From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
Message-Id: <200203311706.SAA07348@cthulhu.dircon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: [9fans] kbd.c
In-Reply-To: <20020331144453.AD31219A0B@mail.cse.psu.edu> from "bwc@borf.com"
 at "Mar 31, 2002 09:48:07 am"
To: 9fans@cse.psu.edu
From: Digby Tarvin <digbyt@acm.org>
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Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 18:06:30 +0100
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> I feel that I should, at this point, put in a plug for the unicomp Model M4
> keyboard.  www.pckeyboards.com.  I buy them by the case.

I bought a Unicomp M4 keyboard a while back (September 98) after
it was recommended by someone on the list, and it never worked
properly. (after typing 2-3 characters, it goes into a spasm
of sending a continuous stream of garbage - I think we decided there
was a hairline fracture on the PC board somewhere)

I spoke to their support people, and was promised a replacement,
but it never came, so I went cool on the company.

Consequently I can't say that I have used it enough to have given
it a fair trial, but I thought the keys seemd a bit shallow and
laptop like, which I find less comfortable to type on.

The model number is '98U0176', in case there is more than one type
of 'M4'.

>   Brantley
> 
> Also, I like the shift lock to really be a shift lock.  I write
> in some languages that have the keywords in uppercase

I agree, though I would be inclined to make it a normal sized key
out of the way somewhere, rather than larger than normal and to the
right of the 'a' key, where non PC keyboards used to have the far
more heavily used 'control' key.

I also agree that the shift lock key is useful on some foreign
language keyboards. French ones come to mind as needing a shift
to access numeric digits, amoungst other oddities. I usually find
it easier to switch the key mapping, in which case I have to avoid
looking at the keyboard and then I can type resonably successfully.

Regards,
DigbyT
-- 
Digby R. S. Tarvin                                              digbyt@acm.org
http://www.cthulhu.dircon.co.uk