From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Barry Margolin Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: origin of the Meta key Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:38:33 -0400 Message-ID: References: <0ded5ecd-f5f6-4a8e-9d19-f61bf0401022@v39g2000pro.googlegroups.com> <86hcad9ar4.fsf@lifelogs.com> <0bb45e96-f9f3-4451-a457-004bb5930c76@p10g2000prf.googlegroups.com> <927b0c4a-3de2-4be5-b86a-7ffacc4d718e@v1g2000pra.googlegroups.com> <88821130-f989-49ac-b8b1-e3cb2f5c5271@1g2000pre.googlegroups.com> <880cfe65-c525-46f7-a2e7-f76aa1168015@i20g2000prf.googlegroups.com> <6dbf5b52-af69-4517-ae82-6dbed45492b5@s20g2000prd.googlegroups.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1219549248 22493 80.91.229.12 (24 Aug 2008 03:40:48 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:40:48 +0000 (UTC) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sun Aug 24 05:41:40 2008 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1KX6Tw-0006yb-GO for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sun, 24 Aug 2008 05:41:36 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1]:53493 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1KX6Sy-0005Ry-DY for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:40:36 -0400 Original-Path: news.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!postnews.google.com!news1.google.com!Xl.tags.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!local02.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.comcast.com!news.comcast.com.POSTED!not-for-mail Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:38:33 -0500 Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help,comp.lang.lisp Mail-Copies-To: nobody User-Agent: MT-NewsWatcher/3.5.3b3 (Intel Mac OS X) Original-Lines: 58 X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.34.108.171 Original-X-Trace: sv3-Y2wEi7TqQVdBoyPSSJ/A5xJV2ZSDnhQQWnDEz9tEr1fNwKtWsSeKitxcyLwC2J+vPlCUW7rnd+BHnjt!LNQ/ud7SaFevqsYU6kBZoszxCFez4GFxe3i2R221dyTADs2q6WllugXoPwexv3ezLf7HXgcr+W3d!Wn93ejYmk9ECY1gBe+z7U2I07831IWVEAMTRp3k= Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@comcast.net X-DMCA-Complaints-To: dmca@comcast.net X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.3.39 Original-Xref: news.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:161588 comp.lang.lisp:251168 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:56932 Archived-At: In article <6dbf5b52-af69-4517-ae82-6dbed45492b5@s20g2000prd.googlegroups.com>, Xah wrote: > On Aug 23, 2:41 pm, Barry Margolin wrote: > > > Nope, you have it wrong. Meta came from the SAIL keyboard at Stanford > > AI Lab, developed in 1971. This was more than a decade before Sun was > > founded. Of course, the Sun founders came from Stanford, so they were > > undoubtedly familiar with this keyboard, and the diamond key was > > presumably put there to serve the same function. Similarly with Apple's > > command key. > > > > http://www.stanford.edu/~learnest/sailaway.htm > > > > http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/voy/museum/pictures > > /display/1-6-RAIL-keybd.jpg > > Thanks for this informative post! > > Quote from the article: > > «A fancier display system, installed at SAIL in 1971, put a terminal > using a television monitor on everyone's desk. SAIL was apparently the > first system in the world that put terminals in offices -- before > that, the few computer displays that existed were kept in "display > rooms." This display system also included an advanced keyboard that > introduced the "Meta" key and other features to facilitate touch- > typing. That keyboard design was picked up promptly by MIT and > Carnegie-Mellon University and later by Apple, whose Command key is a > direct descendent of the Meta key on the SAIL keyboard.» > > i did a quick google image search but didn't find more photos... > > is here more info about this keyboard? or other doc about the origin > of the Meta? I wasn't able to find much more, either. Googling for "sail keyboard" mostly finds articles about bands whose song titles contain the word "sail". Google needs a way for you to tell it the general topic area, so when you're looking for computer stuff you don't get rock & roll answers. But you might want to look at the picture of the Knight keyboard, which was MIT's evolution of the SAIL keyboard: http://world.std.com/~jdostale/kbd/Knight.html and the Space Cadet keyboard that was derived from it for use on the Lisp Machines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-cadet_keyboard -- Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu Arlington, MA *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** *** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group ***