cs00jec@unccvax.uncc.edu (Jim Cain) (02/07/91)
Is there any hope that NeXT or another company will make a keyboard with function keys or an f-key add-on module? Jim Cain cs00jec@unccvax.uncc.edu
anderson@dogie.macc.wisc.edu (Jess Anderson) (02/07/91)
In article <3140@unccvax.uncc.edu> cs00jec@unccvax.uncc.edu (Jim Cain) writes: >Is there any hope that NeXT or another company will make a keyboard >with function keys or an f-key add-on module? Having held my peace until I had more experience with the NeXT keyboard, I must say it's my least favorite factor about the machine. The whole thing feels (under the fingers, mainly, but in other ways too) *cheap*. Of all the keyboards I have used, nothing begins to be as good as those made by MaxiSwitch (I think they may have gone belly-up, though). I have two of them, which I used to replace OEM keyboards on 286 and 386 clone machines. They're solid, the touch character is perfect, they are quiet, and -- of course -- they have functions keys. I always hated the F-keys across the top form, so I've gone out of my way to have the F-keys on the left style. The ones I have have cursor keys on the keypad, which I like better than the second grouping one sees all the time now to the right side. But that area could be used for the two groups of buttons now controlling loudness, power, brightness, and cursor with only a little modification for NeXT purposes. The notorious power button should be outta there. The shelf are above the keys on most PC-style keyboards is a large area where the thing could be. Above all, the pipe/backslash key should be next right from the plus/equals key, with an even bigger l-shaped return key; the present location (as many have said) is absurd. I hope NeXT will listen to all these keyboard complaints. No other machine has ever been launched with such superb design values as this one, but I think the keyboard was the weakest part of the design, of any utilitarian point of view. I know many people in computing -- especially programmers and software development people -- are not especially proficient typists, and given a highly developed GUI, many functions can be carried out by the mouse. But to saddle the keyboard with its present deficits is, I think, basically unwise. One more thing: the mouse should be thicker; people with big hands -- me for one -- would appreciate a tool with a little more heft to it. One hopes that down the pike a way, NeXT will prosper enough to be able to tool up for a few more options in these most fundamental of all human factors in the user interface. OK, NeXT, you listened the last time; please do it again. <> The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while <> Nature cures the disease. -- Voltaire -- Jess Anderson <> Madison Academic Computing Center <> University of Wisconsin Internet: anderson@macc.wisc.edu <-best, UUCP:{}!uwvax!macc.wisc.edu!anderson NeXTmail w/attachments: anderson@yak.macc.wisc.edu Bitnet: anderson@wiscmacc Room 3130 <> 1210 West Dayton Street / Madison WI 53706 <> Phone 608/262-5888
osborn@cs.utexas.edu (John Howard Osborn) (02/07/91)
In article <1991Feb7.002337.10397@macc.wisc.edu> anderson@dogie.macc.wisc.edu (Jess Anderson) writes: >One more thing: the mouse should be thicker; people with big >hands -- me for one -- would appreciate a tool with a little >more heft to it. Close call. The mouse, it seems to me, should be smaller. I only have medium-sized hands, unlike Jess, and find the mouse a bit too bulky and unwieldy. Credit where it is due, I *really* like the new-style Apple mouse. (I call it the fastback mouse.) I want a mouse I can hold, easily, in my finger-tips. As a person who types FAR more than I, I defer to Jess' judgement upon the keyboards. - -John H. Osborn -osborn@cs.utexas.edu
sparkie@picard.cs.wisc.edu (Mark J. Horn) (02/08/91)
In article <1991Feb7.002337.10397@macc.wisc.edu> anderson@dogie.macc.wisc.edu (Jess Anderson) writes: [ ... ] >I hope NeXT will listen to all these keyboard complaints. >No other machine has ever been launched with such superb >design values as this one, but I think the keyboard was the >weakest part of the design, of any utilitarian point of >view. You should take a look at some of the DEC offerings. In particular there is a DECstation 5000/200 with a vt200 keyboard. It is perhaps the single most brain-damaged keyboard I've ever used. First off, where the <CTRL> key ought to be, are two keys, to the left is the <CTRL> key and to the right is the <CAPS-LOCK> key. I couldn't count how many times in a day I hit <CAPS-LOCK> when I mean to hit <CTRL>. Even worse than that, is where the '<' and '>' characters are. Slightly left of the 'Z' key there is another key. Unshifted, that key gives you '<' and shifted it gives you '>'. Where those two characters SHOULD be (above ',' and '.' respectively) just gives you a ',' and '.'! There also isn't an <ESC> key - you have to hit F11!!! Fortunately, the DECstation is X-based and it remapping the keyboard is fairly straightforward. This is just to let everyone know, that although it's painful to try and find '|' it's not as bad as it could be! - sparkie -- ___ ___ ___ ___ _ _ _ ___ / __\| . \/ . \| . \| |/ /|_|| _ | sparkie@picard.cs.wisc.edu \__ \| __/| || _ /| < | || _[ - or - \___/|_| |_|_||_|\\|_|\_\|_||___| harier!sparkie@cs.wisc.edu
madler@pooh.caltech.edu (Mark Adler) (02/09/91)
Jess Anderson has this opinion of the NeXT keyboard: >> The whole thing feels (under the >> fingers, mainly, but in other ways too) *cheap*. I agree completely. As bad as IBM is, the one thing they can do better than anyone else, by far, is make keyboards. Before I get flamed, I'm referring to the construction, quality, and most important, feel--*not* the layouts (and there have been many). Maybe this comes from their typewriter heritage. (Smart alecks out there will be saying: "Typewriter? What's typewriter? Some new layout software?) Maybe NeXT can use its unholy union with IBM to offer a higher cost, quality keyboard. Black, of course. Mark Adler madler@pooh.caltech.edu