🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <13@ark1.nswc.navy.mil> dsill@relay.nswc.navy.mil (David Sill) writes:
>The best keyboard proposal I've heard consists of defining a standard
>hardware/software interface between the terminal or computer and the
>"keyboard".

The two keyboard interfaces I'm acquainted with are PC and ADB, both
of which are serial, but with different protocols.  Both expect the
keyboard to generate different codes for key-down and key-up, which
allows any key to be a shift (a feature which is not very well
supported in the PC or Mac software).

ADB handles arbitrary devices (e.g. mice); the PC can be made to do
the same by mapping them into keystrokes or modifying the keyboard
driver to handle more scancodes.

>Most equipment would come with a "standard" qwerty keyboard, but third
>party vendors would supply various alternatives including smart
>keyboards, keyboards with built-in trackballs, digitizing tablets,
>voice recognition boxes, handicap input devices (like the one Stephen
>Hawking uses), etc.

This is done more with ADB than PC, but there are plenty of alternate
PC keyboards, some of which DO have things like trackballs on them.

>Serious hacks would carry their keyboards around with them from
>machine to machine replacing whatever keyboard was provided.  They'd
>never have to worry about adjusting to a different keyboard.

What I'd like to see is a little box I can carry around with either a
keyboard or a portable PC that lets it emulate arbitrary keyboards and
do arbitrary remapping on the keys.  To be really general you'd have
to be able to program it to handle the oddballs, like Apollo and Sun,
as well as PC's and Macs.

For things like PC's you'd want the ability to map mouse motion and
buttons into different keystrokes for different programs; this would
require some smarts on the PC side.

>I don't know much about Apple's Desktop Bus, but it may be something
>like what I'm talking about.  If so, it sure seems like some third
>party vendors are missing an opportunity.  Can anyone familiar with
>ADB comment on this?

ADB is sort of in the right direction, but because it's Apple it has
all the usual problems:  small market, high price, and weird problems
(e.g. if you unplug your keyboard you risk blowing up your Mac,
because the ADB also includes the "on" button!)  Also the CPU has to
poll it--no interrupts.

>-- 
>-Dave (dsill@relay.nswc.navy.mil)


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