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Where is the Any Key?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the i-always-wondered dept.

ricembr noted that compaq has finally provided a FAQ to the world to ask that long standing question where is the any key? Pray that this was added to the FAQ as a joke, and not in response to legitimate need ;)

5 of 369 comments (clear)

  1. Re:It's Likely True by Scrameustache · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Of course, the any key one is a bit of a mystery. Not so much because I don't think people would ask that question, but rather becuase it's been years since I've seen that asked (usually it's the "click OK to continue").

    I still see it, and I find it very annoying, because its such a lie! The SHIFT key doesn't count, neither does ESCAPE...

    "Press ANY key...no, not that one...no, not that one either...any key except the ones that don't count...keep trying..."

    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

  2. Don't confuse stupid with unfamiliar by dsfox · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why shouldn't the bigger one be able to hold either? You just happen to know it doesn't.

  3. It is a coding bug by tgibney · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have always considered "Press any key to continue" a bug for two reasons.
    1) not any key will work (i.e Shift, Control etc.)
    2) there is much easier answer.

    The proper message is "Press a key to continue" because the worst they will do is press "a"

  4. Hate to say it, but there's a need by dacarr · · Score: 4, Insightful
    There are people who use the internet who:

    * QED, need to know where the any key is
    * think the internet is operated by Microsoft or AOL
    * believe the internet is solely comprised of HTTP (my brother could be once quoted as saying "that's not the internet I use", when he spotted me using a prompt based FTP client; he's since become more clueful)
    * don't understand that not everybody runs Microsoft products
    * don't realize that an "illegal operation" is not going to get you into legal trouble
    * buy from spammers
    * think the "hard drive" is the case in which the components of their computer resides in, rather than a small box the size of two decks of cards
    * must call the local BOFH to turn on their computer daily

    In other words, users are idiots.

    --
    This sig no verb.
  5. Don't need a FAQ, just fix the prompts and docs by satch89450 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When I had a product out in the field, I had seen the "any" key problem enough that I decided not to do that. In every prompt, I specify exactly which key to depress. The documentation made it clear that a specific key was to be depressed (pressed firmly and then released quickly).

    We never got a service call on that point. EVER.

    We DID get one call from a technician who said that he pressed the wrong key and it seemed to work anyway. I assured him that he was just fine and to continue working with the product.

    As you can guess, the CODE didn't require a specific key, but the documentation and prompt specified one. I also didn't allow type-ahead on those prompts so that there wasn't a problem with astonishing results to clueless users who didn't release the key fast enough. I also had code to wait until the keyboard stopped sending characters before putting up the prompt "Depress the C key to continue."