🚀 go-pugleaf

These questions are specifically addressed to the people from Apple,
though I'd also like to hear others' opinion on the same subject.


Background:
  Judging from the pictures of the MacPortable on the cover of BYTE,
  October issue, its keyboard layout differs from that of a standard ADB
  one - as well as from the recommended ISO standard.  The second
  command key to the right of the space bar seems to be gone, possibly
  replaced by a second option-key (couldn't read the legend properly)
  that, alas, has been shrunk in size from 1.5 to 1-key-width module -
  both of them in fact.  The current arrow-key layout of non-extended
  keyboards with horizontal placement for the left and right-direction
  keys, vertical for the up/ down-movement ones has been replaced by a
  single line of four arrow keys in a row, below the (now larger)
  rightmost shift key.

  While these changes from IMHO the present well-functioning ADB key
  layout might (*only*) take some time to get used to for someone that
  is migrating portable-wards I fail to see the justification for moving
  the <key between leftmost shift and Z> out to a position between the
  (now the only one) command key and the space bar.  Besides being a
  violation of the recommended ISO keyboard layout standard that makes
  it harder to use the MacPortable in multi-hardware environments it
  simply "gets in the way" of touch-accessing (ie, no peeking) there
  residing option and command keys.

  The <ctrl> key seems also to have been moved from the present (on my
  Swedish SE keyboard) position in the lower left corner up to a level
  above the shift key, switching positions with the caps-lock key.
  Though the latter's relative importance (based on frequency of usage)
  in no way matches its normal, prime position nor the physical size -
  usually larger than the shift key - its replacement is another
  needlessly reintroduced step backwards as far as I am concerned.
  Besides that, the <ctrl> key's ISO-defined, usual placement at the
  very physically-felt boundary of the keyboard rectangle makes it more
  easily accessible than from the new position above the left shift key.


Question:
  Is the keyboard on the BYTE cover just an early, pre-production, model
  or is it a conscious try by Apple to redefine the present, by-and-
  large ISO-compliant ADB keyboard layout?

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