On Thursday 30 November 2006 23:17, phantom21@mindspring.com wrote:
Some years ago I wanted a keyboard for a non-IBM computer which had the same solidity and tactile feel. I researched and purchased a Northgate keyboard. The base was metal, not plastic, it was heavy, it had the tactile feel, and it had two other things I wanted: I could switch the positions of the alt and ctrl keys and - using dip switches in the base - tell it which keys were which, and it had the function keys down the left side of the keyboard and the across the top.
Unfortunately, after many good years of service the keyboard doesn't work properly anymore. I eventually had to place an adapter to go from old style keyboard port to ps/2 style keyboard port, but that didn't help.
I would love to get another keyboard like that again for my main desktop workstation.
I have an old Northgate like the one you described. It still works great. I do use an AT-PS2 adapter. Quoting from PC World: Northgate is long gone, but the Northgate keyboard has been resurrected by Creative Vision Technologies. The company's $189 Avant Stellar has the same great feel as the OmniKey, along with features that let me get things done fast, starting with two sets of function keys--12 across the top and another 12 in a double row down the left side. The keys on the side make it a breeze to touch-type Ctrl, Alt, and function-key combinations in Windows, Word, and other programs. For example, I can do a Shift-F7 spelling check or close an app with Alt-F4 while blindfolded. The Avant Stellar allows me to remap any key to any other key. For instance, I much prefer having the Ctrl key to the left of the letter 'A', exactly where God and IBM (no longer synonymous) first thought it should go. Très cool, non? I can also create short macros that let one key represent many keystrokes. The Avant Stellar uses a PS/2 connection and works with all versions of Windows. http://www.cvtinc.com/products/keyboards/menu.htm Bryan *************************************** Powered by Kubuntu Linux 6.06 KDE 3.5.2 KMail 1.9.1 This is a Microsoft-free computer Bryan S. Tyson bryantyson@earthlink.net *************************************** -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org