Baslinux mailing list

[James Miller <jamtat AT mailsnare.net>]

On Tue, Jan 09, 2007 at 09:20:58AM +1030, Greg Mayman wrote:
> 
> I'm not going to bother to count the keys just to find out what
> this one is.
> 
> Suffice to say it looks exactly like all the keyboards I have
> ever used with this computer, and has worked without any special
> patches with MS-DOS, Dr-DOS, GeoWorks, and Win311.
> 
> I have no reason at all to suspect that it is a non-standard
> keyboard.

So as not to get into a futile discussion of semantics, let's just refer in 
the future to 
your keyboard as being potentially only semi-compatible with Linux. Will that 
suit? For the 
sake of discussion, then, let's just say that one possible explanation for 
the problems you 
are reporting is the semi-compatibility problem. Now, if you have a 
semi-compatible 
keyboard, here are your options: 1) look into what a semi-compatible keyboard 
is and learn 
about ways Linux users deal with semi-compatible keyboard problems (this is 
what Linux users 
typically do, and lists like this exist to assist them); 2) harp on about how 
every pre-1996 
operating system you ever used worked perfectly with your keyboard, all the 
while taking no 
steps to learn about, diagnose or fix the problem under Linux, thereby 
irritating all other 
list subscribers, who might then start telling you to go back to your 
pre-1996 operating 
system and stop bothering them; 3) take the whole kit-n-kaboodle to your 
local computer 
shop, plop it on the counter along with your credit card and tell them to do 
whatever it 
takes to get it to do X Y and Z for you and that you'll foot the bill. Now, 
which do you 
want to do? If it's any other option than 1), we won't expect to be reading 
further posts 
from you.

James