[mdlug] Thinkpad Fn/Ctrl keys

[John Wiersba]

John Wiersba wrote:

> Unfortunately, all the Thinkpads I've see have their control key in the wrong 
> place (what's more important IBM: Ctrl or Fn key placement?).  So, not very 
> vim/linux-friendly from that perspective.  That's likely the only thing that 
> kept me from buying one.

Jacob Todd wrote:
> You're kidding me? You've never heard of xmodmap?

Yes, I've heard of xmodmap.  But if you explore the issue a bit (see the link 
further down), it's not so simple.  Fn is not a normal key.  I'm not interested 
in buying a laptop to tinker around with it in the off chance that I will be 
able to get it to work the way I want.  And I want the Ctrl key all the way to 
the left.  If I knew going in that I'd be able to get it working properly for 
sure, that would be a different story.

Aaron Kulkis wrote:
> <http://www.google.com/search?q=Thinkpad+Ctrl+key+keyboard>
> 
> keyboard - Swapping Function (Fn) and Control (Ctrl) Keys on ...
> The bios swap for the function and ctrl keys is now implemented by Lenovo! 
> If you have a newer >Lenovo laptop (mine is a thinkpad x201), you can find the 
>...
> 
><http://superuser.com/questions/49412/swapping-function-fn-and-control-ctrl-keys-on-lenovo-thinkpad-w500>
>>

Thanks, Aaron -- that's useful information.  Looks like I won't have to exclude 
Thinkpads the next time I'm shopping for a laptop.