War Declared on Caps Lock Key

pieterh writes "I've launched a campaign to rid the world of the caps lock key. Sure, there are more serious problems to solve but please, think of the children! How am I going to explain to my kids why some of the most valuable keyboard real estate is squatted by a large, useless key that above all you must not press! Our campaign mission is simple: to send a message to the computer industry to force it (by any means necessary) to retire the CAPS key. It's going to be a hard, long, and possibly very embarassing war on uppercase, but some things just need to be done. "

While you are at it.

[ErroneousBee]

Sort the rest of the keyboard out.

Insert and Caps lock need to be moved out of the way, so that you can use them, but you dont accidentally change a mode while going for another key. The Windows button can be moved too. I keep hitting it when using windows and defocusing the window Im working in. They have no effect in KDE so its not a bother there.

Backspace and delete need to be side by side.

Minus and plus need to be given the same level, as shifting to get a plus is not logical compared to minus.

Useless? Not at all!

[Lars Clausen]

My Caps Lock key is gainfully in use to change the keyboard layout between English and Danish. It's wonderful as it lights up an LED, so I can easily see the state I'm in, and it's very handily placed. Please don't take my Caps^H^H^H^HLayout Lock key away!

Why the CAPS lock key?

[thoriphes]

I find myself using it pretty often as I'm coding. Sure, there are two Shift keys but I can't afford that kind of temporary efficiency drop. If there's any key that they should nix, it should be the Insert key, or maybe the Scroll Lock key (do any of you even know what it's used for?). I've noticed some of the Microsoft keyboards have gotten rid of Insert key, which is a good start. I've never had a reason to use that damned key other than to hit it again to toggle it off. Keep the Caps lock key, get rid of these two mentioned above. F11 key, you're next...

Used Extensively in Construction Industry

[SFBwian]

While I hardly use it outside of my employment, those of us in the construction industry use it all the time. If you've ever seen a Architectural, Structural, Civil, etc. drawing, it would be hard for you to find lowercase letters.

What will we have to do if caps lock goes away, press shift 5 times?

Re:First post?

[Spliffster]

in some languages you cannot type special characters without the caps lock keye (ÖÄÜÀÉÈ for german and french) come to mind. on a us keyboard you might not need it however.

Re:Data entry issues

[dens]

I've seen data entry done like this, and every time I wonder "why on earth are they doing this?" Can you tell me a real reason that a data entry person would have to type in all caps? The only times I have seen this is on old data entry systems that MADE THEM type in all caps (meaning the program controlled this behavior, not the typist, which, if you want this behavior, is actually how it should be done).

Re:Useful for Vi users

[Anonymous Coward]

I often remap it to Control, but that still has the problem of using a finger that shouldn't be tied up for holding it down - one thing I absolutely love about OS X is that it uses the command key, which can easily be pressed with the thumb, which I generally don't use for anything other than the space bar.

Re:Useful for Vi users

[wilper]

And we that prefer the superior editor can replace it with Ctrl, to ease the strain on the wrist.

I did this six years ago and have never looked back, I even do it on Windows-machines these days. There is a nice little util called ctrl2caps (or possibly caps2ctrl) that does this for you.

Get rid of Shift Instead?

[GoRK]

I knew a guy once who for a period of many months did not realize that the shift key in conjunction with alphabetic key on the keyboard made capital letters. He knew how to use the shift key - but he only used it for symbols and the like when a key was labelled for it. To type capital letters, he pressed CapsLock, typed the letter, then pressed CapsLock again. He never complained, and he had become very proficient with the technique by the time I showed him the alternative. I'm not sure I ever looked to see if he had changed his ways.

It's time for a change of the whole layout!

[jimmoores]

I've never understood why people are willing to put up with such a crazy layout as modern 102/103/105 key keyboards anyway. Why doesn't anybody offer a keyboard that has a normal layout in terms of the main keys but with some sensible changes:

* Function keys are rarely used - you need them (I use Eclipse too!), but they can be de-emphasised.
* The numeric keypad is stupid. There should be space, tab and comma keys on it so that it might actually be useful for one-handed data entry!
* Get rid of the stupid windows keys. Most people don't even know what they do anyway.
* Why are there no keys for multiplication, division symbol, bullet point, and a ton of other common symbols? It's like we're still being limited by baudot code or something.
* PrtScn/SysRq, Scroll-lock, Pause/Break and Num-lock are virtually never touched. What is the point of num-lock now that there's an inverted T cursor cluster and related keys.
* Alt Gr - don't even get me started...
* What the hell is that back-tick key doing up in the top left anyway? And why does it look so odd paired with a normal quote?
* As for putting control back where it belongs (I think this one depends on what you first used), the best argument I've heard for not putting it where caps-lock is now is that it belomes very easy to in one stroke hit CTRL-A (often 'Select All') with the following keystroke replacing your entire document with that character. I know Linux doesn't have this problem so much, but since most of the world is using Windows at the moment, it is a consideration.

Re:Is this a joke?

[mrsbrisby]

Actually on the topic of C++... I think a petition for banning C++ forever is a much better idea.

I'll agree, unless someone can give me an example of what C++ is best suited for. I've tried every language that I can find at least twice, and I can't find anything that C++ is the best at, or even a reasonable middle-ground.

C is much easier to read, and if I want objects, Objective-C allows me to reuse my C code. At least then, I get an object oriented language. C++ is some weird class and template based language, that requires I either taxonimize everything, or degenerate into a slower and hard to read C.

I'm still unclear why we need four different casts, and I'm still unclear why it's a good idea to have two functions with the same name and data types (save the const or signed keywords, which aren't really supposed to modify the data type)- lest the evil C++ genies make my code call the wrong one.

I'm completely lost as to why it's a good idea making: if (a << 1) mean anything but to check if anything but the highest bit is set, or a[0] mean anything different than *a.

I can't figure out exactly how to control deallocation order when calling destructors during stack unwinds, and I can't figure out how to control allocation order before main().

I don't know why C++ insisted on being completely forwards and backwards incompatible with C, and adopt its name. It isn't a better C, it isn't even a logical extension of C.

I might be able to wrap my head around C++ better if I didn't know C, and expect C semantics, but damnit, that's awful hard to do when it's called C++.

So right now, I'll sign your petition, but if anyone comes up with an example of what C++ is best at, I'll have to retract my signature and simply sign the petition that demands C++ be called (!C)<C.

Actual use for the Caps Lock key

[DrBdan]

Just a little anecdote on how the Caps Lock can actually be useful. When I was in University I tutored younger students in Comp-Sci. One of the students that I tutored was physically disabled and couldn't use his left hand to type. This made it rather difficult to hold down shift and type keys at the same time. His solution was to hit caps, type the letters and then hits caps again. I'm pretty sure if you asked him he would say that the caps lock key is incredibly useful.

I don't really take this article seriously but at the same time the caps lock key does serve a purpose for some users. You'd think they could make a better use of their time.

B

Re:Couldn't agree more!

[DragonWriter]

I think maybe they switched them to be more like traditional mechanical typewriters.

They definitely switched them to be more like typewriters (though electric more than "mechanical"); which made sense—computers were being more used by non-technical people who also used typewriters and having the layouts as similar as possible was a good thing for most business users. Apparently, the difference in layouts particularly the location of the Caps Lock key was a frequent gripe of pre-PS/2 IBM customers.

Of course, now that computers have almost completely displaced typewriters, there's a lot less reason to be bound by what typewriter users are used to. OTOH, most computer users are now used to the existing dominant layout and there's not a big incentive to switch for most users.

And, for those who like the old Control location, there's always the Happy Hacking Keyboard.

Re:Yes, read my CAPSoff blog entry

[Anonymous Coward]

A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling
                                  by Mark Twain

          For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped to be
replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer be part of
the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained would be the
"ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform "w"
spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the same konsonant, wile
Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with "i" and Iear 4 might fiks
the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all.
          Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with
Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so
modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai Iear
15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez "c",
"y" and "x" -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez -- tu
riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivli.
          Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a
lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.

Re:Hardware solution (screwdriver)

[vodhner]

The first thing I do with a new keyboard is to bend a paper clip into a clever shape, so that it fits under the Caps Lock key to hold it up, and runs beneath the keyboard where it is strapped in place with tape. If my finger hits Caps Lock, the key doesn't move. The tactile feedback has a handy "training effect" so I rarely hit that key.

Prompted by a post in this discussion, I'm now going to do that with my front-tier Insert key which bites me repeatedly each day.

some people need Caps Lock

[Bigos]

I KNOW A PARTIALLY SIGHTED WOMAN WHO HAS TO FIGHT WITH EVERYBODY FOR RIGHT TO USE CAPS LOCK. She's got a laptop from some charity so she can use it to enlarge texts and have some contact with outside world. To help her with comfortable access to information on certain website I had to download everything and set text size in CSS to 80px. Usually it can't be done so writing using Caps Lock is the only way others can do to help her communicate. So if Caps Lock is a problem why instead of eliminating it completely why do we use in future some key combination so those who need it might still use it.

Re:The One-Point-Five Inches that Destroyed the Wo

[drinkypoo]

STOP using vi and you won't have to hit escape 2983742 times per day.

One of my ex-bosses got carpal from using escape-meta-alt-control-shift, no lie. He ended up buying one of those kinesis keyboards where the keys are arranged in two divots, one for each hand, so you don't have to move your hands at all to type. He can still only type for like half an hour at a time now.

Re:Helpful image to pass along

[nostriluu]

d'oh.. that's what too many years of laptop use does.

Do have to wonder why this rant is against caps and not scroll lock.

A real keyboard distribution

[xtracto]

Sort the rest of the keyboard

Yeah! I completley agree with that statement. We should get rid of this OLD [wikipedia.org] keyboard layout intended for mechanical machines of 1868 and use something more in accord with current technology [wikipedia.org].

Seriously, I *know* it is possible to change the layout in the operating system (in the same way it is possible to remove the CAPSLOCK key from the keyboard) but I believe current typing courses should teach Dvorak, you really wold get impressed on the speed and commodity of typing with that layout.