What's A 'Scroll Lock' And Why Is It On My Keyboard?

Jeff Bauer writes "Today's article in The Straight Dope explains all the weird keys that come with standard PC keyboards. Now if someone could just explain what the 'Alt Graph' key does on my Sun keyboard, enlightement would be at hand ..."

Comments

Re:real application!

[mattACK]

Also, in WinXP or higher, you can pipe text into the copy buffer. I use this all the time.

type reallybigfile.txt | clip

More stupid cmd tricks -

for /r c:\ %i in (*.jpg) do @echo %i %~ni %~di

-OR-

mountvol c: /d

Don't try the last one unless you save your open files. And yes, the system will let you unmount the system drive.

15 fnc, 4 cmd, 9 movement, and 5 misc keys

[fermion]

Some one tell me how we ended up three control keys. On Windows machines we have the window key, the control key, and the alt key. On Macs we have the Apple/Command/Flower key, the option/alt key and the control key. Of course, on most machines we have a ESC key, which is really there to escape out of, or switch, modes, but has been given other weird functions such as escaping out of application or whatever.

In fact the alt/option key is really just a replacement for the escape key, except one has to be dexterous enough to hold two keys down at once to use it.

And lets not even get started with delete/backspace key and the del key.

Just looking at my keyboard, which has as nearly as many function/command keys as character keys, I wonder if bloat stated with the keyboard and expanded into the software. I mean it looks cool and hi tech and all, but who needs to look hi tech in the 21st century?

Re:15 fnc, 4 cmd, 9 movement, and 5 misc keys

[freshmkr]

Please, that's nothing. Check out this keyboard from an old Symbolics Lisp machine.

Yeah, that's right. Wanna know what happens when you type Hyper-Super-Meta-Control-Symbol-Shift-Square? So do I...

See also space-cadet keyboard.

True story

[tmoertel]

About fifteen years ago while working for a defense contractor, I happened to be present while a DEC service technician was inspecting one of the many on-site Vaxen as part of a "preventative-maintenance" contract. This particular machine was running Ultrix, DEC's then-favored flavor of Unix, and the sysadmin and I were standing by while the inspection took place.

At one point in the inspection, the technician had to monitor the machine from a boot-up state, and so he rebooted the machine. The only problem was, the machine didn't come back up. Instead, it hung early in the boot process, leaving the distinct impression on the observers that the technician had hosed up a perfectly good -- and very expensive -- minicomputer.

Apparently, the same impression was left on the technician, because he started sweating. A lot. He tried rebooting the machine again, obviously unsure of what the hell he had done to land in his present, miserable condition and just as obviously wanting desperately to be released from it. The machine hung up again. More sweat. Another attempt. Same thing: Hang. Then he opened the case and peered inside. He was clearly grasping at straws. The sweat started to bead on his forehead.

Eventually, after about fifteen minutes of increasingly distressing diagnostic procedures, consulting the LEDs, and hand wringing, he gave up: "You've got a bad motherboard. I'll have to call in for a swap." He half ran away from the uncomfortable scene to make his phone call.

While he was gone, the sysadmin busted out laughing. Then he pointed at the keyboard on the console VT320. The Scroll Lock LED was lit. The sysadmin said that the technician must have hit it earlier and never took it off before rebooting. When the kernel tried to send boot-up messages to the console, the console wouldn't accept them, and so the kernel blocked, waiting for the Scroll Lock to be released!

A few minutes later, the technician returned, looking only a bit less nervous. In his best it's-under-control voice: "Yeah, we'll have that new board out right away. No problem." The sysadmin's reply: "Great! I'm sure glad we have the preventative-maintenance contract, because I bet those boards are plenty expensive. I'd hate to pick up the tab for one of them." After a few precious moments of letting that thought sink in, the sysadmin "noticed" the scroll-lock situation: "Hey, isn't the scroll lock on? Let's just see what happens if I ..." He then tapped the keyboard.

And the Vax booted right up.

True.