| Article: |
Why Unix Matters to Mac OS X | |
| Subject: | Apple Laptop Keyboards Unsuitable for Unix Users | |
| Date: | 2002-10-09 22:58:16 | |
| From: | anonymous2 | |
|
Apple laptops are effectively unusable for unix users.
I am a long-time Unix user. That means I need to have the Ctrl key to the left of the A key. This is a genuine need, not merely a want; it is based upon ergonomics.
Apple desktop keyboards are now all USB. They are all OK. The CapsLock key can be re-mapped into a Ctrl key.
Unfortunately, even in this modern age, all Apple laptops have built-in ADB keyboards. The ADB keyboard is broken-by-design. It is, in general, not possible to remap the CapsLock key into a Ctrl key.
There are some exceptions, but they are horrible kludges. They are
Apple is (currently) ignoring Unix users! This is not merely speculation on my part. In an on-going email exchange I am having with an Apple employee (whom I won't name) in their marketing department, the Apple marketing person directly stated to me that Apple was catering to their historic Mac customers, and is purposely ignoring the Unix market. He also claimed that Apple would soon start paying more attention to the Unix market. I won't hold my breath. Apple has been ignoring Unix users for more than 12 years. I expect that trend to continue. (Also note that my Apple contact indicated that Macs would never ship with a 3-button mouse, even though Apple intended to port almost all X-window software and deliver it either on a CD/DVD or installed directly on each Mac's hard drive. How Unix friendly is a 1-button mouse with X programs that often require 3 buttons?)
Apple has now lost two opportunities to sell me hardware. I really wanted an Apple laptop for their superior battery life, and for the PowerPC with Altivec CPU. (The Altivec is vastly superior to the |
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More to the point, the general public now has a user-friendly, incredibly stable, incredibly fast, incredibly strong workhorse, in the Macintosh product line. The stability alone is worth the price of admission. And, at your fingr tips are terrific programming tools, if the individual is so inclined. Apple has done what the Linux revolution failed to do: Pierce the consumer desktop market.
To then paraphrase my orginal statement: "You can most of the people most of the time, but you can please that one UNIX die-hard."