News about Apple and/or Macintosh keyboards (and maybe mice too?)

Mac OS X keyboard discussion is at the top of this file.

Things relevant to older Apple products are toward the end.  ...RSS

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Mapping MacBook Pro keyboard in Windows (Boot Camp, etc.)

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1220

Windows Vista/XP mapping

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1167

Disassembly/cleaning/repair of Apple Pro (M7803) keyboard

    http://technology.niagarac.on.ca/people/bgracey/prokeyboardrepair.html

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 13:12:10 +0200 (MEST)
From: Constantin Gonzalez
Subject: Re: Go to Folder keyboard shortcut

Hi,

> directory. Apparently someone at Apple had the bright idea to change in 10.2
> the keyboard shortcut for "Go to Folder" from shift-cmd-~ to shift-cmd-G.
> I suppose the rationale was to make the shortcut less "unix-y" and more
> "mac-like", and in the grand scheme of things this is pretty minor as I'll
> eventually retrain my fingers and get over it, but for God's sake why change
> a shortcut that people have already grown to know and love?

please note that the "~" [tilde] character does not have its own key in other
language-keyboards besides US. For instance, in German keyboards, you need
to use Alt-N to get a "~". I suppose Apple's retionale here was it to make
this shortcut better available to non-US users. And as one of those, I really
like the more intuitive "G", as in "Goto folder" :).

Regards,
Constantin
-- 
Constantin Gonzalez
Kirchheim-Heimstetten

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2002 21:06:08 -0400
Organization: New York
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Message-ID: <trussler-D33007.21060819062002@reader1.panix.com>
References: <X6XP8.93845$6m5.83219@rwcrnsc51.ops.asp.att.net>
    <aepp2p$s0f$1@cronkite.temple.edu>
From: Tom Russler <trussler@panix.com>
Subject: Re: Can a Mac use a PC keydoard or KVM switch?. . . .

In article <aepp2p$s0f$1@cronkite.temple.edu>, stan@temple.edu wrote:

>Scott R. <scottr_3@nospam-excite.com> wrote:
>>
>> Any way to pull this off?
>
>Check Belkin's web site. This shouldn't be a problem. I use a Mac
>on a KVM switch (not Belkin) that shares a keyboard and monitor with
>a PC and a Unix system. It works fine.

I just got a Dr. Bott Moniswitch to use with a PC and a Mac G4, but
a PC keyboard has no way to open and close the Superdrive tray, and
the PC doesn't work with a Mac keyboard. Have you solved this problem?

-- 
Tom Russler
trussler@panix.com

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Driver to allow use of Microsoft Natural Keyboard with a Macintosh via USB

    http://www.manual.com/transmission/msnkpbeta.html

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

One of the Type 6 USB keyboards sold by Sun Microsystems for use with
SunBlade systems can be connected USB-equipped Macintoshes and used under
OS X.  These Sun Type 6 keyboards can be ordered with the "Unix layout",
which puts the Control key to the left of A and CapsLock out of the way.

Also, a USB driver for remapping Control and CapsLock is available at:

     http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~jfieber/osx/

(as of December 2002)

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Message-ID: <6C4A7252-F9EB-11D7-AFE0-000393AEDC68>
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 18:59:16 -0500
To: Wayne N.
From: Charles J.
Subject: Re: Sun USB keyboard map

I've used a Sun USB keyboard on my iMac. (I also used a Sun 3-button 
mouse successfully.)

The F-12 key works as an Eject key, but you have to hold it down for
at least a second or so, otherwise it doesn't do anything.  I never
found a solution for Volume and Mute keys.


 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Long lament about Apple keyboard designs:

    http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/user/view/cs_msg/10851

Article: Top Ten Mac OS X Tips for Unix Geeks 
Date: 2002-10-25 18:13:22
From: anonymous 1
Subject: Apple Laptop Keyboards Unsuitable for Unix Users 

Apple laptops are effectively unusable for unix users.

I am a long-time Unix user. That means I need to have the Ctrl key to
the left of the A key. This is a genuine need, not merely a want; it is
based upon ergonomics. The Ctrl key is heavily used in unix, and it must
be easily accessable. It cannot be off in the lower left corner of the
keyboard where it is difficult to get at, and where it distorts the
position of your left hand such that you can't easily type other keys
while holding the Ctrl key down.

Apple desktop keyboards are now all USB. They are all OK. The CapsLock
key can be re-mapped into a Ctrl key.

Unfortunately, even in this modern age, all Apple laptops have built-in
ADB keyboards. The ADB keyboard is broken-by-design. It is, in general,
not possible to remap the CapsLock key into a Ctrl key.  There are some
exceptions, but they are horrible kludges.

    http://lists.debian.org/debian-powerpc/2002/debian-powerpc-200202/msg00305.html
    http://www.VersionTracker.com/moreinfo.fcgi?id=12106&db=mac

    [additional discussion truncated]

 ..............................................................................

Two responses:

Article: Top Ten Mac OS X Tips for Unix Geeks 
Subject: Apple Laptop Keyboards Unsuitable for Unix Users
Date: 2002-11-05 21:17:13
From: mstillwell

Can't you use uControl, http://www.gnufoo.org/ucontrol/ucontrol.html?


Article: Top Ten Mac OS X Tips for Unix Geeks 
Subject: Re: Apple Laptop Keyboards Unsuitable for Unix Users
Date: 2002-10-29 10:02:35
From: anonymous 2

Use 'dumpkeys' to dump the keymap out to a file. Then edit the file and
switch the scancodes of CapsLock = X, and Control = Y around. Then use
the program 'loadkeys' to load that keymap back into mem. This will put
the keys back into the right places.

<this is what I did with my iBook2, it works fine, and yes, the battery
life is great.>

For a 'UNIX user', you should know by now that the magic is in the
software. The hardware is secondary.


 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac, comp.sys.mac.general, comp.sys.mac.misc,
    comp.sys.mac.system
Message-ID: <nospam-004CD7.15194814022004@newsr1.tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 20:19:47 GMT
From: RX <nospam@nospam.com>
Subject: Media Key ASCII equivalent and/or emulation software for Mac OS X?

Hi,
I have the following setup:

A pmac g5 running OS X 10.3 and a PC attached to a Power Reach ADC/DVI 
KVM.  On the kvm I am using a cheapo USB KB and MS optical intellimouse.  
Every key works fine on the mac side except for the media key (DVD drive 
eject key) which on this keyboard there seems to be no equivalent 
comination that I can find.  I wanted to spare my beautiful mac keyboard 
the punishment of being used in games (pc side) so I opted not to have 
it on the kvm.  I do however have it attached to the back of my Cinema 
display so that when switched to the mac I can at least eject the dvd 
drawer.  It's taking up deskspace being used as nothing but an ejection 
key, so my question is:  How can I emulate the media key on a pc 
keyboard, or send a signal to the mac via software (such as perhaps 
running a program on the bsd side that ejects the tray)?

TIA - Any help is appreciated.

RX

 ..............................................................................

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac, comp.sys.mac.general, comp.sys.mac.misc,
    comp.sys.mac.system
References: <nospam-004CD7.15194814022004@newsr1.tampabay.rr.com>
Message-ID: <nospam-39FB5A.15365614022004@newsr1.tampabay.rr.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 20:36:54 GMT
From: RX <nospam@nospam.com>
Subject: Re: Media Key ASCII equivalent and/or emulation software for Mac OS X?


I finally found the answer, pressing and holding the F12 key will do the 
same thing as the media key for those that need the info.  Thanks.

RX

 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20020222094159459
points to

http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~jfieber/osx/
"MacOS X Notes: Remapping the Caps Lock to Control"


 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc, comp.sys.mac.hardware.misc
References: <Xns950989A29B9C7slorcomcastnet@130.133.1.4>
    <sdfisher-20A363.14202815062004@news.va.shawcable.net>
    <Xns9509B1F659FC0slorcomcastnet@130.133.1.4> <40D15E36.7000901@ibm.net>
    <D.P.C.Sankey-397B71.15542818062004@newton.cc.rl.ac.uk>
    <Xns951192DCD7B42slorcomcastnet@130.133.1.4>
Message-ID: <40DA8873.40705@ibm.net>
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 08:53:23 +0100
From: Bob McLellan <bobmcl@ibm.net>
Subject: Re: ADB to PS/2 conversion?

Slor wrote:
>
> Despite all prevention efforts, David Sankey <D.P.C.Sankey@rl.ac.uk> wrote
> in news:D.P.C.Sankey-397B71.15542818062004@newton.cc.rl.ac.uk:
> >
> >Maybe it's not an issue with US keyboards, but certainly with UK
> >keyboards the Belkin, both the F1D080 and its USB cousin F5U119, seems
> >to do a positional mapping rather than functional mapping between
> >keyboards (alt and command interchanged, random selection of punctuation
> >characters scrambled).  That is, when you press a key, you get the
> >keystroke of the key in that position on the Mac keyboard.
>
>
> Anyone know for sure whether this an issue with US keyboards as well?
> If not, it seems to be just what I'm looking for.
>
> Thanks

Well, I use a US keyboard and switch between Mac and PC with a F1D080.

I get by with the aid of a little sticker on the screen with the key
mappings on it. Some of the power/boot combinations are dodgy and there
is  abutton on the F1D080 which replaces the keyboard power button. This
works sometimes.

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Organization: CompuServe Interactive Services
Message-ID: <ato27r$iv1$1@ngspool-d02.news.aol.com>
References: <atl4al$k6e$1@ngspool-d02.news.aol.com>
    <tomstiller-7A6E4F.16284216122002@news.comcast.giganews.com>
Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 12:42:29 -0800
From: Gene <gene_sorensen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Mac keyboard scan codes

"Tom Stiller" <tomstiller@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:tomstiller-7A6E4F.16284216122002@news.comcast.giganews.com...
> In article <atl4al$k6e$1@ngspool-d02.news.aol.com>,
>  "Gene" <gene_sorensen@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Can anyone direct me to a list of Mac keyboard scan codes (and their
> > associated keys)? I can find this information on the web for a PC keyboard
> > but so far have not found it for the Mac.
> >
>
> Have a look at "AsyncKeys"; freeware available through VersionTracker.
>
> --
> Tom Stiller
> PGP fingerprint =  5108 DDB2 9761 EDE5 E7E3  7BDA 71ED 6496 99C0 C7CF


Hi Tom,

This what exactly what we needed. My colleague has it up and running and it
does what he needed. Thanks very much.

Best regards,
Gene

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Message-ID: <1fnb5pa.1hdp1d11oqpjdbN%eijkhout@cs.utk.edu>
References: <atl4al$k6e$1@ngspool-d02.news.aol.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 23:40:12 -0500
From: Victor Eijkhout <eijkhout@cs.utk.edu>
Subject: Re: Mac keyboard scan codes

Gene <gene_sorensen@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Can anyone direct me to a list of Mac keyboard scan codes (and their
> associated keys)? 

Doesn't that depend on the keyboard? Use "xev" from Xdarwin.

V.

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Date: 15 Dec 2002 04:46:15 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com/
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
Message-ID: <bbd29f5e.0212150446.7372f14f@posting.google.com>
References: <slrnau66i6.fgv.nuk@panix2.panix.com>
    <matt-2611020805590001@adsl-64-167-12-94.dsl.lsan03.pacbell.net>
From: Rich <richlove@carnation-software.com>
Subject: Re: making all the keyboard work in Terminal

matt@tidbits.com (matt neuburg) wrote in message
news:<matt-2611020805590001@adsl-64-167-12-94.dsl.lsan03.pacbell.net>...
> In article <slrnau66i6.fgv.nuk@panix2.panix.com>, nuk@panix.com wrote:
> 
> > Hello all,
> > 
> > I've been enjoying the heck out of using my eMac, especially w/ a lovely
> > BSD subsystem and after changing the shell to bash and all.  One main
> > thing ruining my Terminal use:  Some of the keys won't work in the
> > Terminal.  Specifically, the PageUp and PageDown keys don't work at all,
> > nor the Home and End keys.  Makes getting around some programs awfully
> > darn hard.  Is there something I need to do to get these to work?  It
> > *appears* that Apple keyed them to work w/ the Terminal scrollback
> > buffer, which is cute and all, but it kind of screws us folk using
> > command-line apps that have their own scrollback buffers tht need
> > PgUp/PgDn to navigate them (i.e. irssi).
> > 
> > Any ideas?
> 
> You could try turning on strict VT100 emulation and/or turning off
> scrollback. m.


Try MacWise version 10 for OS X

    http://www.macwise.com/

It lets you disable the page Up/Down keys so they don't try to use the
Mac's scroll bar.  Instead, the keys will send the proper emulation codes
for Page Up/Down. That option is in Preferences under the File Menu.


 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.portables
References: <8811f961.0212170345.603b58ec@posting.google.com>
Message-ID: <atna3a$40$1@mozo.cc.purdue.edu>  
Organization: Information Technology at Purdue
Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 13:50:34 +0000 (UTC) 
From: Dave Seaman <dseaman@no.such.host>
Subject: Re: Fonts in Terminal.app on TiBook

On 17 Dec 2002 03:45:10 -0800, Alistair Happencross wrote:
|
| I have my font in Terminal.app currently set to Monaco 10pt. My
| problem is that the bold fonts are so murky and ugly. There's just way
| too much "black ink", and a lot of the characters look like blobs. Is
| there are way I can get nice, crisp bold fonts without having to
| switch to an insanely large size?


Try turning on anti-aliasing in Terminal.  Choose Window Settings... and
look under Display.

Also open System Preferences -> General and select Font smoothing style:
Medium - best for Flat Panel.
  

--
Dave Seaman
Judge Yohn's mistakes revealed in Mumia Abu-Jamal ruling.
http://www.commoncouragepress.com/index.cfm?action=book&bookid=228  

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

References: <A6DC07B0-16AC-11D7-A3F8-000393A572A6@.com>
Message-ID: <3E14975E.1000303@.COM>
Date: Thu, 02 Jan 2003 11:47:42 -0800
To: Mike M. <dude>
Cc: Jonathan C., Michael D., Cheryl H.
From: David H.
Subject: Re: control and caps lock keys

Mike M. wrote:
>
> A very nice keyboard is the Happy Hacking from PFUCA.  They have is 
> available in both USB and a special Sun/Apple/PS2 version (I have 
> both, the latter is great when I go to client sites).  The Control key 
> is where it was meant to be and it has no CapsLock.  I've been using 
> them for years, very nice.
>
> Check them out at: http://shop.store.yahoo.com/pfuca-store/
>
> -mike
>
> On Monday, December 23, 2002, Jonathan C. wrote:
>>
>> BTW, are there any other options for "Unix" style USB keyboards?  
>> The Sun Type 6 feels a bit flimsy to me; I find that I can't reach 
>> top speed on it as easily as with others.
>>
>> I know that this is a long shot, but I thought I would ask!
>> Jon
>>
>> Michael D. wrote:
>>
>>> 2.  Borrow one of the Sun Type 6 USB keyboards for your Mac.  They
>>>     work just fine.  (If you order one, make sure you get the "Unix"
>>>     keyboard layout, not the US.)



My mileage varied with this keyboard from yours ...

I found it to be TOOOOO SMALLLLL to be useful.  They seem to *like* the 
idea of pressing the CONTROL key (or other modifier) to generate 
anything except for normal characters.  Me, I like the arrow keys, and 
PgUp/Down keys, and Home/End/Delete keys, and it was too jarring to have 
to press funky sequences just to get them.

My Happy Hacking keyboard was recently was donated to CRC
(http://www.crc.org/) along with the last of my WinTel/LinTel equipment
... I am now totally *switched* to Mac OS X (for  personal use; my work
computer is still a Win2k laptop, unfortunately).

- David

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Message-ID: <200307141628.h6EGSneg028551@hs-ecbg01-01>
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 2003 17:28:49 +0100 (BST)
To: mac-users
From: Dave Walker
Subject: Re: UK vs. US keyboards on Macintosh

>  Even the UK keyboard on our iMac is missing the # key.
>  Not that my code was ever that well commented anyway :-)
> 
>  One of my next purchases in the States is an iMac US keyboard.


Alt-3 works just fine as # [the octothorpe] on my TiBook.

Can't recall which kind person pointed this out to me...
 
Cheers,

-- 
Dave

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Message-ID: <xbp5smkkrx92.fsf@nm-ublm03-01>
References: <bpge4d$69c$1@news1nwk>
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 13:09:29 -0600
To: Erik V.
From: Anton R.
Subject: Re: Delete (PC version)?

Erik V. wrote:
>
> The delete key on my Mac works like a backspace key on a PC.
> The character to the left of the cursor is removed.  Occasionally,
> I want to delete the character to the right of the cursor, like the
> delete key on a PC works.  How do I do this?  Is there a modifier key
> combination or something?

The short answer is, it depends on your keyboard and your software.  :-)

Full-sized keyboards (like the Apple Pro keyboard) have a forward
delete key just above the arrow key cluster.

On newer PowerBooks, the Fn key acts as a modifier on the Delete key
to change it to forward-delete.

Some software (like BBEdit) recognizes shift-delete as a forward
delete key (or can be configured that way).

Hope this helps,

-- Anton

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Message-ID: <3FA0D95A.5090008@.Com>
Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 10:26:50 +0100
To: Joe C.
From: Madeleine L.
Subject: Re: Panther terminal problems

Joe wrote:
>>
>> [From my machine running Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther)],
>> when I telnet on to a Solaris server, I get this message:
>>
>> tcsh: using dumb terminal settings.
>>
>> After that, if I try to edit a file with "vi", I get this error:
>>
>> xterm-color: Unknown terminal type
>> I don't know what kind of terminal you are on--all I have is 'xterm-color'.
>> [Using open mode]
>>
>> And now vi will only display a line at a time. I have to keep hitting 
>> return to get the next line. Can anyone tell me what I need to fix?


In the "terminal preferences" set the terminal type to "vt100" or "xterm"
from the dropdown menu.  It has a default of "xterm-color".

You can  also change your shell to (for instance) /bin/bash.

Cheerio
Leine

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Message-ID: <2E9B2B97-0C24-11D8-ABB7-003065B7387E@.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 21:30:54 -0700
From: Scott Henry
Subject: Focus follows mouse in Panther...

The Terminal application in OSX Panther now allows focus-follows-mouse! 
Check the macosxhints story for the command to turn it on:

    http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20031029203936659

It only works in Terminal, not the whole system. However, if you read 
the comments below the story, you will find a command that turns on 
focus-follows-mouse for all X11 windows.

-sh

 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Message-ID: <20031119103441.34f534a5.itsme@127.0.0.1>
References: <3fba97cf$0$13288$626a54ce@news.free.fr>
    <181120032338273360%elliott@yrl.co.uk>
    <3fbb2b51$0$27017$626a54ce@news.free.fr>
Organization: bbp
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 10:34:41 +0100
From: Roland Barmettler <itsme@127.0.0.1>
Subject: Re: [OT] Mac OS X: system folder not found

Hello Guys
> >
> > Mac OS X 10.2.3 *is* worth the money. If only for Preview for
> > reading your PDF VMS manuals ;-) It is about 100 times faster
> > and has an excellent search.
> 
> 10.3 you mean. I'll consider the investment if I do not solve my
> problem by the end of this week.


Also a noticeable improvement is that the terminal emulator now
supports keymappings, so you can map yourself a "Do" key and more ;-)

Cheers, Roland

--
3rd Law of Computing:
        Anything that can go wr


 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps, soc.culture.polish, comp.sys.mac.misc,
    comp.fonts
Message-ID: <326b8e1c.0311232312.187c8091@posting.google.com>
Date: 23 Nov 2003 23:12:09 -0800
From: a984 <a984984@imap.cc>
Subject: (easy) Polish keyboard for Mac

if you have a Mac with the US style keyboard (so-called QWERTY) you
know Apple provided  Polish keyboards are a major pain in the butt to
use. For a much better solution download (free) this:

    http://www.sharemation.com/wg/Polish-Option.zip

PS. This new keyboard layout is of no use on any other keyboard
including those sold by Apple in Poland. The file is hosted on a
bandwidth limited server. Try later if it doesn't work for you first
time.

 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

    OSXFAQ Mac OS X UNIX Tip-of-the-Day
    by Adrian Mayo <adrian_mayo@osxfaq.com>

    Week 99 - Terminal Tricks (21 February 2005)


Monday - Re-size and Move with Escape Sequences
http://www.osxfaq.com/tips/unix-tricks/week99/monday.ws

Re-size and move a terminal window from the command line, or from a
script, using the following escape sequences.

Re-size to a specific number of rows and columns (e.g., 50 rows by
100 columns):

    $ echo -n "^[[8;50;100t"  

(Note: the sequence displayed as ^[ represents the escape character,
obtained by typing control-v then the 'esc' key.)

Re-size to the maximum screen width by giving columns as 0:

    $ echo -n "^[[8;50;0t"  

Re-size to the maximum screen height by giving rows as 0:

    $ echo -n "^[[8;0;100t"  

Move to a specific position (e.g., 10 pixels from the left, and
100 pixels from the top):

    $ echo -n "^[[3;10;100;t"  

When re-sizing to the maximum screen width and/or height, it is
advisable to position the screen at the top left:

    $ echo -n "^[[3;0;0;t^[[8;0;0t"



Tuesday - Define Aliases and Functions
http://www.osxfaq.com/tips/unix-tricks/week99/tuesday.ws

Define aliases and functions to move and resize.  For example, to make a
big screen use an alias:

(Bash)

    $ alias big='echo -n "^[[3;0;0;t^[[8;0;0t"'  

(tcsh)

    % alias big 'echo -n "^[[3;0;0;t^[[8;0;0t"'  

To size a screen use a Bash function or tcsh alias:

(Bash)

    $ sz ()
     > { 
     > echo -n "^[[8;$1;$2;t"
     > }  

(tcsh)

    alias sz 'echo -n "^[[8;\!:1;\!:2;t"'  

Then use:

    $ sz 50 100  $ sz 25 80      

These escape sequences work in both Apple's Terminal.app and X11 xterm.



Wednesday - Focus and Dock with Escape Sequences
http://www.osxfaq.com/tips/unix-tricks/week99/wednesday.ws

Move a window to the background or the foreground from the command line,
or within a script, using the following escape sequences.  (See Monday's
tip, too.)

    echo -n "^[[6t;"; sleep 5; echo -n "^[[5t;"  

The above command hides the terminal window, waits 5 seconds, then
brings it back into focus.  The 'sleep 5' part could be a script that
takes a while to run.  When the script completes the terminal window
will re-appear to let you know.

(Note: the sequence displayed as ^[ represents the escape character,
obtained by typing control-v then the 'esc' key.)

Move a window into the Dock.

    $ echo -n "^[[2t;"; sleep 5; echo -n "^[[5t;"  

The above command docks the window, then after 5 seconds brings it back
into focus.

These sequences can be places in bash/tcsh aliases - see Tuesday's tip.



Thursday - Terminal.app Nifty Features
http://www.osxfaq.com/tips/unix-tricks/week99/thursday.ws

Apple's Terminal.app has a few nifty features that you may or may not
have encountered. 

Split Screen.  Click the little 'split' icon situated top left above the
vertical scroll bar, then drag the horizontal divider to adjust the
top/bottom split ratio.  The top pane can be used as a scroll-back to
view and copy previous commands without disturbing the main window.

Drag and Drop.  Drag any file or folder (or multiple files and folders)
onto the terminal window and the full path name will be written to the
prompt line.  For example, to list the contents of a folder, type 'ls '
then drag the folder from the Finder onto the Terminal window and hit
return.

Set a background.  Most visual aspects of the terminal can be changed
from menu item Terminal::Window Settings, including setting a background
picture.  Alternatively Alt-drag a picture onto the Terminal window to
instantly set a background image.

Click to position cursor.  This option has to be enabled in menu item
Terminal::Windows Settings::Emulation.  Check 'Option click to position
cursor.  You can now option click anywhere on the current command line
to position the cursor at that point.  This also works in text editors
such as Pico and Vim.



http://www.osxfaq.com/tips/unix-tricks/week99/friday.ws
Friday - Alternative Terminals

The standard terminal for OS X is Apple's Terminal.app, but there are
many other alternatives.

If you have installed X11, you will have xterm.  Xterm is started
automatically when X11 starts up, and you can type...

    $ xterm &

...to get a new Xterm window.  (Remember to add the & otherwise the
first terminal will be locked running Xterm as a foreground task.)

Xterm is hugely configurable, as witnessed by 'man xterm'

Start new Xterm terminals with Command-N.  Select X11 menu
Applications::Customise to add new commands to the Applications menu. 
For example, add:

    Name:     xterm
    Command:  /usr/X11R6/bin/xterm  -sb -sl 5000 -rightbar -fg white -bg black -geometry 100x50+40+20
    Shortcut: n

Now Command-N will start a new Xterm window sized 100 columns by 50
rows, positioned (40,20) pixels from the top left of the screen
(-geometry 100x50+40+20).

'-fg white -bg black' sets white text on a black backgound.

'-sb -sl 5000 -rightbar' sets a scroll bar on the right-hand side, and a
scroll-back buffer of 5000 lines.

Xeyes is fun, watch the eyes watching your cursor.
Set up a customised command as follows:

    Name:     eyes
    Command:  /usr/X11R6/bin/xman -bothshown -notopbox
    Shortcut: whatever-you-want or blank

Xman is useful, a nice front end to the Unix manual.
Set up a customised command as follows:

    Name:     xman
    Command:  /usr/X11R6/bin/xman -bothshown -notopbox
    Shortcut: whatever-you-want or blank

iTerm is an alternative terminal.

    http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/10301

iTerm is a full featured terminal emulation program written for OS X
using Cocoa. It supports language encodings, VT100/ANSI/XTERM emulation
and many convenient GUI features.

ZTerm is useful if you need to talk via a serial or USB port
(to configure routers, for example).

    http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/6888

ZTerm is a terminal-emulation program for the Macintosh. In its day,
many people used it to connect to Bulletin Board Systems and download
files. Now we have the internet. Its still a useful utility for those
systems that only offer dialup connections and for connecting to devices
through a serial port, like many routers. For newer Macs that don't have
a normal serial port, ZTerm can talk to ports on USB to serial adapters,
through the appropriate driver software supplied with the adapter.


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Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
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Message-ID: <hnsngr-ya023180000404971224560001@news.sirius.com>
References: <333F5289.760D@ksts.seed.net.tw>
            <Pine.OSF.3.93.970402095811.11345B-100000@cosmail3.ctd.ornl.gov>
            <33432E9B.216F497@artsci.wustl.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: ppp016-sf5.sirius.com
Date: Fri, 04 Apr 1997 12:24:56 -0800
From: hnsngr@sirius.com (Ron Hunsinger)
Subject: Re: IBM PC vs. Apple ca. 1981

In article <33432E9B.216F497@artsci.wustl.edu>,
 Tom Stepleton <ssteplet@artsci.wustl.edu> wrote:
>
> Were not the lowercase modifications on early Apple IIs simply wires
> which allowed the Shift keys to complete a circuit in the game
> port/socket?


There was a lot more to the modification than that.

At a minimum, you had to:

    - provide a way for the keyboard input routine to sense the
      shift key (the wire you're thinking of, running from the keyboard
      to a rarely used input line on the game connector),

    - patch the keyboard input routine (in ROM!) to actually test the
      wire

    - replace the character generator ROM to display lower case
      rather than reverse video upper case

But a typical lower-case enhancement product went well beyond that. The
Videx Enhancer ][ that I installed on my Apple ][ involved the following:

    - a replacement for the keyboard encoder circuit board (the one
      under the keyboard) so it would handle the shift key itself,
      generating lower-case characters directly. It also implemented
      a number of other enhancements, including keyboard repeat, safer
      reset, a type-ahead buffer, and macros.

    - a replacement for the character generator ROM, to display lower case

    - a wire from a rarely used OUTPUT pin on the game port back to the
      keyboard, so a program could send data to the keyboard. This was
      used to upload macros to the keyboard. For example, you could
      reprogram the keyboard to use a Dvorak layout.

    - instructions for how to patch the ROM so it stopped insisting on
      translating the lower case characters coming from the keyboard
      back to upper case.

You're probably raising your eyebrows about that "patching the ROM"
business. But lots of Apple ][ users had some kind of language card
installed. These cards had RAM that could be mapped into the memory space
normally used for ROM. You could load something else (the 'other' BASIC,
for example) into that RAM, disable writes, and use it as ROM. If you had
such a card, "patching the ROM" amounted to patching the disk file used to
load the card at startup.

The manual also contained instructions for how to program a 2716 (PROM)
which you could then plug in in place of the standard ROM. That would give
you lower case even when running with the language card RAM disabled.
That's the route I went, after building my own PROM burner.

-- 
-Ron Hunsinger


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