cdshaw@cs.UAlberta.CA (Chris Shaw) (06/29/91)
In article msp33327@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Michael S. Pereckas) writes: >why must *all* phones today use it? Why can't I get any phone with a >keypad laid out like the computers and calculators that I and so many >other people use so much? >< Michael Pereckas <> m-pereckas@uiuc.edu <> Just another student... > This is surely a stupid suggestion. Let's say I'm visiting you in your office, and you collapse and I dial 911. Instead, I get 377. Pretty clever. You die because you're too arrogant to learn the difference between the two systems. The real question is, why don't the "idiot" calculator companies and terminal makers make a telephone-compatible layout? That way, all numeric keypads on all equipment could be compatible if you like, without the safety problems associated with a surprising interface change. I think it's safe to say that the telephone layout gets regular use by an order of magnitude more people than the calculator layout. In other words, the calculator-style keypads are either used heavily or not at all, whereas the telephone layout is used by almost everybody. Therefore, the calculator companies should change, since the change affects less people. Assuming that this is a significant problem, which it isn't. -- Chris Shaw University of Alberta cdshaw@cs.UAlberta.ca CatchPhrase: Bogus as HELL !