Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 17th Jan 2013 23:36 UTC
"Meet the new ThinkPad X131e Chromebook: A fast booting, highly customizable laptop PC built with rugged features for the daily rigors of K-12 education. The ThinkPad X131e Chromebook simplifies software and security management for school administrators and provides students and teachers with quick access to thousands of apps, education resources and storage." Lenovo is the third OEM to jump into ChromeOS. Chromebooks have been doing well on Amazon, apparently, too. Android tablets, iPads, the Mac, and now Chromebooks - it must be rainy in Redmond.
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Member since:2006-01-06
I dunno. I use teminals and vim/elvis so these "extraneous" keys aren't so important to me. I much prefer this pgup/pgdn configuration for web browsing use. The keyboard feel and typing speed I can get is the same as my ergo keyboards, that's what matters.
Seems like your keyboard nazi stuff is all about the fluff and not about choosing applications that properly leverage keyboard usage.
Member since:2006-10-08
I much prefer this pgup/pgdn configuration for web browsing use.
That might very well fit nicely on a laptop keyboard in comparison to a normal one. Older ThinkPad keyboards have the typical 2x3 matrix (Insert, Delete, Home, End, Page up, Page down) on the top right which is "too far away", compared to where this block is located on a normal (full size) keyboard.
Seems like your keyboard nazi stuff is all about the fluff and not about choosing applications that properly leverage keyboard usage.
In fact, it's not, as I typically value applications that make good use of the keyboard to allow efficient work. Editors (like vim) are a good example, even some web browsers pay attention to provide a good keyboard interface, while integrating it well with mouse action (for example mouse gestures).
I jsut wanted to point out what looked "atypical" to me when first looking at the keyboard. Note that I consider it the main input method for creating content. For consuming content, it doesn't play a big role, but on the other hand, different device formats (smartphones and tablets) may be better suited for consuming content than a laptop. Revisiting who the laptop is intended for, it should be judged if the keyboard layout (and its "shortcomings" and "incensistencies") match with the software that is provided by the system.
In such an environment, keys like "Scroll Lock" or "Pause / Break" can surely be omitted. Maybe even "Insert" is not needed. Many keys have a certain "historic background" and are important to power users or specific branches only. It heavily depends on how good the software is designed.
Edited 2013-01-18 13:41 UTC
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:35 UTC
The third and final WWDC product I want to talk about is - of course - OS X 10.9 Mavericks. While iOS 7 was clearly the focus of this year's WWDC, its venerable desktop counterpart certainly wasn't left behind. Apple announced OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the first OS X release not to carry the name of a big cat.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/11/13 17:07 UTC
We already talked about iOS 7 yesterday (after a night of sleep, it's only looking worse and worse - look at this, for Fiona's sake!), so now it's time to talk about the downright stunning and belly flutters-inducing new Mac Pro. As former owner and huge, huge, huge fan of the PowerMac G4 Cube - I haven't been this excited about an Apple product since, well, I would say the iMac G4. This is the Apple I used to love.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/10/13 23:13 UTC
Apple held its big keynote event thing at WWDC earlier this evening, but since I was away with friends I've had to read up on it later in the evening. The company announced iOS 7, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and they gave a preview of the new Mac Pro. Especially the Mac Pro impressed me, and while iOS 7's new Holo/Metro-inspired theme looks messy and garish to me, I do commend Apple for finally breaking the mold. This news item will focus on iOS 7 - I'll dive into the Mac Pro and OS X 10.9 tomorrow (it's late here now).
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/08/13 14:57 UTC
And yes, the PRISM scandal is far, far from over. More and more information keeps leaking out, and the more gets out, the worse it gets. The companies involved have sent out official statements - often by mouth of their CEOs - and what's interesting is that not only are these official statements eerily similar to each other, using the same terms clearly designed by lawyers, they also directly contradict new reports from The New York Times. So, who is lying?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/07/13 11:40 UTC
This story is getting bigger and bigger. Even though most Americans probably already knew, it is now official: the United States government, through its National Security Agency, is collecting the communications and data of all American citizens, and of non-Americans using American services, through a wide collaboration with the large companies in technology, like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and so on. Interestingly enough, the NSA itself, as well as the US government, have repeatedly and firmly denied this massive spying on Americans and non-Americans took place at all.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/04/13 12:45 UTC
Ah, patents - the never-ending scourge of the technology industry. Whether wielded by companies who don't actually make any products, or large corporations who abuse them because they can't compete in the market place or because they're simply jerks, they do the industry a huge disservice and are simply plain dangerous. According to The Wall Street Journal (circumvention link), president Obama is about to take several executive actions to address patent trolls - which may seem like a good idea, but I am very worried that all this will do is strengthen the positions of notorious patent system abusers such as Apple and Microsoft.
Linked by nfeske on 05/31/13 10:12 UTC
With version 13.05, the developers of the Genode OS Framework take measures to ensure that Genode continues to scale well with a growing number of users and the steadily broadening platform coverage. Further highlights are the improved SoC support for Exynos 5, OMAP4, Raspberry Pi, i.MX, and new components for realizing headless systems.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/29/13 16:59 UTC
At the D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook once again took the stage to be interviewed by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. While most of the interview can be replicated by picking and reading 10 random Apple fanblog stories - there were still a number of very interesting things that warrant some closer scrutiny.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!More Features »
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Member since:
2006-10-08
Looking at the keyboard, there are few things that I've noticed:
1. Even though it claims to run some Android OS, why does it come with a "Windows" advertising key?
2. There is no "Insert" key, only "Delete" at the top right.
3. The "inverted T" cursor block looks a bit strange, especially in regards of the "Page Up" and "Page Down" keys. Isn't that unergonomic or at least uncomfortable?
4. It has a "Fn" key, but no key labels for the numeric block "additional layout" which can be addressed by Fn + letters of the right keyboard half. Also, no "Num Lock" key.
5. No "Scroll Lock" and "Pause / Break" keys.
6. Instead a "Print Screen" key between the right "Alt" and "Ctrl" keys, where usually the context menu key (which is also missing) is placed.
I can only assume that this deviation from default keyboard capabilities has been considered "in line with the software and the purpose of the device", so it's not a major limitation for its future users:
http://googleenterprise.blogspot.de/2013/01/for-schools-new-lenovo-...
Maybe it's safe to assume that the future users won't be typing much, especially not higher amounts of numbers, so probably everything is fine.
I'm fully aware of the fact that I'm a keyboard nazi, and I see things nobody else can see. :-)
Image for reference:
http://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/img_lib/portals/ps/educ...