[rescue] Re: [geeks] ANYONE WANT A GMAIL ACCOUNT?

[Mike Parson]

On Wed, Jun 23, 2004 at 02:04:18PM -0400, Joshua Boyd wrote:
> On Wed, Jun 23, 2004 at 01:01:31PM -0500, Mike Parson wrote:
>> On Wed, Jun 23, 2004 at 12:52:16PM -0500, Mike Hebel wrote:
>>>> On Wed, Jun 23, 2004 at 12:16:05PM -0500, Mike Hebel wrote:
>>>>>> email to me please if you want one.
>>>>>
>>>>> ANYONE WANT A KEYBOARD WITHOUT A CAPS LOCK KEY?
>>>>
>>>> Why?  Are you thinking of starting a company to make them?
>>>>
>>>> I'd like:
>>>> * No Caps Lock key
>>>> * Ctrl in the right place (where caps lock usually is)
>>>> * Esc in the right place (where ` is)
>>
>> The store mentioned below can do that much.  Having used enough
>> keyboards w/o an ESC key in the past, I'm about as likely to hit ^[ as I
>> am to reach up with my pinky.
>
> So can a Sun Type 5 Programmers model.
>  
>>>> * Meta key (instead of Alt)
>>
>> How about Meta instead of 'Windows' 
>>
>> Being a vi guy, I don't use meta anyways, so that key is pretty much
>> unused on my systems.
>
> No.  I would settle for both Meta and Alt written on the key though.  

The happy-hacking kb is 'alt' and the diamond.

>>>> * Hyper and Super keys (instead of the windows keys, or whatever
>>>> the icon is on the linux and mac keyboards).
>>
>> Sorry, don't have that.
>
> I have some emacs code that remaps the two windows keys to be Hyper
> and Meta.  However, as those two keys are standard on all but a few
> systems (which aren't unix systems anyway) they are largely unused.
> Still worth doing, if only to remove the windows/tux/apple icons while
> giving the user more keys to map actions to.
>
>>>> * A choice of clicky 4mm throw models and non clicky 2mm throw
>>>> models.
>>
>> These are just non-clicky.
>
> No they aren't.  The bubble switch keyboard on my desk has a key throw
> of about 4mm (seems to be closer to 5mm really).  Is it more or less
> standard on most non-clicky keyboards, except notebooks.  Notebooks
> tend to have about a 2mm key through. There are also a few desktop
> keyboards out there that have a 2mm key throw.  Most of them are
> notebook sized, but I've seen a few that were regular sized.

I was refering to the happy-hacking keyboard, they are non-clicky, sound
about like (and feel about like) the Dell Quiet-Key keyboards.

My favorite keyboard before this one was the Northgate Omni-key 101.
Still have it, built like a tank.  Works on my PC, Mac, and Amiga.  I
think I paid about $150 for it back in 1995 or so.  It had some serious
click to it, individual microswitches on each key, etc.  Northgate is
gone, but someone else is out there producing clones of them.

I never really thought about the key-throw before, but according to the
specs on the website, it's 3.8mm for this kb..

>>>> * Make ( and ) not require a shift.
>>>> * make { and } not require a shift.
>>>> * [ and ] are allowed to require a shift.
>>
>> xmodmap
>>
>> Then again, xmodmap can move/swap the caps & ctrl too.
>
> Just remapping everything is not the same as have a keyboard properly
> printed with the labels.

Touch-typists shouldn't need or care about labels on the keys. ;-)

After ~6 years of daily use, the control and a keys on my keyboard are
nearly worn off (I'm a heavy screen user).

>>>> Anything else?  Anyone?
>>>
>>> I'm not the one to ask but these guys are:
>>>
>>> http://shop.store.yahoo.com/pfuca-store/
>>
>> I've been using them ever since I tried them out in the lab at LISA
>> '98.
>>
>> Bought two of them, one for home and one for work.  People complain
>> about having to type on my keyboard, upset that it's too small, but
>> the keys really are full-sized, just none of the extra crud you don't
>> need.  The new ones even have the inverted 'T' cursor keys, which
>> were missing on the model I've got.
>
> I've seen those keyboards around.  I haven't been motivated to get one
> though.

They were they keyboards on all the systems in the lab at LISA, so it
was pretty much the only keyboard i used for that week.  It took a bit
to get used to, but once my fingers learned where all the keys were, I
actually preferred it.  I love it's desktop footprint.  I feel crowded
when using full-sized keyboards now.

> One possible product that I might buy would be a good Sun->PS/2
> adapter.  Especially if it would allow me to map the function keys
> (front, stop, cut, etc) to the left.

To use a type-3/4/5 on a PC?  That might be cool.

> There is a company that has keyboards with most of the attributes I
> want.  It's just that they are incompatible with all of the machines I
> use, and they cost $200.

-- 
Michael Parson
mparson at bl.org