Re: keyboard for emacs?

[ken <gebser@speakeasy.net>]

On 12/26/2006 09:56 PM somebody named Ryo wrote:
> Hi
> 
> Ronald wrote:
>> Is today's keyboard suitable for using emacs?
>>
>> I saw an old one today on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/vi.
>>
>> The layout is more suitable for vi and emacs.
>>
>> I doubt today's popular keyboard layouts is not mainly for programmers,
>> especially UNIX programmers.
>>
>> Any good idea?
> 
> I'm not sure if I understand your problem correctly, but . . .
> 1) I think that the most common English keyboards which come with
>  DOS/V PCs are annoying if used with vi and emacs because the
>  ESC key is far above and the Ctrl key is far below.

Even without any remapping of the keyboard, C-[ (i.e., Ctrl and '[' keys
at the same time) = ESC.  This functionality goes back to DOS v.1.0.  So
I almost never use ESC... only when one hand is holding a sandwich.


> 2) There are keyboards with the Ctrl key to the left of the
>  "A" key and the ESC key to the left of the "1/!" key,
>  such as the one I use (Happy Hacking Keyboard).

In the early days, *all* keyboards were like that... the CapsLock was in
the same place it was on all typewriters (i.e., *not* next to the 'A'
key).  Conspiracy theory had it that M$ had a hand in moving the Ctrl
key to the periphery in order to defeat its word processing rival,
Wordstar (which made heavy use of the Ctrl key), and promote its own Word.


> 3) It is possible to change key-layouts "software-wise".
>  For example, when I have to use the annoying PC keyboard,
>  I exchange Ctrl with Caps.  I don't physically replace the
>  plastic pieces, but install a piece of software or make a
>  software arrangement so that the physical Caps key functions
>  as a Ctrl key.

Right.  I've always been able to find shareware for DOS/Windows to do
this.  On Linux there's a few ways-- already built into Linux-- to swap
Ctrl and CapsLock.


> 
> Regards,
> Ryo
> 
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