[9fans] keyboards

[9fans] keyboards

[erik quanstrom]

in syncing up the various kernels, one of the biggest areas of skew was in
*/kbd.c.  there are 8 different versions.  (yeah!)  they're all pretty much
the same, except for the bit that drives the i8042 for the pc.  the reason
non-pcs have them is for the benefit of usb, which takes usb key codes
and turns them into i8042 scan codes.. and then there is devkbin and
devkbmap which interact with kbd.c  it's all a maze of twisty passages.

it seems to me that the easiest first step is to split this mess into two
bits, the i8042 driver and the i8042 scan code processing (including
kbin/kbmap).  that way, there will be one i8042 driver, and one portable
i8042 scan code processor.

this has the happy consequence of giving each attached keyboard its own
connection, so compose on one keyboard won't foul up a second.

i have a working version i'm typing this on.  it seems to have worked the
first time (modulo the fact i forgot tokenize eats ' for breakfast.)

it would be nice in the future to move away from using i8042 scan
codes.  i think forcing the drivers to output text would be better.
but that's going to require breaking some interfaces....

- erik

Re: [9fans] keyboards

[Sam Hopkins]

I'd be interested in knowing this myself, since the HH lite model
is almost identical to the 5100C (save for the Sun/Type 5 layout) and
the HH lite is approximately twice the cost.

Perhaps it's the "Linuxcare Labs" certification that comes with the
HH that makes it worth so much more ...

I've used a 5100C quite happily for a little over a year now.

Sam

On Monday 24 September 2001
15:57, you wrote:
> speaking of keyboards, would anybody who has used both
> the Behavioral Technologies BTC-5100 and the Happy Hacking
> keyboards care to compare them?

Re: [9fans] keyboards

[Boyd Roberts]

i like the vaio keyboards.  they're pretty close to the 5620's.

Re: [9fans] keyboards

[jmk]

I'm afraid you'd be disappointed if you used a Depraz mouse today.
A couple of years ago we had some converted to USB only to discover
that even the cheapest modern mice are better mechanically, the
buttons are incredibly clunky and the mice were not very accurate in
positioning (I'm not talking about the mouse shape here, I still
think the Depraz has the others beat hands down).

On Mon Sep 24 18:30:33 EDT 2001, boyd@fr.inter.net wrote:
> gimme a 5620 keyboard and a dupraz (sp?) mouse anyday.
>

Re: [9fans] keyboards

[Boyd Roberts]

gimme a 5620 keyboard and a dupraz (sp?) mouse anyday.

Re: [9fans] keyboards

[Jon Snader]

On Mon, Sep 24, 2001 at 03:04:35PM -0400, anothy@cosym.net wrote:
> // One pleasant exception to the continuing
> // devolution of (esp. pc) hardware...
>
> what is it you like so much about these keyboards? they're
> huge!
>

Good tactile feedback, good key layout (I especially like Ctrl
and Alt keys on the bottom row when using certain other OS's),
and most of all, no stupid win keys taking up space and getting
hit instead of what I really want.  They *are* big, but it's a
price I'm happy to pay.

Jon Snader

Re: [9fans] keyboards

[Mike Haertel]

speaking of keyboards, would anybody who has used both
the Behavioral Technologies BTC-5100 and the Happy Hacking
keyboards care to compare them?

Re: [9fans] keyboards

[User Dormane]

anothy@cosym.net wrote:
>
> // One pleasant exception to the continuing
> // devolution of (esp. pc) hardware...
>
[x]
> i love the lexmark, and have tried numerous keyboards to
> find acceptable alternatives. i've decided the best keyboard
> on the market is the Happy Hacking keyboard, from PFU
> (http://www.pfuca.com). i've used their regular and "lite"
> models (never the "lite 2"). the normal model has the nice
> property of working both with PC and Sun hardware, with
> only a different cable (Mac too, but i've not done that).
> -α.

cool; now if i could just get one of those in wireless.

--eld

[9fans] keyboards

[anothy]

// One pleasant exception to the continuing
// devolution of (esp. pc) hardware...

what is it you like so much about these keyboards? they're
huge! this is something of a bother for any OS, but in Plan
9 and Inferno - particularly within Acme - it's a killer. the
extra 6" to get to your mouse (for right-handed mousers,
anyway) makes it significantly more tiresome to use. and
that says noting of desk space.

i love the lexmark, and have tried numerous keyboards to
find acceptable alternatives. i've decided the best keyboard
on the market is the Happy Hacking keyboard, from PFU
(http://www.pfuca.com). i've used their regular and "lite"
models (never the "lite 2"). the normal model has the nice
property of working both with PC and Sun hardware, with
only a different cable (Mac too, but i've not done that).
-α.