On May 10, 2007, at 11:13 AM, Arnaud Nicolet wrote: > Le 10 mai 07 à 18:55 Soir, Kirk Gray a écrit: > >> On May 10, 2007, at 10:48 AM, Kirk Gray wrote: >>> The original Mac keyboard had no numeric keypad and no arrow keys >>> for >>> cursor movement (you were supposed to use the mouse). But it did >>> have a Return key in the normal position, and a small Enter key next >>> to the right side Command key by the space bar -- right where it is >>> on Mac laptops today. >> >> Just checked. The original layout for the keyboard bottom row was >> Option, Command, Space, Enter, Option. There was no right side >> Command key as there is now. My bad. > > Apparently, you don't mention the control key... > I've seen one of those old Macs when I was young so I don't recall > the keyboard. So there were no control keys? Do they come from the PC > world? (please, no).
Control keys were on keyboards long before MS-DOS and the "PC world". But the Mac was supposed to be the next big thing -- a GUI. The Apple II (and III for that matter) had a control key. The Mac had a Command key (and an Option key). It didn't have a name on it, just a little icon of a square with loops at all four corners. It existed to enter menu commands from the keyboard without having to use the mouse. Command-S for Save, Command-P for Print and so on. The original Mac was a purist's machine -- there were no function keys, arrow keys, control key, escape key -- nothing to tie you to the past of computing. The IIgs used a key labeled with an apple rather than the loopy square. Later keyboards (which could be used on either system) had both the apple and the loopy square on the key. People started calling it the Command key, because it needed a name and Apple hadn't given it one. (Or maybe Apple called it the Command key, but just didn't label it as such. It's been a while) Eventually, interoperability became an issue and Mac keyboards began to acquire "normal computer" keys. On the Mac Plus keyboard we got arrow keys and a numeric keypad. Later an Escape key and function keys were added as were Help, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down, and Delete. (The first keyboards had a Backspace key, like a typewriter, rather than a delete key.) At first, these keys did nothing in the Mac OS. They were there for compatibility when running MS-DOS or a terminal program to connect to another computer. Eventually, programmers figured, "Since they're there, we might as well support them." After NeXT acquired Apple, we got volume controls and an eject key and the power button that had been on the Apple keyboard since the Mac II was removed (actually moved to the monitor - IF you buy an Apple monitor). Kirk ----------------------------------------------- REALbasic Professional 2007r1 MacBook Core Duo, Mac OS X 10.4.9 _______________________________________________ Unsubscribe or switch delivery mode: <http://www.realsoftware.com/support/listmanager/> Search the archives: <http://support.realsoftware.com/listarchives/lists.html>
