Re: [Fwd: omnikey nor-h ga-e keyboard]

[Robert Holmgren holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to note from xywrite@xxxxxxxx Fri, 23 Jan 1998 11:08:05 -0500
 
> I am certainly an Omnikey keyboard fan, but I respectfully urge a
> boycott of any firm that asks $189 for lookalikes (whatever that
> implies).
 
> Cheers, -- Nathan Sivin

I disagree. Every keyboard manufacturer has abandoned left-side
keyboards. I don't know that I need to argue the relative merits of
lefthand vs. top row F-keys -- but I have a huge investment in lefthand
keyboard files and macros for a whole range of programs, which are
entirely based on the ergonomics of the lefthand arrangement and
the shape of my hand. Most of these habits are so deeply embedded that
when I confront a top-row F-keyboard, I can't reconstruct what the actual
keystrokes are -- they're entirely unconscious and automatic. So to me,
the arrangement of the keyboard counts for more than the speed of my
processor or the size of my monitor (expenses which dwarf the cost of
this keyboard).

The manufacturer told me today that this is not a lookalike. Apparently,
they've acquired Northgate's molds and designs. This _is_ the
Omnikey. But she told me that Northgate's last revisions to the design
embodied several radical mistakes, e.g. a shift from hardware slide
switches to software settings written to a PROM in the keyboard -- and
they didn't work properly. She said that, without access to Northgate's
engineers (now dispersed hither and yon), it was expensive to remedy
these problems, and that they're recouping their costs. She said she
hoped the price would decline, after units start shipping; they've
produced only a handful, and won't receive more for six weeks.

So I'm buying. It's worth it to me. I spend on I/O devices (keyboards,
modems, mice) but skimp on CPUs and buses. I'll report back when I get
a chance to use the keyboard (due to travel, April). The website
http://www.cvtinc.com/avant.htm
is worth a visit; the specs are fairly impressive.


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Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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