Check finger position on keyboard before typing. Sheesh. :rolleyes:
Thank goodness. I was having a lot of trouble understanding how the notoriously perfectionist Apple would make such a blunder. (Although they did have the Apple logo upside down on their laptops for an awfully long time.)
Including on (at least) the last generation of IBM Selectrics and a few electronic typewriters I used, just PC (Pre Computer).
The one I’m typing on right now certainly is.
Out of curiosity, I dug around, and apparently those things are called “homing bumps” or “homing dots,” and it looks like they didn’t start appearing on keyboards until the 80s. See here. Looks like older keyboards did sometimes have deeper dishes on the F and J, though.
I’d pick a key I never use (the ‘/’ on the number pad, for instance) and see if I could easily pry it off and replace it.
If so, then just swap the J and K, possibly adding some paint or nail polish or something to mark what the really are.
If it works, then you could annoy any non-touch typing friends who want to use your computer by swapping a whole bunch more letters…
I am reasonably sure I used a Selectric with them ca. 1978, and super-fancy electronic typewriters with them ca. 1980-82. I don’t think they were all that new on the IBM.
Interesting. I have had some keyboards without any bumps or anything (and that would actually be better than what I have now), but I can’t remember how I oriented my fingers with them. Seems like something that should have been implemented a long time ago and made universal.
Hahahah, I love this prank idea! Also, the first part is an excellent suggestion. I will do that.
I have an Amazon Basics keyboard at home and the homing bumps are on F & J. I don’t really use or notice them one way or the other. I’ve just spent more time than reasonable figuring out if I even notice this and realized that I “home” off of the left shift key. This could be why I struggle to adapt my home keyboard because the keys are closer together than on my Dell one at work. And Dog help me when I try and type on my actual laptop keyboard. It is like I let my cat do the typing…
I’ve popped keycaps on dozens of keyboards for various reasons without ill effect. Test on a key that you don’t use if it makes you more comfortable, maybe F12 or one of the other function keys. Get a couple of butter knives. Put them to either side of the key and lever it off like you were using a rabbit ears wine opener.
ETA: Don’t try this on laptop or other chiclet keyboards. It doesn’t end well.
Thanks!
I had to bump this thread when I noticed that my Samsung tablet keyboard… has underscores on the F and J keys.
So my fingertip can see the layout, I guess…
LOL, I had to read that a couple times before I realized how silly it was.
Oh, I only just now finally got it. Like painted-on underscores, not underscore bumps, which is what I was envisioning when I read this yesterday and was totally confused.
There seems to be a lot of strange solutions in here when IMO, the easiest one would be to just return the keyboard and get a new one. The OP could probably even look at pictures online to see the bumps are where they’re supposed to be and search the reviews for other people having the same issue). I can’t imagine swapping keys or filing down a bump on a brand new keyboard when I could just send it back and get a new one that had the bump in the proper place.
Back when I was in college (late 90’s) a friend of mine and I used to watch a show that very prominently featured Mac laptops and everytime I saw them I’d mention that they need to flip the logo over. The first time I mentioned it, she asked why and I said that I get that they do it so that when it’s closed the user/owner can see the apple, but IMO, it’s better to have it upside down for the person that knows what it is and right side up for the entire rest of the world…even if it was just a special model for TV…the upside down apple looked really stupid on TV.
I am trying mightily to understand why the layout designer thought they were necessary, useful, decorative, funny, whatever. It indicates a certain blindness of effort and/or committeethink, the sort of thing that leads to replicating illuminated manuscripts complete with fingerprints and coffee stains.
They offered me that option or to get 80% off and keep it and I took the latter.
Marketing. The user/buyer sees it right side up, then doesn’t see it at all. It took them a while to suss out that everyone else (== other potential buyers) saw it badly.
I get that, but I don’t understand why they didn’t notice it right away in testing. All you have to do is be in the same room or even take some photographs of models using it (for brochures or whatever) to notice the problem.
And I still can’t believe the shortsightedness of the one mouse button thing. Apparently it was based on consumer research, but I thought Steve Jobs’s philosophy was to give people what they will end up needing, not what they think they want to start with.