Sun is preparing a VT220-style keyboard -- watch out!

[John Ioannidis]

I was going through /usr/include/sundev/kbd.h on my brand-new 3/80 running
4.0.3, and guess what I found:

In the block of keyboard type definitions, between KB_SUN4 and KB_ASCII
there is the following line:

#define	KB_VT220	0x05		/* VT220 Style keyboard */

Yes! From the people who brought you the Type-4 keyboard, with the delete
key out of harm's way, the backquote key where a larger return key should
be (so that you exercise your right pinky), and the completely useless (in
a Un*x environment) backslash/pipe key conveniently located in the top row
of the function keys...

	... coming soon ...

		... at a toy store near you ...


			THE VT-220 STYLE KEYBOARD!

(trumpets, confetti, dancers, fireworks)

Does everybody agree with me that Sun should institute mandatory drug
testing among its employees?

And to add to the Type-4 keyboard discussion, here's a quote from the
SunOS 4.0.3 Release Manual. Chapter 8 is a one-page chapter entitled
`Type-4 Keyboard'. In it we find out that...

``Current advantages of the Type-4 keyboard over the Type-3 keyboard are:

* The Type-4 keyboard has three more software-programmable function
keys that the type-3 keyboard.
* The Type-4 keyboard passes standards for electronic emissions in
several countries.''

That's all, folks. This is why they did it. Not even to be Big-Blue or
Macintrash compatible. Not even to annoy us. NO. Three more function keys.
Now, ain't that great! Everybody I know was complaining about the small
number of function keys in the sun keyboard. Now they should be happy. And
the numeric keypad doesn't even work as a numeric keypad.  But since
that's documented, I guess it's OK.

Maybe if all of us stopped ordering suns for a month or so...

/ji

#include <appropriate disclaimers>

In-Real-Life: John Ioannidis
E-Mail-To: <ji at cs.columbia.edu> (preferred), or <ji at walkuere.altair.fr>
P-Mail-To: GIP-Altair, Dom de Voluceau BP105, Rocquencourt 78153 Le Chesnay, FR
V-Mail-To: +33 1 39635227, +33 1 39635417

		... It's all greek to me