Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!hellgate.utah.edu!helios.ee.lbl.gov!ucsd!nprdc!malloy
From: malloy@nprdc.arpa (Sean Malloy)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Keyboard design (Was: Re: Xerox sues Apple!)
Summary: Bad premise.
Message-ID: <5215@skinner.nprdc.arpa>
Date: 23 Dec 89 04:51:02 GMT
References: <172@comcon.UUCP> <7326@ficc.uu.net> <9320@hoptoad.uucp> <7340@ficc.uu.net> <9375@hoptoad.uucp>
Reply-To: malloy@nprdc.arpa (Sean Malloy)
Organization: Navy Personnel R&D Center, San Diego
Lines: 50

In article <9375@hoptoad.uucp> tim@hoptoad.UUCP (Tim Maroney) writes:
>Keyboards *are* hard to learn.  Most people take a long time to learn
>to type with acceptable speed and accuracy.  But at least the keys that
>are of different type from the others (such as shift, control, etc.) do
>have distinctive shapes and locations, and all the keys have clear
>labels as to their function.  (The right lower corner is a distinctive
>location; where the "h" and "t" keys are is not.)

It is to laugh. A single counterexample to disprove your premise:

		IBM PS/2-80 keyboard
		+-----------++---++---+
		| Caps Lock || A || S |
		+-----------++---++---+
		+-------------++---++---+
		|  Shift      || Z || X |
		+-------------++---++---+
		+-----------+    +------+
		|  Control  |    |  Alt |
		+-----------+    +------+

		Northgate OmniKey/102 keyboard
		+-----------++---++---+
		|  Control  || A || S |
		+-----------++---++---+
		+-------------++---++---+
		|  Shift      || Z || X |
		+-------------++---++---+
		+-----------+    +------+
		|    Alt    |    |CapsLk|
		+-----------+    +------+

Now, the keyboard for my Sun at work has the same Control and Shift
keys as the OmniKey, but the Caps Lock key is where the Alt key is,
and the key that was the Caps Lock key is an odd function I haven't
figured out yet. Not to mention that the '~' / '`' and '|' / '\' keys
are in different places, along with the <ESC> key, on all three
keyboards. I have to fall back to hunt-and-peck whenever I have to use
the PS/2 keyboard -- at least I have enough experience with the Sun
and OmniKey keyboards to be able to make the switch between them.

Except for the fact that the <DEL> key on the Sun keyboard is where
the <BACKSPACE> key is on the OmniKey -- the <BACKSPACE> key on the
Sun keyboard is two rows higher. Keyboards standardized? Joke on!


 Sean Malloy                                   | "The Crystal Wind is the
 Navy Personnel Research & Development Center  | Storm, and the Storm is Data,
 San Diego, CA 92152-6800                      | and the Data is Life."
 malloy@nprdc.navy.mil                         | -- _Emerald Eyes_, D.K. Moran