Re: Laptop suggestions?

On Wed, 2008-10-22 at 13:31 -0700, Jeremy Chadwick wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 01:06:20PM -0700, Nate Eldredge wrote:
> > On Wed, 22 Oct 2008, Gary Kline wrote:
> >
> >> On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 01:06:29PM +0200, Dag-Erling Sm?rgrav wrote:
> >>> martinko <[email protected]> writes:
> >>>> I have always thought that Fn key in left most bottom corner of the
> >>>> keyboard is, especially for programmers, a very bad idea.  :-(
> >>>
> >>> Seconded.  Worse still, on my Lenovo T60, if the Fn key is held down
> >>> longer than a fraction of a second, it generates an input event which
> >>> just happens to correspond to Gnome's default key binding for the "next
> >>> track" function in media players...
> >>
> >> 	I've seen that Fn key, but don't know what it is for.  What? you press
> >> 	it, then follow with the integers [ 1, 2, 3 ... ]?   At any rate, maybe
> >> 	you can remap the key with ~/.xmodmaprc.
> >
> > Fn is usually used on laptop keyboards to allow two logical keys to share 
> > a single physical key.  For example, see the keyboard pictured at
> > http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/3415.jpg .  On the extreme lower  
> > right is a key with "->" in white and "End" in blue.  Pressing it by  
> > itself sends the keycode corresponding to an ordinary keyboard's "->" 
> > key. Holding Fn and pressing that key sends the keycode corresponding to 
> > an ordinary keyboard's "End" key.  On many keyboards, pressing Fn by 
> > itself sends no keycode at all, so it cannot be remapped.
> >
> > It is also sometimes used to control hardware features which on a desktop 
> > machine might have a different interface.  For instance, on the laptop  
> > pictured, holding Fn and pressing F6 would increase the screen 
> > brightness, probably without sending a keycode.  A desktop machine would 
> > probably have a button on the monitor itself to do this.

Thanks for clearing up a back-of-mind mystery since I bought my 600E in
2003;
I kept hitting the "Fn" for the ^ key, and *nothing happened* so I had
to re-type the control sequence.  It is an ill-planned layout and I'm
sure that 'BM has heard about it from us hacker types.  --Why this is
the best list in the (known) universe.  Seriously.

> 
> I always figured "Fn" was a good name for the key, given that it
> resembles the expletive that comes forth from my mouth when intending to
> hit Control.

That ain't that much of a joke, Jeremy.  unless I'm at my desk with
wrist-rest I can barely reach the back keys. [shoulder problems].  So
far I've invented around 7--maybe 8--new profanities.

BTW, if that jpeg is a Lenovo, is that a scratch-and-sniff pad below the
mouse buttons? (The TPad's *did* need a redesign, but for me, the
trakmouse/trakstick/<<whatever>> was perfect.  My left paw went right
there.) ...FWIW, I just bought a G41 (3.06GHz) pre-Lenovo. 

gary


> 
> http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/9328.jpg
> 
> ;-)
> 

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