avrunin@Nalcon.ARPA (05/11/84)
From: Avrunin <avrunin@Nalcon.ARPA> I have been told that by cutting one lead on the printed circuit and addind a switch you can have DVORAK keyboard capability on the //e. Does anyone have any information on this. Thanks Larry Avrunin
gwyn@brl-vgr.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) (05/15/84)
I couldn't find anything in the Apple //e schematics to support the idea that there is a Dvorak capability present. That does not prove that it isn't there, though.
binder@dosadi.DEC (The Stainless Steel Rat) (05/17/84)
I don't know if there is anything built in to support the Dvorak keyboard, but I DO know of one third-party way to get it, and that is to buy Diversi-DOS, whose 64K incarnation allows the user free rein to create keyboard macros totalling 256 characters; one of the files included with Diversi-DOS is a complete remapping of the keyboard for Dvorak. This capability is also available for the Apple ][ and ][+ if there is a language card present. I haven't got the address of the maker (Diversified Software Research, Inc.) handy, but there have been adverts in the magazines recently. Dick Binder UUCP: Amorphous, try the return path on this message... ARPA: binder%dosadi.DEC@decwrl.ARPA
sdh@rabbit.UUCP (Yah Right ) (05/18/84)
There is a simple way to get your keyboard configured anyway you want. All Apple II series machines handle character output in the following way: There is a routine in ROM called COUT (CHaracter OUTput). Upon entry to this routine an ASCII value is expected in the A register (accumulator). The routine does a jump to a routine pointed to by locations $36 and $37. If one changes the bytes at these locations to go to a user routine, it is simple to intercept the character to be printed and change it to something else. A simple way to do this is with the following program: TAX LDA TBL,X JMP $FDF0 That's it. The actual ASCII value is transferred to the X register and then used as an index to pull the character that you want to see printed in its place, then goes to a routine to print a character to the screen ($FDF0-called COUT1 I think). An exchange can be done for all keys although problems crop up where the shift key is concerned for Apple II and Apple II+ machines. If there is sufficient interest, I will be more than happy to implement the above program in a more user friendly environment. "Sorry, Indy" Steve Hawley <allegra,alice>!rabbit!sdh
neves@uwvax.ARPA (05/18/84)
To quote Feb '83 Byte on the //e. "A ROM on the main board maps the keyboard-switch closures into the appropriate ASCII codes and can be changed to provide foreign or special keyboards. (Incidentally, the American version of the ROM is only half used. The other half holds a Dvorak keyboard map that can be accessed with a few jumpers and etch cuts.)" By the way, does anyone know how get get rid of the n-key rollover bug in the //e? (The bug is that certain combinations of keys introduced unhit keys. Like "the" produces "thje".) Would the scan of the keyboard have to be speeded up or what?
blake@utastro.UUCP (05/22/84)
Diversi-Dos (tm) supports a DVORAK keyboard for the //e. What it accually does is use macros, so there is no messing with your computers insides. Diversi-Dos is distributed using the freeware concept, so if you want it, send me a disk, I'll copy it Then you send them $30 for a licence. Blake Farenthold 1804-A Cinnamon Path Austin, Tx 78704 !utastro!blake