🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <784476806snz@bierman.demon.co.uk>, tim@bierman.demon.co.uk (Tim Bierman) says:
>
>In article <39opu8$mk7@oldklatu.interserv.net>
>           mburton@mortimer.keytronic.com "Michael Burton" writes:
>
>> Is my face red!  I tried the left shift-f-t combination on our 122-key keyboard and
>> it worked fine, so I assumed that this combination would work for most of them. Wrong! We
>>  manufacture the Microsoft Natural Keyboard, and it exhibits this problem, too.
>> Take Gateway's advice and don't press all three keys at once.
>
>This must be a case of cheese-paring by the manufacturers. AFAIK, to get a
>matrix with full n-key roll-over you need a diode in series with every
>switch ... that's 102 diodes, at maybe 0.2p each in the quantities they use,
>but by the time everyone has added their markup it would probably add about
>5 quid to the final price.

It's a little hard to pare .5 oz of cheese off of a piece that weighs .3 oz. 
In U.S. terms, if the diodes cost .02 cents a piece, then that's 2.04 added 
to our costs. Since our margin (profit) on most keyboards is less than 2 
dollars, we sould be selling the things at a loss.  Maybe we could make up 
the difference in volume, eh?<G>

If we attempted to pass the cost of the diodes along to our (OEM) customers, 
they would take their business to NMB or whoever, who would sell them a 
keyboard WITHOUT THE DIODES.

I don't know if you've noticed, but computer prices NEVER go up.  They always 
go down.  Where do you think that reduction comes from?  Some reduction in 
the cost of some parts, for sure, but mostly they tell their suppliers (like 
keyboard manufacturers) "This time we don't want a $14 keyboard, we want
one for $11.  If you can't give it to us, maybe NMB or Alps can".

	Mike