From owner-freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Wed Oct 22 22:59:50 2008 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id E46FB1065671; Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:59:50 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from kline@thought.org) Received: from aristotle.thought.org (aristotle.thought.org [209.180.213.210]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8F2328FC20; Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:59:50 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from kline@thought.org) Received: from [10.47.0.250] (tao.thought.org [10.47.0.250]) (authenticated bits=0) by aristotle.thought.org (8.14.2/8.14.2) with ESMTP id m9MN01mO056548; Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:00:01 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from kline@thought.org) From: Gary Kline To: Jeremy Chadwick In-Reply-To: <20081022203143.GA67740@icarus.home.lan> References: <1216910072.2251.8.camel@jill.exit.com> <86fxmox51m.fsf@ds4.des.no> <20081022173634.GA57706@thought.org> <20081022203143.GA67740@icarus.home.lan> Content-Type: text/plain Organization: Thought Unlimited Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:59:40 -0700 Message-Id: <1224716380.58305.44.camel@tao.thought.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Evolution 2.22.3.1 FreeBSD GNOME Team Port Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Spam-Status: No, score=-4.4 required=3.6 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,BAYES_00, DNS_FROM_SECURITYSAGE autolearn=no version=3.2.3 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.2.3 (2007-08-08) on aristotle.thought.org X-Mailman-Approved-At: Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:20:13 +0000 Cc: Nate Eldredge , Dag-Erling =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Sm=F8rgrav?= , freebsd-mobile@freebsd.org, freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Laptop suggestions? X-BeenThere: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list Reply-To: kline@thought.org List-Id: Technical Discussions relating to FreeBSD List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:59:51 -0000 On Wed, 2008-10-22 at 13:31 -0700, Jeremy Chadwick wrote: > On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 01:06:20PM -0700, Nate Eldredge wrote: > > On Wed, 22 Oct 2008, Gary Kline wrote: > > > >> On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 01:06:29PM +0200, Dag-Erling Sm?rgrav wrote: > >>> martinko writes: > >>>> I have always thought that Fn key in left most bottom corner of the > >>>> keyboard is, especially for programmers, a very bad idea. :-( > >>> > >>> Seconded. Worse still, on my Lenovo T60, if the Fn key is held down > >>> longer than a fraction of a second, it generates an input event which > >>> just happens to correspond to Gnome's default key binding for the "next > >>> track" function in media players... > >> > >> I've seen that Fn key, but don't know what it is for. What? you press > >> it, then follow with the integers [ 1, 2, 3 ... ]? At any rate, maybe > >> you can remap the key with ~/.xmodmaprc. > > > > Fn is usually used on laptop keyboards to allow two logical keys to share > > a single physical key. For example, see the keyboard pictured at > > http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/3415.jpg . On the extreme lower > > right is a key with "->" in white and "End" in blue. Pressing it by > > itself sends the keycode corresponding to an ordinary keyboard's "->" > > key. Holding Fn and pressing that key sends the keycode corresponding to > > an ordinary keyboard's "End" key. On many keyboards, pressing Fn by > > itself sends no keycode at all, so it cannot be remapped. > > > > It is also sometimes used to control hardware features which on a desktop > > machine might have a different interface. For instance, on the laptop > > pictured, holding Fn and pressing F6 would increase the screen > > brightness, probably without sending a keycode. A desktop machine would > > probably have a button on the monitor itself to do this. Thanks for clearing up a back-of-mind mystery since I bought my 600E in 2003; I kept hitting the "Fn" for the ^ key, and *nothing happened* so I had to re-type the control sequence. It is an ill-planned layout and I'm sure that 'BM has heard about it from us hacker types. --Why this is the best list in the (known) universe. Seriously. > > I always figured "Fn" was a good name for the key, given that it > resembles the expletive that comes forth from my mouth when intending to > hit Control. That ain't that much of a joke, Jeremy. unless I'm at my desk with wrist-rest I can barely reach the back keys. [shoulder problems]. So far I've invented around 7--maybe 8--new profanities. BTW, if that jpeg is a Lenovo, is that a scratch-and-sniff pad below the mouse buttons? (The TPad's *did* need a redesign, but for me, the trakmouse/trakstick/<> was perfect. My left paw went right there.) ...FWIW, I just bought a G41 (3.06GHz) pre-Lenovo. gary > > http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/9328.jpg > > ;-) >