Tired of that crockety bloat feeling?
December 18, 2010 9:45 AM Subscribe
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YAD KCOL SPAC October 22, 2007
YAD KCOL SPAC October 22, 2006
YAD CKOL SPAC October 22, 2004
YAD KCOL SPAC October 22, 2003
Heh.
posted by danb at 9:48 AM on December 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
YAD KCOL SPAC October 22, 2007
YAD KCOL SPAC October 22, 2006
YAD CKOL SPAC October 22, 2004
YAD KCOL SPAC October 22, 2003
Heh.
posted by danb at 9:48 AM on December 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
MEH
posted by infinitefloatingbrains at 9:49 AM on December 18, 2010
posted by infinitefloatingbrains at 9:49 AM on December 18, 2010
DO NOT TAKE THIS KEY AWAY FROM ME I NEED IT TO EDIT ROBOT PROGRAMS AT WORK
posted by TrialByMedia at 9:51 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by TrialByMedia at 9:51 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
good
posted by sourwookie at 9:53 AM on December 18, 2010
posted by sourwookie at 9:53 AM on December 18, 2010
FROM MY COLD, DEAD, SHOUTY HANDS
posted by ob at 9:54 AM on December 18, 2010 [9 favorites]
posted by ob at 9:54 AM on December 18, 2010 [9 favorites]
Yeah, I remember reading an article about Lenovo thinking of ditching the CapsLock in newer thinkpads.
Luckily for them, they didn't go through with it so I didn't have to fly over to China and bash any Lenovo executives about the head and shoulders with my magnesium-alloy-encased T500.
posted by Dr Dracator at 9:54 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Luckily for them, they didn't go through with it so I didn't have to fly over to China and bash any Lenovo executives about the head and shoulders with my magnesium-alloy-encased T500.
posted by Dr Dracator at 9:54 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Weird thing is, though I write comics, and thus have a legit reason fro writing wodges of text in all-caps, I never used caps lock to do it, I just mashed down shift and types away. If there's an oldschool typewriter key I use a lot it's TAB.
(Also when chatting with a letterer I found that for various reasons it's completely unnescary, possibly a bit of a pain for me to do that and that they HATE tabs, so trying to knock that on the head too)
posted by Artw at 9:55 AM on December 18, 2010
(Also when chatting with a letterer I found that for various reasons it's completely unnescary, possibly a bit of a pain for me to do that and that they HATE tabs, so trying to knock that on the head too)
posted by Artw at 9:55 AM on December 18, 2010
e.e. cummings is in an underground bunker somewhere, malevolently stroking a cat and saying "excellent..."
posted by griphus at 9:56 AM on December 18, 2010 [15 favorites]
posted by griphus at 9:56 AM on December 18, 2010 [15 favorites]
ALSO CNC GCODE
MY MORI SEIKI AND CINCINNATI WILL ACCEPT NOTHING ELSE
posted by TrialByMedia at 9:56 AM on December 18, 2010
MY MORI SEIKI AND CINCINNATI WILL ACCEPT NOTHING ELSE
posted by TrialByMedia at 9:56 AM on December 18, 2010
How am I supposed to bring the thunder now?
posted by Joe Beese at 9:57 AM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by Joe Beese at 9:57 AM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
I can't think of that many good reasons to keep the Caps Lock key around, apart from those already mentioned. I'm not sure about the wisdom of having a button that could take focus away from the box you're typing in one buttery finger's width away from the A key, though.
posted by dudekiller at 10:01 AM on December 18, 2010
posted by dudekiller at 10:01 AM on December 18, 2010
Wait, what's a CapsLock key? Oh, do you mean my second Left-Control key?
e.e. cummings is in an underground bunker somewhere, malevolently stroking a cat and saying "excellent..."
You mean E. E. Cummings.
posted by kmz at 10:02 AM on December 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
e.e. cummings is in an underground bunker somewhere, malevolently stroking a cat and saying "excellent..."
You mean E. E. Cummings.
posted by kmz at 10:02 AM on December 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
HOW WILL I TYPE IRRITATINGLY COMPLICATED INTERNATIONAL ADDRESSES?
AND WHY WOULD YOU EVER PUT LETTERS IN A NATION'S POSTAL CODE SYSTEM? IS BASE-10 TOO SIMPLE FOR YOU FOREIGNERS?
GOOGLE: YOU ARE NOW, OFFICIALLY, ADDING TO MY PROBLEMS.
posted by TwelveTwo at 10:03 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
AND WHY WOULD YOU EVER PUT LETTERS IN A NATION'S POSTAL CODE SYSTEM? IS BASE-10 TOO SIMPLE FOR YOU FOREIGNERS?
GOOGLE: YOU ARE NOW, OFFICIALLY, ADDING TO MY PROBLEMS.
posted by TwelveTwo at 10:03 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
So now when I'm typing instead of hitting cAPSLOCK AND RUINING MY TEXT THAT WAY I CAN END UP HITTING SE http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=arch+instead
posted by fuq at 10:03 AM on December 18, 2010 [7 favorites]
posted by fuq at 10:03 AM on December 18, 2010 [7 favorites]
I'M NOT SHOUTING!!! THE CAPS-LOCK IS STUCK ON MY KEYBOARD!!!
posted by hippybear at 10:04 AM on December 18, 2010
posted by hippybear at 10:04 AM on December 18, 2010
There's a setting to make it caps-lock. Everything will be okay.
posted by azarbayejani at 10:05 AM on December 18, 2010
posted by azarbayejani at 10:05 AM on December 18, 2010
Also, the best exchange ever about Caps Lock. (And yeah, I think somebody posts that every time we talk about Caps Lock.)
posted by kmz at 10:05 AM on December 18, 2010 [18 favorites]
posted by kmz at 10:05 AM on December 18, 2010 [18 favorites]
Been prying my capslock keys off for years now. Keep 'em nearby for the rare event that they are needed.
posted by squalor at 10:05 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by squalor at 10:05 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Huh, that's what that key's for.
posted by cjorgensen at 10:06 AM on December 18, 2010
posted by cjorgensen at 10:06 AM on December 18, 2010
No need to shout gentle user, how about a nice soothing search instead?
posted by thusspakeparanoia at 10:07 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by thusspakeparanoia at 10:07 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Bring back the Meta, Super, and Hyper keys! Mmmm. Space cadet keyboard.
posted by rmd1023 at 10:08 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by rmd1023 at 10:08 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
dEAR gOOGLE,
tHANK YOU FOR DESTROYING THE CAPS LOCK. i USE IT ACCIDENTALLY MORE THAN ON PURPOSE, AND THEN i HAVE TO GO BACK AND RE-TYPE EVERYTHING. i HATE CAPS LOCKS. down with caps locks! down with caps locks!
sINCERELY,
cOOKIE bASTARD
posted by Cookiebastard at 10:09 AM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
tHANK YOU FOR DESTROYING THE CAPS LOCK. i USE IT ACCIDENTALLY MORE THAN ON PURPOSE, AND THEN i HAVE TO GO BACK AND RE-TYPE EVERYTHING. i HATE CAPS LOCKS. down with caps locks! down with caps locks!
sINCERELY,
cOOKIE bASTARD
posted by Cookiebastard at 10:09 AM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
No need to shout gentle user, how about a nice soothing search instead?
i don't need to search i need to type in more of these international postal codes
H4
H4K @l1
god damn it
posted by TwelveTwo at 10:11 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
I would like my CAPS LOCK key to be replaced with a COOKIE key, and when I press it I would like a fresh, hot oatmeal raisin cookie to poot forth from my CD-ROM drive. I believe in you, Lenovo. Take my passion and make it happen.
posted by mintcake! at 10:13 AM on December 18, 2010 [7 favorites]
posted by mintcake! at 10:13 AM on December 18, 2010 [7 favorites]
You mean E. E. Cummings.
I mean "Diamond Ed" Cummings.
posted by griphus at 10:14 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I mean "Diamond Ed" Cummings.
posted by griphus at 10:14 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I have to say though, making the CapsLock a search key is almost worse than keeping it CapsLock. You had a chance for positive change here, Google, and you blew it.
(Left-Control, Esc, or disabled. Those are the only good choices.)
posted by kmz at 10:17 AM on December 18, 2010
(Left-Control, Esc, or disabled. Those are the only good choices.)
posted by kmz at 10:17 AM on December 18, 2010
What I really want from Google is the ability to punch people through the internet. Get on this, already.
posted by TrialByMedia at 10:20 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by TrialByMedia at 10:20 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
i don't need to search i need to type in more of these international postal codes
The worst thing about postal codes is the way systems alternatively require the space, require no space, or don't care. But then when they require no space, sometimes they'll accept the space as a valid character, but cut off the end...
For the record, including the space is correct.
posted by Chuckles at 10:20 AM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
The worst thing about postal codes is the way systems alternatively require the space, require no space, or don't care. But then when they require no space, sometimes they'll accept the space as a valid character, but cut off the end...
For the record, including the space is correct.
posted by Chuckles at 10:20 AM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
HOW WILL I TYPE IRRITATINGLY COMPLICATED INTERNATIONAL ADDRESSES?
That's actually a good point (or pretty much the only reason I can think of to use caps lock).
Also, us foreigners use letters and numbers because we are SOPHISTICATED.
posted by ssg at 10:23 AM on December 18, 2010
That's actually a good point (or pretty much the only reason I can think of to use caps lock).
Also, us foreigners use letters and numbers because we are SOPHISTICATED.
posted by ssg at 10:23 AM on December 18, 2010
Wait, what's a CapsLock key? Oh, do you mean my second Left-Control key?
I'm still kind of astonished at what a difference making that change was for me.
You had a chance for positive change here, Google, and you blew it.
Indeed. A search key is not terribly useful and will lead to all kinds of swearing when people start fat-fingering it. I'm fine with doing away with Caps Lock, but if this catches on and I can't remap the key to control, I will die angry.
posted by middleclasstool at 10:23 AM on December 18, 2010
I'm still kind of astonished at what a difference making that change was for me.
You had a chance for positive change here, Google, and you blew it.
Indeed. A search key is not terribly useful and will lead to all kinds of swearing when people start fat-fingering it. I'm fine with doing away with Caps Lock, but if this catches on and I can't remap the key to control, I will die angry.
posted by middleclasstool at 10:23 AM on December 18, 2010
Just use the VI command to change case. You're all using VI, right?
posted by a robot made out of meat at 10:23 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by a robot made out of meat at 10:23 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
DANAH BOYD IS BEHIND THIS SOMEHOW
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 10:24 AM on December 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 10:24 AM on December 18, 2010 [4 favorites]
What I really want from Google is the ability to punch people through the internet. Get on this, already.
every time I see VoIP in an article, I perk up a little, and then deflate; I also pine for Violence over Internet Protocol and keep getting Voice instead.
posted by heeeraldo at 10:26 AM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
every time I see VoIP in an article, I perk up a little, and then deflate; I also pine for Violence over Internet Protocol and keep getting Voice instead.
posted by heeeraldo at 10:26 AM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
every time I see VoIP in an article, I perk up a little, and then deflate; I also pine for Violence over Internet Protocol and keep getting Voice instead.
If it makes you feel better, I can tell you that working with VOIP every day makes me want to do violence.
posted by kmz at 10:28 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
If it makes you feel better, I can tell you that working with VOIP every day makes me want to do violence.
posted by kmz at 10:28 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
The worst thing about postal codes is the way systems alternatively require the space, require no space, or don't care. But then when they require no space, sometimes they'll accept the space as a valid character, but cut off the end...
Designed by Americans who can't handle our SEXY and SOPHISTICATED postal codes (which postal code is sexier: H2X 2B8 or 90210).
posted by ssg at 10:29 AM on December 18, 2010
Designed by Americans who can't handle our SEXY and SOPHISTICATED postal codes (which postal code is sexier: H2X 2B8 or 90210).
posted by ssg at 10:29 AM on December 18, 2010
I Wish They Would Replace The Key With A Key That Let Me Post Comments On The Internet Better.
posted by inigo2 at 10:35 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by inigo2 at 10:35 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I GRADUATED WITH CHRIS BEAM AND HE IS MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN ME. NOW HOW WILL I EXPRESS MY ANGUISH.
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:35 AM on December 18, 2010
posted by Lutoslawski at 10:35 AM on December 18, 2010
NO, PENS A MOLDY GOOGLE COCKROACH. :(
ARCHDEACON CLOGS POKEY MONOLOG :)
posted by mintcake! at 10:51 AM on December 18, 2010
ARCHDEACON CLOGS POKEY MONOLOG :)
posted by mintcake! at 10:51 AM on December 18, 2010
There are two separate issues here:
1. Elimination (or replacement) of the CapsLock key, pro or con.
2. Fucking Google crawling out of the internet and infiltrating my keyboard as yet another malign step in its rapacious Pinky-and-the-Brainlike campaign of world conquest.
I already have a motherloving Windows key sitting here smirking at me from just under the Z. What's next? Substituting a Disney key for Alt Gr? Space bar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pepsi Blue?
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:52 AM on December 18, 2010
1. Elimination (or replacement) of the CapsLock key, pro or con.
2. Fucking Google crawling out of the internet and infiltrating my keyboard as yet another malign step in its rapacious Pinky-and-the-Brainlike campaign of world conquest.
I already have a motherloving Windows key sitting here smirking at me from just under the Z. What's next? Substituting a Disney key for Alt Gr? Space bar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pepsi Blue?
posted by FelliniBlank at 10:52 AM on December 18, 2010
i just want a key that'll let me do accents easier than the fucking annoying HEX codes on computers other than Apple's :P
posted by liza at 10:54 AM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by liza at 10:54 AM on December 18, 2010 [3 favorites]
Hunh. Not surprising that it would take google to fire the first major salvo in the anti-capslock war. I remap my caps lock key to another return, but I'm a little bit of a weirdo.
posted by oonh at 10:58 AM on December 18, 2010
posted by oonh at 10:58 AM on December 18, 2010
Don't really need caps lock for anything, personally, so I can't say it'd be missed. However, if we let one key get the axe, doesn't this open the door for other keys to be next in line? Like, look at the F-row. F-11's pretty safe, yeah, but what about the others? Whole lot of casualties there. And then who's next? Insert? Delete? And what's this up in the upper right here ... Scroll? Oh man, you poor bastard. I'm looking at a keyboard massacre here. I only hope some of them find a home in a museum or something.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 11:14 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 11:14 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Liza, at least under Ubuntu one can map the Caps Lock as the compose key.
¡Ít mãkès typǐŋg Þé sÿmb°ls §ø muçh Æsi€r!
posted by khedron at 11:25 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
¡Ít mãkès typǐŋg Þé sÿmb°ls §ø muçh Æsi€r!
posted by khedron at 11:25 AM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
THIS WILL END well.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:29 AM on December 18, 2010
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:29 AM on December 18, 2010
>
posted by randomkeystrike at 11:29 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by randomkeystrike at 11:29 AM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Don't really need caps lock for anything, personally, so I can't say it'd be missed. However, if we let one key get the axe, doesn't this open the door for other keys to be next in line? Like, look at the F-row. F-11's pretty safe, yeah, but what about the others? Whole lot of casualties there. And then who's next? Insert? Delete? And what's this up in the upper right here ... Scroll? Oh man, you poor bastard. I'm looking at a keyboard massacre here. I only hope some of them find a home in a museum or something.
I know your tongue's pretty firmly in your cheek, but it does beg the question of how much better keyboards could be if we rethought the question of which keys still deserved the real estate every decade or two... ;-)
I mean, honestly, I'm looking at my laptop keyboard now. All these bullshit function keys that I can't remember the last time I used. ex. [FN] [PRT SC] where the "primary" function of the key, which I have never needed, is the INSERT mode toggle.
The only reason most of my F keys have fingerprints on them is they double as brightness, volume, etc.
posted by randomkeystrike at 11:59 AM on December 18, 2010
I know your tongue's pretty firmly in your cheek, but it does beg the question of how much better keyboards could be if we rethought the question of which keys still deserved the real estate every decade or two... ;-)
I mean, honestly, I'm looking at my laptop keyboard now. All these bullshit function keys that I can't remember the last time I used. ex. [FN] [PRT SC] where the "primary" function of the key, which I have never needed, is the INSERT mode toggle.
The only reason most of my F keys have fingerprints on them is they double as brightness, volume, etc.
posted by randomkeystrike at 11:59 AM on December 18, 2010
I love the look of functionality and minimalism of that netbook. But I find it tiresome that they're replacing it with the Google searchy magnifying glass thingy. It's like they need draw you into their webby cloud to stripe you of data, every chance they get and personally I would like to tell Google:
Yo GOOGLE (from now on all messages to Google must be in all caps):
Yeah YO GOOGLE!!! You're NOT ALL THAT!! I CAN GODAYS HOURS MINUTES WITHOUT USING YOUR SNEAKY PRODUCTS UP MY ASS READING STORING AND COnVERTING MY VALUABLE DATA INTO BAZILLION's of DOLLARS and INVADING MY PRIVATES INFORMATION.
I HAVE FIVE OTHER BROWSERS (FF, Opera, IE, SAFARI, FLOCK) YOU CAN'T SEE< STORE< MANIPULATE< CROSS CONNECT or LEVERAGE FOR YOUR GOOGLY NEEDS AT ALL.
HA HA HA!!! WHO's YOUR DADDY GOOGLE??
*Android phone rings*
Scuse...me I need to get this....
posted by Skygazer at 12:05 PM on December 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
Yo GOOGLE (from now on all messages to Google must be in all caps):
Yeah YO GOOGLE!!! You're NOT ALL THAT!! I CAN GO
I HAVE FIVE OTHER BROWSERS (FF, Opera, IE, SAFARI, FLOCK) YOU CAN'T SEE< STORE< MANIPULATE< CROSS CONNECT or LEVERAGE FOR YOUR GOOGLY NEEDS AT ALL.
HA HA HA!!! WHO's YOUR DADDY GOOGLE??
*Android phone rings*
Scuse...me I need to get this....
posted by Skygazer at 12:05 PM on December 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
hot oatmeal raisin cookie to poot forth from my CD-ROM drive
I see what you did there Muffin Man.
posted by Meatbomb at 12:08 PM on December 18, 2010
I see what you did there Muffin Man.
posted by Meatbomb at 12:08 PM on December 18, 2010
Wait, what's a CapsLock key? Oh, do you mean my second Left-Control key?
I've seriously been considering using keyboard remapping as a hiring filter. Haven't remapped the capslock key to something useful already? No hire.
Also, dvorak advocates should be viewed with suspicion.
posted by mhoye at 12:35 PM on December 18, 2010
I've seriously been considering using keyboard remapping as a hiring filter. Haven't remapped the capslock key to something useful already? No hire.
Also, dvorak advocates should be viewed with suspicion.
posted by mhoye at 12:35 PM on December 18, 2010
Capslock is a good way to make sure that your keyboard is still connected to the computer if the rest of the system is frozen (not a frequent scenario, but I've had it come up once or twice).
posted by codacorolla at 12:36 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by codacorolla at 12:36 PM on December 18, 2010
I don't understand the caps lock hate. It's just an additional tool. Sure, it's only ever useful extremely rarely, but how is remapping it to duplicate a function you already have better?
posted by lucidium at 12:39 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by lucidium at 12:39 PM on December 18, 2010
I want an "eject" key instead, please.
posted by fourcheesemac at 12:40 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by fourcheesemac at 12:40 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
lucidum Keys on the home row are prized because they are so easy to reach. Caps lock is not only on the home row, it's also double sized! The only other key with that status is the return key. But unlike return, caps lock does almost nothing useful - a vestigial key grandfathered in to its prime location.
Basically, it's the inept cousin of the CEO that gets the cushy VP post and DOES NOTHING OF VALUE.
annoying.
posted by lucidprose at 1:20 PM on December 18, 2010
Basically, it's the inept cousin of the CEO that gets the cushy VP post and DOES NOTHING OF VALUE.
annoying.
posted by lucidprose at 1:20 PM on December 18, 2010
but he is great at parties!
posted by TwelveTwo at 1:24 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by TwelveTwo at 1:24 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Basically, it's the inept cousin of the CEO that gets the cushy VP post and DOES NOTHING OF VALUE.
As someone who aspires to exactly this, I now like the key all the more.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 1:29 PM on December 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
As someone who aspires to exactly this, I now like the key all the more.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 1:29 PM on December 18, 2010 [5 favorites]
but how is remapping it to duplicate a function you already have better?
Try hitting Control-P. Now hit CapsLock-P. Did your hands exert the exact same amount of effort?
(I'm assuming touch-typing from the standard home row position. I suppose it doesn't matter if you don't touch type.)
posted by kmz at 1:34 PM on December 18, 2010
Try hitting Control-P. Now hit CapsLock-P. Did your hands exert the exact same amount of effort?
(I'm assuming touch-typing from the standard home row position. I suppose it doesn't matter if you don't touch type.)
posted by kmz at 1:34 PM on December 18, 2010
Is this the part where I casually drop that I'm typing this from a CR-48 that arrived unannounced on my doorstep two days ago?
I don't miss caps lock at all, but there are a few other nagging problems - the trackpad is subpar, and the lack of home/insert/et al keys has bothered me a bit. I'm still trying to figure out how to get a decent development environment too, since the stripped down shell pretty much only lets you SSH to other machines. Oh, and there's no VPN support, so I can't get to my work servers - right now, I'm actually sshing into my home box, suing the VPN from there, and then tunnelling into work. Oy.
Chrome OS is interesting, but still a little ahead of its time. It's basically an internet browser. Full stop. This makes it useless without an internet connection. The built in 3g helps a lot with that, but if you're say, on an airplane, you might as well be carrying around a brick. I see the promise and potential of the cloud, but still like having an offline backup of all my stuff (right now scripted and pulled down nightly to my desktop). Call me old fashioned, but I worry a lot about vendor lock-in and control of my data.
That all said, it's a beautiful machine, and the lack of branding makes me realize just how incredibly ugly most laptops are, with their many "intel inside" stickers and corporate logo feces splashed all over the lid. Even notoriously attractive Apple laptops kind of pale in comparison.
The web-based solutions are good enough to handle 90% of my work and play, and I get the feeling that the other 10% is coming soon enough. I do get a little twitchy when I can't customize everything, as I'm used to working on linux boxes, but I'm adapting slowly. Right now I'm working on my thesis in Google Docs and it's going well.
Anyway, to get back to the point - good riddance to Caps Lock.
posted by chrisamiller at 1:53 PM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
I don't miss caps lock at all, but there are a few other nagging problems - the trackpad is subpar, and the lack of home/insert/et al keys has bothered me a bit. I'm still trying to figure out how to get a decent development environment too, since the stripped down shell pretty much only lets you SSH to other machines. Oh, and there's no VPN support, so I can't get to my work servers - right now, I'm actually sshing into my home box, suing the VPN from there, and then tunnelling into work. Oy.
Chrome OS is interesting, but still a little ahead of its time. It's basically an internet browser. Full stop. This makes it useless without an internet connection. The built in 3g helps a lot with that, but if you're say, on an airplane, you might as well be carrying around a brick. I see the promise and potential of the cloud, but still like having an offline backup of all my stuff (right now scripted and pulled down nightly to my desktop). Call me old fashioned, but I worry a lot about vendor lock-in and control of my data.
That all said, it's a beautiful machine, and the lack of branding makes me realize just how incredibly ugly most laptops are, with their many "intel inside" stickers and corporate logo feces splashed all over the lid. Even notoriously attractive Apple laptops kind of pale in comparison.
The web-based solutions are good enough to handle 90% of my work and play, and I get the feeling that the other 10% is coming soon enough. I do get a little twitchy when I can't customize everything, as I'm used to working on linux boxes, but I'm adapting slowly. Right now I'm working on my thesis in Google Docs and it's going well.
Anyway, to get back to the point - good riddance to Caps Lock.
posted by chrisamiller at 1:53 PM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
However, if we let one key get the axe, doesn't this open the door for other keys to be next in line? Like, look at the F-row. F-11's pretty safe, yeah, but what about the others? Whole lot of casualties there. And then who's next? Insert? Delete? And what's this up in the upper right here ... Scroll? Oh man, you poor bastard. I'm looking at a keyboard massacre here.
Yeah, the CR48 nixes all of those as well, in favor of dedicated keys for brightness, volume, etc. It was easy enough to alter my habits from Alt-F4 to Ctrl-W. Can't say I miss them much.
posted by chrisamiller at 1:55 PM on December 18, 2010
Yeah, the CR48 nixes all of those as well, in favor of dedicated keys for brightness, volume, etc. It was easy enough to alter my habits from Alt-F4 to Ctrl-W. Can't say I miss them much.
posted by chrisamiller at 1:55 PM on December 18, 2010
It was easy enough to alter my habits from Alt-F4 to Ctrl-W.
"Hey I wonder if that works in Wind...ah, hell."
posted by griphus at 1:58 PM on December 18, 2010
"Hey I wonder if that works in Wind...ah, hell."
posted by griphus at 1:58 PM on December 18, 2010
right now, I'm actually sshing into my home box, suing the VPN from there, and then tunnelling into work. Oy.
Wow, why does geek-speak always sound like some crazy Mission Impossible shit? Amazing.
posted by fungible at 2:32 PM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
Wow, why does geek-speak always sound like some crazy Mission Impossible shit? Amazing.
posted by fungible at 2:32 PM on December 18, 2010 [2 favorites]
In all seriousness, as a programmer, I use capslock everyday. CONSTANTS and MAGIC_NUMBERS are, conventionally, written in uppercase.
posted by SPrintF at 2:47 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by SPrintF at 2:47 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I was thinking of remapping my Caps Lock key just yesterday, as for some reason recently I've been mashing it every single time I go for the left Shift key, which is really fucking annoying.
posted by Sys Rq at 3:08 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by Sys Rq at 3:08 PM on December 18, 2010
kmz wrote: "If it makes you feel better, I can tell you that working with VOIP every day makes me want to do violence."
Stop using NAT, and it won't be so godawfully frustrating. ;)
posted by wierdo at 3:09 PM on December 18, 2010
Stop using NAT, and it won't be so godawfully frustrating. ;)
posted by wierdo at 3:09 PM on December 18, 2010
Wow, why does geek-speak always sound like some crazy Mission Impossible shit?
Because it is. I'm typing this while suspended from my ceiling by a harness right now.
I had to borrow a pencil so I could reach the keyboard.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:17 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Because it is. I'm typing this while suspended from my ceiling by a harness right now.
I had to borrow a pencil so I could reach the keyboard.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:17 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
I guess I do use ctrl-F more than CAPS LOCK. Did anyone upthread note that the caps lock key on the macbook is in all lowercase? This thread made me notice the incongruity.
posted by snofoam at 3:29 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by snofoam at 3:29 PM on December 18, 2010
Stop using NAT, and it won't be so godawfully frustrating. ;)
Heh, my job is VOIP on the backend, i.e. billing and routing between vendors and customers who all need things done their own way. ("You want to be invoiced when? On every third Monday except after blue moons?") On equipment that speak SIP and H323 in their own not entirely compatible ways. Dealing with non-standard ratesheets, USA code tables that change daily, service providers that change APIs on a whim. And that's the start of it.
Whee, telecom!
posted by kmz at 3:54 PM on December 18, 2010
Heh, my job is VOIP on the backend, i.e. billing and routing between vendors and customers who all need things done their own way. ("You want to be invoiced when? On every third Monday except after blue moons?") On equipment that speak SIP and H323 in their own not entirely compatible ways. Dealing with non-standard ratesheets, USA code tables that change daily, service providers that change APIs on a whim. And that's the start of it.
Whee, telecom!
posted by kmz at 3:54 PM on December 18, 2010
chrisamiller: ... the lack of branding makes me realize just how incredibly ugly most laptops are, with their many "intel inside" stickers...
Those do come off, you know.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:03 PM on December 18, 2010
Those do come off, you know.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:03 PM on December 18, 2010
pfftigaveupcapslockagesago.writemewhentheygetridoftheuselessspacebar.
posted by chairface at 4:42 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by chairface at 4:42 PM on December 18, 2010
pfftigaveupcapslockagesago.writemewhentheygetridoftheuselessspacebar.
01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01100101 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100001 01100011 01101000 01101001 01100101 01110110 01100101 00100000 01110100 01110010 01110101 01100101 00100000 01101011 01100101 01111001 00101101 01100011 01100101 01110100 01101001 01110011 01101001 01110011 01101101 00101110
posted by griphus at 4:49 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01100101 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100001 01100011 01101000 01101001 01100101 01110110 01100101 00100000 01110100 01110010 01110101 01100101 00100000 01101011 01100101 01111001 00101101 01100011 01100101 01110100 01101001 01110011 01101001 01110011 01101101 00101110
posted by griphus at 4:49 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
Those do come off, you know.
The giant, glowing logo in the middle of the lid doesn't. That's the one that irks me the most.
posted by chrisamiller at 4:52 PM on December 18, 2010
The giant, glowing logo in the middle of the lid doesn't. That's the one that irks me the most.
posted by chrisamiller at 4:52 PM on December 18, 2010
Wow, why does geek-speak always sound like some crazy Mission Impossible shit? Amazing.
To be fair, the "suing" part was a misspelling of "using" (though su is a command).
Also to be fair, I'm actually Tom Cruise.
posted by chrisamiller at 4:53 PM on December 18, 2010
To be fair, the "suing" part was a misspelling of "using" (though su is a command).
Also to be fair, I'm actually Tom Cruise.
posted by chrisamiller at 4:53 PM on December 18, 2010
I was giving my class instructions on how to set up a document:
"Ok, type your name and then hit Return."
They looked at their keyboards and then looked at me like I was crazy.
I looked at them like they were crazy.
I looked at one of their keyboards.
::::facepalm:::::
"I mean hit Enter".
I felt old.
posted by NoraCharles at 5:06 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
"Ok, type your name and then hit Return."
They looked at their keyboards and then looked at me like I was crazy.
I looked at them like they were crazy.
I looked at one of their keyboards.
::::facepalm:::::
"I mean hit Enter".
I felt old.
posted by NoraCharles at 5:06 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
It is the fucking RETURN key, not "enter"! I don't know what dipshit came up with "enter", but they should be tracked down with dogs. Ravenous dogs. Maybe dingoes.
posted by Crabby Appleton at 6:23 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Crabby Appleton at 6:23 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
There must be a key immediately to the left of the A key, and it must be the "control" key, or, at the very least, it must be easy to re-map it to the control key. I have spoken. So let it be written, so let it be done.
Anyone who uses the One True Editor (i.e., Emacs) knows why this must be the case.
posted by Crabby Appleton at 6:27 PM on December 18, 2010
Anyone who uses the One True Editor (i.e., Emacs) knows why this must be the case.
posted by Crabby Appleton at 6:27 PM on December 18, 2010
Actually, it is the enter key. The enter key signals the terminal that you wish to submit the form for processing. The return key is for carriage return while composing text.
Try hitting Control-P. Now hit CapsLock-P. Did your hands exert the exact same amount of effort?
Does your keyboard not have two control keys?
posted by gjc at 7:13 PM on December 18, 2010
Try hitting Control-P. Now hit CapsLock-P. Did your hands exert the exact same amount of effort?
Does your keyboard not have two control keys?
posted by gjc at 7:13 PM on December 18, 2010
And then I realized I was only reading the comments typed in caps.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 7:40 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by evidenceofabsence at 7:40 PM on December 18, 2010
chrisamiller: The giant, glowing logo in the middle of the lid doesn't. That's the one that irks me the most.
Fair enough. But that's when it's time for stickers!
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:16 PM on December 18, 2010
Fair enough. But that's when it's time for stickers!
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:16 PM on December 18, 2010
I think they should also remove the semicolon, z and that goofy hat (^).
posted by sammyo at 8:28 PM on December 18, 2010
posted by sammyo at 8:28 PM on December 18, 2010
I find caps lock extremely useful even for typing individual capital letters. Why? Because I used to have chronic wrist pain from typing too much-- specifically from "chording", i.e. holding down one key with an extended pinky while reaching for a letter with another. (I was also writing a lot of C++ in those days, using emacs as my editor of choice, so the ctrl key was not my friend...)
During the time of my recovery I learned to type differently in order to avoid chording, and many of those healthy habits have stuck with me. So, for example, to start a sentence with "The", I will type: capslock-t-capslock-h-e. It sounds like wasted effort, but it was orders of magnitude less painful than holding down shift for a single letter.
So, I'll make a deal with you, Google. You can have my caps lock if I can have your letter e. George Perec wrote a whole novel that way, so it should be no trouble for all you smartypants.
posted by otherthings_ at 10:34 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
During the time of my recovery I learned to type differently in order to avoid chording, and many of those healthy habits have stuck with me. So, for example, to start a sentence with "The", I will type: capslock-t-capslock-h-e. It sounds like wasted effort, but it was orders of magnitude less painful than holding down shift for a single letter.
So, I'll make a deal with you, Google. You can have my caps lock if I can have your letter e. George Perec wrote a whole novel that way, so it should be no trouble for all you smartypants.
posted by otherthings_ at 10:34 PM on December 18, 2010 [1 favorite]
From the getting started guide for the CR-48:
If you really need Caps Lock so you can post an INSIGHTFUL COMMENT ON YOUTUBE, click the wrench, click Settings, and then go to the System section to change the Modifier Key from a Search key to a Caps Lock key.
I can see the point of remapping it to a search key on a box that is only a browser. On a full box, there are better uses. Personally, I've remapped it to the 'backspace' key as I'm trying to learn to touch type Colemak, and home row access to the delete key is damn handy. I should also remap scroll lock to caps lock, but in the last few weeks I really haven't needed it.
I have tried remapping it as a ctrl key in the past, but my muscle memory is far too tied to the ctrl key where it currently is. Besides, I use the windows key as much as ctrl these days. Shocking, I know.
posted by ArkhanJG at 1:36 AM on December 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you really need Caps Lock so you can post an INSIGHTFUL COMMENT ON YOUTUBE, click the wrench, click Settings, and then go to the System section to change the Modifier Key from a Search key to a Caps Lock key.
I can see the point of remapping it to a search key on a box that is only a browser. On a full box, there are better uses. Personally, I've remapped it to the 'backspace' key as I'm trying to learn to touch type Colemak, and home row access to the delete key is damn handy. I should also remap scroll lock to caps lock, but in the last few weeks I really haven't needed it.
I have tried remapping it as a ctrl key in the past, but my muscle memory is far too tied to the ctrl key where it currently is. Besides, I use the windows key as much as ctrl these days. Shocking, I know.
posted by ArkhanJG at 1:36 AM on December 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
I go back and forth on these Chrome boxes. I don't think I would ever buy one myself, because I want to be able to do whatever I want with a netbook, and I like having something slightly above bare bones (although if they put some sort of super-fast custom Linux OS on one of these and upped the memory and storage while keeping the design... hello Dolly!).
One thing that these would absolutely be awesome for would be public libraries. If you can do web-apps on a box that costs the library maybe 100-200 dollars per pop, and isn't handicapped in the speed department then it would be terrific. The last system I worked at experimented with low profile Asus machines, but they just couldn't do the multitasking necessary for someone watching a YouTube playlist in the background while playing Farmville.
But, if you had a web specialized box that had durable construction, and was less susceptible to viruses, then this would be the perfect solution for libraries. Do what Microsoft did in the 90s and give these suckers away. Hell, spend a week writing a few custom applications and put time keeping software and something like Steadystate (something that restores the machine to its original boot state) on there, and then market them specifically to libraries. You simultaneously sell your OS to the masses, who might otherwise not really see the point, and you help out public libraries. I suppose it's dangerous to invite Google in the door in the first place, but I think that this could be a good relationship.
The people who go to the computer lab at a public library might be the very type of person who would be your target market for the Chrome netbook. Someone who JUST wants to check the internet, is on a limited budget, and may not be incredibly tech savvy. If you can sell them a cheap browser in a box where all they need is a data plan, then they would happily buy it. Subsidized library access terminals would be a pretty good way to advertise it.
posted by codacorolla at 8:22 AM on December 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
One thing that these would absolutely be awesome for would be public libraries. If you can do web-apps on a box that costs the library maybe 100-200 dollars per pop, and isn't handicapped in the speed department then it would be terrific. The last system I worked at experimented with low profile Asus machines, but they just couldn't do the multitasking necessary for someone watching a YouTube playlist in the background while playing Farmville.
But, if you had a web specialized box that had durable construction, and was less susceptible to viruses, then this would be the perfect solution for libraries. Do what Microsoft did in the 90s and give these suckers away. Hell, spend a week writing a few custom applications and put time keeping software and something like Steadystate (something that restores the machine to its original boot state) on there, and then market them specifically to libraries. You simultaneously sell your OS to the masses, who might otherwise not really see the point, and you help out public libraries. I suppose it's dangerous to invite Google in the door in the first place, but I think that this could be a good relationship.
The people who go to the computer lab at a public library might be the very type of person who would be your target market for the Chrome netbook. Someone who JUST wants to check the internet, is on a limited budget, and may not be incredibly tech savvy. If you can sell them a cheap browser in a box where all they need is a data plan, then they would happily buy it. Subsidized library access terminals would be a pretty good way to advertise it.
posted by codacorolla at 8:22 AM on December 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
Proprietary hardware tailored for niche software, with limited reuse prospects, pitched to a crowd that views getting the newest gadget as a competitive sport? Gee, sign me up for this year's "kitchen internet appliance."
posted by FormlessOne at 8:31 AM on December 19, 2010
posted by FormlessOne at 8:31 AM on December 19, 2010
otherthings_, why don't you just turn on sticky keys?
posted by shponglespore at 2:05 PM on December 19, 2010
posted by shponglespore at 2:05 PM on December 19, 2010
So, why are comics lettered in all caps anyway?
Makes lettering easier when you draw the guides for the letters out. With all-caps, you don't have to worry where the letter sits on the line, as they all take up roughly the same amount of space in the same space.
Lowercase is also traditionally used for whispering, but that's after-the-fact.
posted by griphus at 2:58 PM on December 19, 2010
Makes lettering easier when you draw the guides for the letters out. With all-caps, you don't have to worry where the letter sits on the line, as they all take up roughly the same amount of space in the same space.
Lowercase is also traditionally used for whispering, but that's after-the-fact.
posted by griphus at 2:58 PM on December 19, 2010
Does your keyboard not have two control keys?
Sure. And both require contorting your pinkies to hit if you're typing from the home row.
posted by kmz at 8:34 PM on December 19, 2010
Sure. And both require contorting your pinkies to hit if you're typing from the home row.
posted by kmz at 8:34 PM on December 19, 2010
Speaking of keyboard keys, the enter key fell off my laptop recently and I glued it to the front door. It says "enter" on the top and "return" on the bottom, thus absolving me of the need to say hospitable things to visitors. Very useful key.
posted by staggering termagant at 6:08 AM on December 20, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by staggering termagant at 6:08 AM on December 20, 2010 [2 favorites]
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