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The 'Caps Lock' Key.
From New Scientists Technology Blog.
There's no denying the caps lock key can be a pain. How often have you accidentally found yoUR TYPING ALL UPPER-CAse because you accidentally pressed it? Or been locked out of your computer because Caps Lock keeps messing with your password? For Pieter Hintjens, CEO of Belgian software company iMatrix such annoyances have driven him too far. And now he's on a mission to get computer makers everywhere to remove the damned thing from keyboards altogether. Hintjens announced his campaign to kill off Caps Lock on the nerd-herding site Slashdot yesterday: "Sure, there are more serious problems to solve but please, think of the children! How am I going to explain to my kids why some of the most valuable keyboard real estate is squatted by a large, useless key that above all you must not press!" He has also launched a blog called cappsoff.blogspot.com and started a Capsoff Google Groups forum so that other Caps Locks-haters can add their support. The movement certainly seems to gathering momentum – there are nearly 300 members of the Capsoff Google Groups already, many of whom are similarly enraged by the apparent madness of current keyboard design. Sure, Caps Lock can be annoying, but is a revolution entire necessary? As others point out, that there are alternatives, like downloading software to deactivate the key or even splashing out on a custom-made keyboard. Also, if the Caps locks goes, who's to say which key will next? Tab? PrtScn? The space bar for goodness sakes??! |
sAUSAGE FINGERS.
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That should have been an option.
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Pieter's got a point.
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'Nearly 300 members', and that's before the article was published.
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There could be a keyboard shortcut for typing in all capitals. Only time I type in all capitals is for titles and headings.
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Pieter's pitch: "Sure, there are more serious problems to solve but please, think of the children! How am I going to explain to my kids why some of the most valuable keyboard real estate is squatted by a large, useless key that above all you must not press!"
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Reminds me of the lever in old horror films: "Don't touch that lever!!" and the whole building explodes. Why have a lever that's only purpose is destroying the building? (See Frankenstein).
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he has a point but he's a sad fucker. maybe they could just move it to a place where its less easy to hit on the keyboard?
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Pieter really needs to get a grip on reality.
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What a fucking idiot. I never press the caps-lock key. I, however, am a typing god.
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what a lame-oh. if yr as much of a computer geek as he clearly must be, why the hell does he still struggle to not push caps lock. he should be a typing whiz by now. "keyboard real estate?!?!" thats a joke right?
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I hit the caps lock key on accident occassionally, but it's not that often, and quite easy to fix if you actually look at the screen when you type (which I don't always do, but the CEO of a software company definitely should). The password thing has happened a few times, but nothing I'd complain about. The bigger issue is that I don't think I've ever purposefully used the key in my life.
Regardless, it sounds like a good-humored joke. |
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Your reaction was pretty much the same as mine, especially your first point. I've noothing against the 'Caps Lock' key, myself - it's useful enough. I certainly use it more than other keys (what's the 'Ins' key for? I don't even know. Or the 'Sys Rq' for that matter. In fact, f***, there's quite a few I've never noticed before. 'LCD/CRT'? What on earth does that mean?). Funnily enough, as I logged in just now I accidentally hit 'Caps Lock' and had to try again. Gah! |
Now the Insert key I could do without. It makes typing behind letters delete them. Type out a sentence and then put the cursor in the middle, hit insert, and type. That is an annoying key. I never knew what it did, so when I accidently hit it I got extremely frustrated, not knowing what I did to switch back.
EDIT: Which brings up the point that they should probably just move it to a more inconvenient spot. Being next to Shift is the only reason it's a problem. The insert key on this keyboard is way out of reach and never bugs me anymore, so why not do that with caps? |
Oh far out, I've done that accidentally in the past. I could never figure out how it had happened so, tragically, I would shut the whole program down and restart! Thanks for that.
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Oh, that insert-fucker is so annoying. I recall nearly crushing a schoolcomputer, cuz I did not know how to reverse the shit. |
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i have no clue how but i have have hit that damned insert key a couple of times. i hate that one more. but who cares. |
Actually, if you remember, on earlier computers, if you typed behind a word you'd type over it, and the insert key was used to type words in between words, thus the name "Insert"...but now, that's a normal function, so they should either get rid of it or go back to typing over words, or call it "Replace" or something.
On topic, those anti-Caps Lock people are even worse than the "Mothers Against Noise"... |
i remember my old commodore 65 where insert was the Enter equivelent. not anymore, though. now its basically pointless.
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While we're on this topic, does anyone who uses firefox have a problem with the search bar thing? I know that if you press the apostrophe button it opens, but occassionally it will do that while I'm typing in a text field, where it's usually not supposed to work. It seems to be random, and it when it happens it keeps doing it until I close the window.
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This makes me think of the old office adage: stop being such a fucking spazz.
Admitedly, it's not the most popular one, but still. I know how to use most of the buttons on my keyboard, I'm also without need of a mouse, knowing, as I do, the shortcuts as well. I find it abhorent that people see the manufacturers as a problem rather than seeing the keyboard as a tool, which is only ever as good or bad as its user. Fuck me, what a dull post. Usual scintillating service resumed herewith. Ergo: cock. |
I've had to go without a mouse on occassion. I just can't stand surfing the web like that. How many times do you have to hit tab to buy something on Amazon? And if you accidently pass it, oh man...
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Shift and tab to go backwards. Scrolling through things isn't that hard.
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Oh wow. That makes it way easier. I know using shift on backspace works like that for next and previous page, but never thought to apply it to tab. Then you can just hold tab without worrying about passing it.
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One day you shall be as wise as me, young Lloyd [assuming you're younger than me, if you're not, I'm terribly sorry]
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I'm all about keystroke shortcuts, especially on a laptop. Thats one thing I love about Apple machines, everything and I do mean everything has a keystroke shortcut. When one is surfing the internet it is seldom neccesary to use the mouse pad. So, I suppose the essence of this post is I am pro caps lock if I have to choose, but more than that I just don't care enough about it, I care more about tampering with my glorious spread of alpha-numeric noise makers.
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my brow is furrowed.:mad:
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Who needs a keyboard when there's voice recognition.
This guy should get a real job. |
what a twat
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I use caps lock. I never understood the whole shift thing. Oh well.
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I never knew that. Thanks. |
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