Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!nrl-cmf!ames!ncar!boulder!cu-den!udenva!isis!aburt
From: aburt@isis.UUCP (Andrew Burt)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Product review: Northgate N102 keyboard
Message-ID: <2292@isis.UUCP>
Date: 25 Jun 88 22:39:03 GMT
References: <11244@steinmetz.ge.com> <3585@tekgvs.TEK.COM> <912@pilchuck.Data-IO.COM> <3616@tekgvs.TEK.COM>
Reply-To: aburt@isis.UUCP (Andrew Burt)
Distribution: na
Organization: Math/CS, University of Denver
Lines: 40

Tom Almy (toma@tekgvs.tek.com) writes
>... My only complaint is that they should have handled
>the enter key like the 101 instead of the 84 key (the \| key where the top of
>the enter key is, and the backspace key twice as large).

Very strange... they must be listening.  I ordered one at the beginning of
June.  It arrived just the other day -- and it has a large backspace key!
The \| key is to the right of the right shift (under the return key) and
the `~ key to the right of the space bar.

This keyboard has a manufacture date of 6/17/88 (a week before it arrived
at my door), so apparently they have changed things slightly.

Has anyone else received one of these newer ones?  Any problems?
This one is serial # 103901, maybe those with problems were very early
ones -- what serial #'s did the problematic ones have?

Another change is that the ability to switch capslock and control has been
taken out; control is next to the 'A', capslock left of the space bar.
The manual, in listing the features of the keyboard says "ctrl, shift and
alt keys on the left in the original 84-key placement".

In all other aspects it looks like the keyboard in the ad I ordered from.

I've tested various keys with respect to the "key sends out the character
before the click" alleged misfeature.  On some keys if you press down verrrrrry
slowly you can get it to send the character before the click; on all others
the click and dispatch of character are simultaneous.  On those where the
character is sent out first, it is (to me) imperceptably ahead of time when
typing.  I type over 100 wpm so I'd say I'm qualified enough to judge its
use by touch typists.

I haven't had any key bouncing problems as others have reported, but I've
only used it for a couple days.  I'm very impressed with it so far. 
Knock wood.
-- 

Andrew Burt 				   			ncar!isis!aburt

              Fight Denver's pollution:  Don't Breathe and Drive.