Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!chuq
From: chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Apple keyboard complaint; "Open Keyboard Foundation"
Keywords: keyboard
Message-ID: <30700@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 15 May 89 05:04:15 GMT
References: <815@m3.mfci.UUCP> <30693@apple.Apple.COM>
Organization: Life is just a Fantasy novel played for keeps
Lines: 46

>>still uses them, for example, though Sun gave in long ago to
>>the Taiwanese urge),

I always *hated* Sun keyboards. I could never find one that felt
comfortable, not even the beta/OSI/ergonomic/european ones. It's one of the
few commercial keyboards I could consistently type faster than it could
handle, too (I type 80WPM nominal, 120WPM in bursts. Except on Suns...)

>Secretaries like
>Selectrics,

Generalize that to "serious typers love Selectrics" -- I have never, ever
found a computer ekyboard that came close to even a selectric II keyboard in
confort and feel, and the newer IBM typewriter's are even more wonderful.
Not enough to make me give up word processors, but every so often I consider
it..

>there's a whole class of people who swear by VT100,

And another class that swear at it.

My macs at home both have Datadesk 101 extended keyboards. They have the
best feel of any keyboard I've run into. I'd use them at work, but non-Apple
keyboards have problems on A/UX and they don't have a control key -- not a
hassle under MacOS, but for plugging into a vax via MacTerminal or running
A/UX. ... Also, there's no escape key, so you play games with the tilde. 

The original Mac keyboard reminded me of the old Commodore Pet chicklet
keyboard. I have a couple sitting in storage, just in case, but I'll never
use them unless I have to. The new Apple ADB keyboards aren't bad, although
some of the key placements are funny -- there are enough differences between
the standrd keyboard (on one of my machines) and the extended keyboard (on
my A/UX machine) that I find I hit the wrong keys with some regularity. The
location of the control key on the extended keyboard is ugly, which is why I
haven't standardized on the extended yet. But as far as handling typing
speed, comfort and feel, from someone who's a hard-core typer, both are just
fine. Not perfect, but decent.



Chuq Von Rospach      =|=     Editor,OtherRealms     =|=     Member SFWA/ASFA
         chuq@apple.com   =|=  CI$: 73317,635  =|=  AppleLink: CHUQ
      [This is myself speaking. No company can control my thoughts.]

Bookends. What a wonderful thought.