Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ucsd!ucbvax!SFAUSTIN.BITNET!Z4648252
From: Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET (Z4648252)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: The 'PHANTOM TYPIST'
Message-ID: <900204.10484196.021631@SFA.CP6>
Date: 4 Feb 90 16:48:43 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 31


    There has been an increasing amount of talk about the 'phantom
typist' on the ST, in which the computer appears to slow down and
whatever characters are stored in the keyboard buffer, appear, albeit
slowly.  Some programs which have keyboard commands, such as WordPerfect
can have work saved when you see this happen by pressing the save file
command, typically <S>.  It may occur a minute later (!!!! grrr) but it
will occur.
    This was reported on GEnie back in 1987, denied by Neil Harris and
questioned by John Towns.  Well, no doubt, the phantom typist is so
incredibly difficult to duplicate.  I was able to get it to appear
regularly in Flash only to find that WordPerfect and WordWriter could
do it also after I bought those packages.
    Ok, this is an old bug or design flaw.  Denial of it won't make it
go away.  Neither will bashing Atari or Atari's engineers.  What is
needed is for everyone who encounters it to immediately (!!!) write down
what was done to cause the phantom to show and post what happened.  Isolation
is the problem on this phantom, not scapegoating.
    Several reports might allow Ken, John, or Allen to zero in better on
the theory of how the Phantom Typist shows.
    I've two areas of question about the subject.  The first one is the
ST keyboard itself.  Certain keyboard combinations will trigger a function
key.  Very obnoxious especially when it is 3:00 am and one begins fat-fingering
keys.  YAWN
    The second one is with Spectre GCR.  I have had (twice, but in a year
time frame) the Phantom Typist to show in Spectre GCR.  Behavior is
identical to his showing up in the ST, i.e., characters stored in the
keyboard buffer appear very slowly, including keyboard commands.
    Hope this helps (???!!!)

Larry Rymal:  |East Texas Atari 68NNNers| <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET>