vt2xx keys. [Ah well Emacs
is good enough without special keys]

> (also, the '<', '>' are typed by the left pinky, the Caps-Lock is
> where the Ctrl key should be, etc.)
> 
   I think I am the only person in the world who LIKES those keys
there, I hate having to shift and stretch to reach those on most
terminals. It is probably that I am just a poor typer and dont know
any better.

> I have seen vt220 clones with these "problems" fixed.  I imagine
> these would make nice terminals, if only my company wasn't so
> scared about buying non-DEC.
> 
That is a shame! For the most part I dislike this DEC terminal alot.
It is the only one I ever have flow control problems with (except
IBM's emulating vt100) and YOU CANT TURN OFF THAT DAMN BLINKING
CURSOR. Well at least not in setup mode!

> Darin Johnson (...pyramid.arpa!leadsv!laic!darin)
>               (...ucbvax!sun!sunncal!leadsv!laic!darin)
> 	"All aboard the DOOMED express!"

Dave Kinchlea            Kinch@uwovax.uwo.ca
                         Davek@julian.uucp