Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!uflorida!mephisto!ncsuvx!news
From: mark@ccvr1.ncsu.edu (Mark Boyd)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: New Atari ST keyboard
Summary: PC keyboards are very similar to ST keyboards
Keywords: keyboard
Message-ID: <1990Feb16.034130.3887@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu>
Date: 16 Feb 90 03:41:30 GMT
References: <1129@carroll1.cc.edu> <2048@ultb.isc.rit.edu> <1990Feb12.020657.25422@gumby.cc.wmich.edu> <1990Feb15.163924.22221@diku.dk>
Sender: Mark Boyd
Reply-To: mark@ccvr1.ncsu.edu (Mark Boyd)
Organization: Univ. of North Carolina - Asheville
Lines: 15

I'm the person who adapted a DEC keyboard to the ST. I did it because
I wanted a better keyboard that retained the DEC layout. I also do
stuff with PC's and I seriously considered using an extended PC keyboard.

There would not be a problem with shift keys or the alt key or whatever.
The ST, in many ways, copies the PC. The keyboard is one of those ways!
PC keyboards and Atari keyboards send similar scan codes. They send those
codes whenever a key is pressed and whenever it is released. No problems
there. The problem is in the interface between the keyboard and the PC.
It requires extra circuitry to interface, while the DEC keyboard does
not. On the other hand, the DEC keyboard doesn't distinguish between
the two shift keys. Big deal.

	Mark Boyd
	mark@ccvr1.ncsu.edu