Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!harpo!floyd!vax135!ariel!houti!hogpc!houxm!mel From: mel@houxm.UUCP Newsgroups: net.micro Subject: Re: Why are micro keyboards braindamaged? Message-ID: <434@houxm.UUCP> Date: Sat, 11-Jun-83 09:26:13 EDT Article-I.D.: houxm.434 Posted: Sat Jun 11 09:26:13 1983 Date-Received: Sun, 12-Jun-83 04:51:32 EDT References: ritcv.403 Lines: 21 It isn't just the "low end micros" that have braindamaged keyboards. I sit here pounding this out on a DEC Rainbow 100 keyboard that can't emit all the ASCII control characters (How do you configure a SCRIBBLE printer if your keyboard can't produce the GS and US needed to change pitch?). Not only does this monster (and it does take up a large fraction of the desk top) not do what it must to be useful, it does other things that hurt. It has a "<" key right where the SHIFT key should be, an auto-repeat key -- after 5 months of using it, I still often produce strings of "<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<"s instead of upper-case letters. Then try to delete them by holding down "^H", hah! That doesn't work, since DEC in their superior wisdom decreed that control keys (what few they provide) shouldn't auto-repeat. Have you ever used a screen editor where some of the controls (the un-control ones) repeat, and some don't? It is an exercise in frustration that no amount of living-with moderates. Then we have all the extra keys (more is better, right?) -- the CAPS-LOCK and COMPOSE-CHARACTER keys right there where you hit them by mistake all the time are easily disposed of -- literally - just rip them out and throw them away. But what do you do with ESC buryed up there 11th from the left (10th from the right) ? How do you move it down where it can be used? I would dearly love to replace this abortion with a VIC-20 (programmed to emit the proper ASCII codes at the proper places). Anybody know how ? Mel Haas , houxm!mel