[mdlug] OT Keyboard price (WAS: Remapping Backspace key)

Aaron Kulkis akulkis3 at hotpop.com
Fri Dec 29 13:22:20 EST 2006


Mike wrote:
> M. D. Krauss wrote:
>> Aaron Kulkis wrote:
>>> Matthew Krauss wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> In my never-ending quest to perfect my keyboard layout, I've tripped on
>>>> the backspace and fallen down in to the cracks where all the crumbs and
>>>> dust are.  I want to swap backspace and backslash, but it won't work.
>>>>
>>>> The backslash/pipe key takes on the aspect and attribute of the
>>>> backspace just fine (and I love it!)
>>>>
>>>> The backspace key is more picky.  It just refuses to generate a pipe.
>>>> Hitting backspace generates a backslash, and hitting shift-backspace
>>>> generates a... drum roll... backslash.
>>>>
>>>> Googling turns up some  other mention of this problem:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.redhat.com/archives/xfree86-list/2003-September/msg00028.html
>>>> http://lists.debian.org/debian-x/2004/03/msg00053.html
>>>>
>>>> At the first link, the question is asked, but not answered.
>>>>
>>>> At the second link, someone gives a rough explanation of why this
>>>> happens and it is not considered a bug, and a link to a French-language
>>>> workaround for a similar situation.  I tried to adapt the workaround (I
>>>> don't speak French, but Bash was our common language); but it didn't
>>>> work.
>>>>
>>>> I'll post the details of that attempt if anyone thinks it would be
>>>> helpful, BUT I am really hoping someone has a better approach.  Ideas
>>>> anyone?
>>>>
>>>>
>>> http://pfuca-store.stores.yahoo.net/haphackeylit1.html
>>> http://pfuca-store.stores.yahoo.net/haphackeyser.html
>>>
>> Thank you Aaron, I know about that... and I lust after it... but I'm
>> poor, so I make do with my little xmodmaps... For now...
>>
> 
> I still haven't figured this out, why does a keyboard with blacked-out, or
> no letters on the keyboard sell for $200+.  I understand that Das Keyboard
> one had "balanced" keys or whatever the big spec for it was.  I don't see
> any special features of this Happy Hacker keyboard other than it has
> blacked out keys.
> 
> I'd be happy to donate a keyboard with no numbers/letters on the keys,
> that has just been used a lot to one of these companies to show them that
> there is no reason to jack up the cost because there is no writing on the
> keys.

The Happy Hacker keyboard is a keyboard in the configuration which
was standard on practically all terminals and data processing
equipment BEFORE the IBM PC.

The PC keyboard is based on an IBM Selectric keyboard, not
a "real" computer keyboard ("real" computer keyboards have the
Control Key in a proper, easy-to-use location...unlike almost
all of the modern monstrosities...

Which is why I use KDE's option to swap the functionality of the
CAPS LOCK and the left CTRL keys.

> 
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