saaf@joker.optics.rochester.edu (Lenny Saaf) (08/22/89)
I've just noticed a strange looking "icon" in the upper right corner of our Macs (two Pluses and a II). It is located just to the right of the small icon indicating the present application running under Multifinder. It looks like a square "U." Successive hits on the shift key makes it appear. Another shift causes a downward-pointing arrow to appear. It sometimes appears with the "U" filled in. I thought it might be an undoccumented feature of MS Word, but it happens in VersaTerm also. Any clues? Thanks in advance, -- * Len Saaf, The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY * * Internet: saaf@joker.optics.rochester.edu Bitnet: SAAF@UOROPT Radio: NV2Z * * Internet (last resort): saaf%joker.optics.rochester.edu@vm.cc.rochester.edu *
bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) (08/22/89)
In article <SAAF.89Aug21130332@joker.optics.rochester.edu> saaf@joker.optics.rochester.edu (Lenny Saaf) writes: >I've just noticed a strange looking "icon" in the upper right corner >of our Macs (two Pluses and a II). It is located just to the right of >the small icon indicating the present application running under Multifinder. >It looks like a square "U." Successive hits on the shift key makes >it appear. Another shift causes a downward-pointing arrow to appear. >It sometimes appears with the "U" filled in. I thought it might be an >undoccumented feature of MS Word, but it happens in VersaTerm also. >Any clues? ::sigh:: All right, all together now: E A S Y A C C E S S ! Easy Access is an INIT that supposedly makes it easier for disabled people to use the Mac keyboard. Hitting Shift rapidly five times in succession toggles it on and off. I won't bother to go into detail here. If you are interested, read about it in the Macintosh System Software User's Guide (version 6.0) that comes with the Mac. If you're not interested, remove the INIT from your System Folder, and all will be back to normal. -- | Brian S. Kendig | I feel more like I | bskendig | | Computer Engineering | did when I got here | @phoenix.Princeton.EDU | | Princeton University | than I do now. | @PUCC.BITNET | | Systems Engineering, NASA Space Station Freedom / General Electric WP3 |
d88-jwa@nada.kth.se (Reply via mail or intl. +46 8 258 268...) (08/22/89)
In article <SAAF.89Aug21130332@joker.optics.rochester.edu> saaf@joker.optics.rochester.edu (Lenny Saaf) writes: >I've just noticed a strange looking "icon" in the upper right corner >of our Macs (two Pluses and a II). It is located just to the right of >the small icon indicating the present application running under Multifinder. >It looks like a square "U." Successive hits on the shift key makes >it appear. If you would have taken two minutes to Read The F*cking Manual (RTFM) you would have noticed something called "Easy access". Apart from acting like a shift lock for modifier keys, in the manner described in your post, it also gives you the ability to move the mouse cursor w/o moving the mouse (Hit Cmd-Shift-CrossedBox, move cursor with key pad, click with 5 etc.) It is a standard part of Sys 6, and is an Apple Acclaimed INIT (Works w/o side effects... Yes, there ARE such things ! :-) -- This is your fortune from h+@nada.kth.se: Reality's the only obstacle to happiness.
kingman@tci.UUCP (Matt) (08/22/89)
saaf@joker.optics.rochester.edu (Lenny Saaf) writes: >I've just noticed a strange looking "icon" in the upper right corner >of our Macs (two Pluses and a II). It is located just to the right of >the small icon indicating the present application running under Multifinder. >It looks like a square "U." Successive hits on the shift key makes >it appear. Another shift causes a downward-pointing arrow to appear. >It sometimes appears with the "U" filled in. I thought it might be an >undoccumented feature of MS Word, but it happens in VersaTerm also. >Any clues? >Thanks in advance, What you are seeing is part of the "Easy Access" INIT that is part of Apple's System Software. It is used for people with disabilities who have trouble typing with both hands on the keyboard. Also, as the System Software User's Guide states, it is useful for anyone who wants to be able to use the keyboard one-handed. Pressing the shift key 5 times without moving the mouse enables the "sticky-keys" feature (you should now see the U). You can now create a combination keystroke like cmd-q by first pressing cmd (you should now see the U with a small arrow pointing into it) and then pressing q. To turn off the sticky-keys feature you must press the shift key 5 times again. If you have no desire to use the feature or if it causes problems, just toss the Easy Access INIT in the trash. /Matt
ins_apw@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Philip Wong) (08/22/89)
I think your RTFM was a bit harsh. Some people bought their SE or Plus before system 6 and don't have the manual to it. Whenever a new system comes out, I just get a copy from my dealer. I did have access to some article in MacUser or something, but some people don't, so save the comments... ins_apw@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU
dkelly@npiatl.UUCP (Dwight Kelly) (08/22/89)
The "U" is the shift/option icon for Easy Access.
--
Dwight Kelly UUCP: gatech!npiatl!dkelly
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Publisher of "The Real Estate Book" nationwide!ack@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Andy J. Williams) (08/23/89)
In article <SAAF.89Aug21130332@joker.optics.rochester.edu> saaf@joker.optics.rochester.edu (Lenny Saaf) writes: >I've just noticed a strange looking "icon" in the upper right corner >of our Macs (two Pluses and a II). It is located just to the right of >the small icon indicating the present application running under Multifinder. >It looks like a square "U." Successive hits on the shift key makes >it appear. Another shift causes a downward-pointing arrow to appear. >It sometimes appears with the "U" filled in. I thought it might be an >undoccumented feature of MS Word, but it happens in VersaTerm also. >Any clues? THat's "Easy Access", the init for the handicapped. It makes your keypad move the mouse. The Shift key turns it on and off. Now the big question I have is this: This (and the flashing apple problem) keep appearing here over and over. Is this a design flaw of Apple's, that there is something counter-intuitive in their interface, or is it the user's fault for not reading the manual? My vote is apple. If the interface is supposed to be intuitive, then things like this should be self-explanatory when they happen. Making the apple flash as an alarm clock now is a step in the right direction. Any comments? >-- >* Len Saaf, The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY * >* Internet: saaf@joker.optics.rochester.edu Bitnet: SAAF@UOROPT Radio: NV2Z * >* Internet (last resort): saaf%joker.optics.rochester.edu@vm.cc.rochester.edu * -ajw Andy J. Williams '90 | <hello> | ack@dartvax.dartmouth.edu 31 North Main Street | set $NAME='inigo_montoya' | Systems Programmer Hanover NH, 03755 | You kill -9 my ppid | Kiewit Computation Center 603-643-2177 | prepare to vi | Dartmouth College
tecot@Apple.COM (Ed Tecot) (08/30/89)
In article <15181@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> ack@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Andy J. Williams) writes: >This (and the flashing apple problem) keep appearing here over and over. >Is this a design flaw of Apple's, that there is something counter-intuitive >in their interface, or is it the user's fault for not reading the manual? >My vote is apple. If the interface is supposed to be intuitive, then >things like this should be self-explanatory when they happen. Making the >apple flash as an alarm clock now is a step in the right direction. > >Any comments? I agree with you. I'm the one who "fixed" the alarm clock, and I'm also the one who designed the Easy Access icons. I'm rather disappointed in their obscurity, but we couldn't come up with anything better. If anyone can recommend a way to improve these icons, I'd like to hear it. Better yet, post to this newsgroup so that others can become involved as well. _emt
pepke@loligo (Eric Pepke) (08/30/89)
In article <34418@apple.Apple.COM> tecot@Apple.COM (Ed Tecot) writes: >If anyone can recommend a way to improve these icons, I'd like to hear it. >Better yet, post to this newsgroup so that others can become involved as well. I can't think of a good design, as I can't remember how Easy Access works. Then again, that is partially a fault of the design as well. When I see a mysterious thing in the menu bar, my first impulse is to click on it to see what it does. After all, the menu bar is a place to put things that do stuff when you click on them. Easy Access should detect such clicks, deduce that the user is confused, and try to solve the user's problem. Another mysterious glyph that I find particularly annoying is the AppleShare arrows. Most of the time I don't care when there is traffic, and blinking over there just serves to distract me. If for some strange reason I did care about traffic, I should be able to open up a DA or mini application or whatever that showed me detailed information in a window that worked happily in the background. After all, the Mac has true mutitasking by Apple's definition of the term, so this should be an easy thing for Apple to produce. :-) Eric Pepke INTERNET: pepke@gw.scri.fsu.edu Supercomputer Computations Research Institute MFENET: pepke@fsu Florida State University SPAN: scri::pepke Tallahassee, FL 32306-4052 BITNET: pepke@fsu Disclaimer: My employers seldom even LISTEN to my opinions. Meta-disclaimer: Any society that needs disclaimers has too many lawyers.
dudek@ai.toronto.edu (Gregory Dudek) (08/31/89)
A natural tendency when you see "strange" things like the easy access
icons on the screen is to try and click on them.
One could imagine an interface where the first time (per startup) that
you click on the easy access icon, you get a little informational
alert explaining what's going on. The only trouble is that due to
tight screen real estate, that region is used by other things (like
multifinder menus, One Cue, clocks, etc.) that also respond to mouse
clicks. If easy access really had its own spot, this might be practical.
Just be sure to provide a way of turning these messages off once you've
seen them the first time.
Greg Dudek.roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) (09/01/89)
Maybe what easy access needs is an icon that looks like a wheelchair?
--
Roy Smith, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016
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"The connector is the network"kent@sunfs3.camex.uucp (Kent Borg) (09/02/89)
In article <3972@phri.UUCP> roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) writes: >Maybe what easy access needs is an icon that looks like a wheelchair? Well, I don't think there would be enough room to do that up in the menu bar, but the Easy Access file itself *does* have a wheelchair in its icon. -- Kent Borg "You know me, bright ideas kent@lloyd.uucp just pop into my head!" or -Mrs Lovett ...!husc6!lloyd!kent (from Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeny Todd")
jmunkki@kampi.hut.fi (Juri Munkki) (09/10/89)
In article <34418@apple.Apple.COM> tecot@Apple.COM (Ed Tecot) writes: [ Stuff about the alarm blink & easy access icons deleted ] <I'm the one who "fixed" the alarm clock, and I'm also the <one who designed the Easy Access icons. I'm rather disappointed in their <obscurity, but we couldn't come up with anything better. < <If anyone can recommend a way to improve these icons, I'd like to hear it. <Better yet, post to this newsgroup so that others can become involved as well. Maybe you could pop up a message the first time Easy Access is activated after a reboot. You might change the menu bar to "Easy Access Activated" to tell users what is causing the trouble. If easy access is not changed, you should at least remove it from the default installer script. Just add another script to install it. If you really want to change the icons, use something along these lines: *** * ** ** *** * * * * * * * ** ** ***** * * *** ** ** * * ** ** ** ** * * * * * * ***** *** ** ** ** * Lock Shift Command Option Control _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._ | Juri Munkki jmunkki@hut.fi jmunkki@fingate.bitnet I Want Ne | | Helsinki University of Technology Computing Centre My Own XT | ^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
tecot@Apple.COM (Ed Tecot) (09/12/89)
In article <25072@santra.UUCP> jmunkki@kampi.hut.fi (Juri Munkki) writes: >Maybe you could pop up a message the first time Easy Access is activated >after a reboot. You might change the menu bar to "Easy Access Activated" >to tell users what is causing the trouble. For how long should the menu bar be changed? Won't the user be confused because his menus disappeared? >If easy access is not changed, you should at least remove it from the >default installer script. Just add another script to install it. This makes it really unlikely that Easy Access will be installed on public machines. I think it's better that it be explicitly uninstalled. >If you really want to change the icons, use something along these lines: > > *** * ** ** *** > * * * * * * * ** ** > ***** * * *** ** ** * * > ** ** ** ** * * * * * * > ***** *** ** ** ** * > Lock Shift Command Option Control I'm sorry, I don't understand this. Could you please elaborate? _emt