On Sun, 7 Apr 2002, Stew Benedict wrote:
SB> When I made the decision, I was under the impression this was the way
SB> everyone was moving. The plus side of it was the wealth of keyboard maps
SB> available for the Linux keymaps, compared to the handful we have for macs.
SB> This also allows things like the keyboard selector in the control center
SB> to work properly, etc. etc.
SB>
SB> As a US user, both methods work fine for me. I didn't realize until not
SB> that long ago that the Linux keymapping varies so greatly from the
SB> physical keyboard markings on non-US keyboards, making for a confusing
SB> experience. I mistakenly assumed the physical layout, of say a French
SB> keyboard, would be similar on a Mac, as it is on a PC, but that is not the
SB> case apparently.
Sadly not. This is why I had a hell when I made my Swedish Mac keymap for
my iBook2, as I had to boot into MacOS to check what keys really should
come out of some keys (as I wanted it to match MacOS exactly).
Example for Swedish keyboard:
{ - AltGr-7 (PC), Shift-Alt-8 (Mac)
} - AltGr-0 (PC), Shift-Alt-9 (Mac)
[ - AltGr-8 (PC), Alt-8 (Mac)
] - AltGr-9 (PC), Alt-9 (Mac)
For a programmer is is important the above are consistent. I am glad now
that Apple released a new Swedish keyboard when they began with USB (incl
iBook2). The new keyboard is called Swedish Pro, and the only difference
between the old and the new is that the at-sign (@) has moved from being
Alt-* (directly left of ENTER key) to being standard Alt-2 (AltGR-2 on
PC). I will probably revert to Mac keycodes after installing 8.2 as I want
to the same key to produce the same characters as under MacOS on my Mac.
Having the key produce the same character as printed on it has great value
to me, now when I have given up PC compatibles totally.
I am though used to learning different keyboards, during the day I use a
Sun keyboard which has the AltGr key more to the right than on a PC
keyboard.
PS. I tried to call Apple to get a US keyboard for my iBook2. They have
sent me new Swedish keyboards earlier to replace my 3 broken ones. They
said they can't send me a replacement US keyboard if I own a
Swedish-bought iBook2. Idiots! This is same shit I had with MacOSX. I
could not get English (Tier 1) MacOSX with my Swedish-bought iBook2, so
after I had received it I had to shell out $150 to buy the Tier 1 version,
even though I offered myself to return the bundled Tier 2 (Swedish)
version that I had no intention to use.
--
http://www.edlund.org/
