I liked this article a lot because I’ve spent way too much time thinking about things like this, thanks to my mechanical keyboard and keycap hobby.
That said, it misses a key ancestor: the original Macintosh Keyboard (M0110). It had a Return key AND an Enter key in the bottom row, to the right of the spacebar and next to the Option key.
There was Command key on the left only, which seems to mark the evolution from the “Open Apple” and “Closed Apple” keys. If I recall correctly, Return was intended for typing, while Enter was used for GUI interaction, but I’m not entirely sure.
Even into the 2000s, laptops were still figuring things out. I had a 12-inch PowerBook G4 with two keys labeled “Enter”:
- One accessible via Fn + Return
- One as its own key in the bottom row, next to the right Command key
This layout meant it only had one Option key. It also featured a lockable numpad layer, so having a standalone Enter key made less sense to me. Unless it was meant for spreadsheet number crunchers? Or there was still that typing/GUI distinction in Mac OS 9 somewhere?
I never had the pleasure of trying one of those keyboards. The 6–7u-long spacebar is a trapping of its typewriter heritage just like QWERTY and staggered keys.
Even on their full-size keyboards with numpads, Apple spacebars are only 5 keys wide. Thumbs are for Command!
Even better: split spacebar! On my daily driver I only have a 1.25u key for my primary space. On the left I have a luxuriously large 2.25u SpaceFn key.
I've tried SpaceFn on a standard 65% keyboard with one spacebar, and I'm not a big fan of the experience. I found it difficult to get the timing right between registering press vs hold.
However, on a board with two spacebars — like Keebio's Quefrency or Sinc, or an Alice/Arisu board — I love it. I use my right thumb for space most of the time, so it's just a regular space key, and my left space is set up in SpaceFn style. Fn-B is a repeatable space key if I need it on that side but I hardly do.
I'm also weird in that I like to have the same modifiers on both sides, especially on keebs split in two. On a 65% with one spacebar, I use the Caps Lock key for left Function, and the bottom key of the rightmost nav column is End on press and Function on hold.
Control on Caps Lock is what gives me Emacs pinky for whatever reason. I keep two Control on the corners.
I wish the gunshots came after formal declarations of war by Congress, something that hasn't happened since before the current and previous Presidents were born.
Also wish Congress wasn't a clown car perpetually headed off a cliff.
But the Department of War became the Department of Defense, so I guess all these gun shots aren't war anymore.
And as for the gun analogy, I'm reminded of the "production for use"[0] defense from Howard Hawks's His Girl Friday:
"And so, into this little tortured mind came the idea that that gun had been produced for use. And use it he did."
As a fan of Dub Syndicate, I didn't know they collaborated, thanks for this info.
Before seeing her live, I hadn't know a lot about her besides "Nothing Compares 2 U" and of course the SNL controversy... realizing much later she had sung Bob Marley's "War" while wearing red, gold, and green.
Just now thinking about her performance of "Vampire" that night is giving me goosebumps. She was a real one.
Saw her live in NYC back in 2005 when she was doing roots reggae.
Sly & Robbie was the rhythm section, with Burning Spear on vocals and percussion. Maybe Mikey Chung on guitar?
I was totally surprised at the combination — this Crazy Baldhead amongst Dreads — but one of the best live shows I've been to. Surrounded by reggae icons, she was a boss on that stage.
As noted in one of the article comments: One of the first settings I change on my iPhone is "Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Increase Contrast" for this very reason. It darkens both the blue iMessage and green SMS colors, but I mostly do it because I do find that green color "gross" and annoying/distracting.
That said, it misses a key ancestor: the original Macintosh Keyboard (M0110). It had a Return key AND an Enter key in the bottom row, to the right of the spacebar and next to the Option key.
There was Command key on the left only, which seems to mark the evolution from the “Open Apple” and “Closed Apple” keys. If I recall correctly, Return was intended for typing, while Enter was used for GUI interaction, but I’m not entirely sure.
Even into the 2000s, laptops were still figuring things out. I had a 12-inch PowerBook G4 with two keys labeled “Enter”:
- One accessible via Fn + Return - One as its own key in the bottom row, next to the right Command key
This layout meant it only had one Option key. It also featured a lockable numpad layer, so having a standalone Enter key made less sense to me. Unless it was meant for spreadsheet number crunchers? Or there was still that typing/GUI distinction in Mac OS 9 somewhere?