rsm@amethyst.ma.arizona.edu (Robert Maier) (01/04/89)
A while back I posted a request for information on terminals with Meta keys. I use GNU Emacs a good bit, and a Meta key is a necessity. The following were the most useful suggestions. It seems to boil down to a choice between Ann Arbor Terminals and Human Designed Systems. Both sell terminals with Meta keys, and (with the exception of a lot of good folks who wrote to recommend terminal emulators) no one had any others to suggest. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ann Arbor Terminals ----------------------------------------------------------------- From quarles@panic.berkeley.edu (Tom Quarles): >Check out the terminals from Ann Arbor Terminals. I have one >of their 'Ambassador' terminals, which is an older, and >almost obsolete one (1981 vintage), and it has a key just >below the shift key that is marked 'pause'. In normal mode, >this just stops text displaying (and causes the terminal to >send a ^S when its buffers fill), but there is a setup mode >that makes this a meta key (and you can turn off the ^S/^Q >handshaking). All you have to do is add the appropriate >keyword to the termcap entry.... I don't know for sure about >their newer terminals, but I think they still have pause/meta >keys. >I didn't buy it for the meta key, I bought it because it was >the only terminal that I could find that had >25 lines of >display(not memory, display) - it can display 60 lines, >although it gets a little crowded with more than 48 >displayed. [Another fellow wrote that the Ann Arbor Ambassadors used to list for ~$1500 in 1983. Whew!] ----------------------------------------------------------------- HDS (Human Designed Systems) ----------------------------------------------------------------- From mjab@Think.COM (Michael Berry): >My terminal is a "Concept AVT" from HDS (Human Designed >Systems). It has a meta key right next to the shift key. From mkhaw@teknowledge-vaxc.arpa (Mike Khaw): >HDS 2000 terminals are fast and have meta keys that can be >set to either set the high-bit on a byte (true-meta) or act >as an escape-prefix key (you use it like a control-key, but >it transmits ESC followed by the other key). HDS terminals >have the meta key below the left shift key, but I don't have >any difficulty with that placement. >We once evaluated a "Link 3" terminal with a PC-style >keyboard. It was pleasant to use and blindingly fast, and >the sales rep. said that the factory would be happy to >program the keyboard PROM (?) so that the ALT key would act >like a meta key unless the terminal was in PC-Term emulation >mode(?). I think a few of the other keys needed rebinding as >well (the "<-" to DELETE instead of BACKSPACE", and "F1" to >ESC, since ALT assigned to meta). If you're only going to >buy one though, you may not be able to get a reasonable price >on a unit with rebound keys. So that's the lot. Grepping through my termcap file turns up a couple of additional ones, which I mention for completeness' sake: Mu|sun|Sun Microsystems Workstation console: hz|2392|hp2392|hp2392a: y7|t10|teleray 10 special: All have the `km' (i.e., Meta key) attribute. Does anyone have any information on the latter two? -- Robert S. Maier SNAIL: Dept. of Math.; Univ. of Arizona; Tucson, AZ 85721; USA VOICE: +1 602 621 6893 / +1 602 621 2617 UUCP: ..{allegra,cmcl2,hao!noao}!arizona!amethyst!rsm BITNET: maier@arizrvax INTERNET: rsm@amethyst.ma.arizona.edu