[R] random typing over text

[Kenn Konstabel]

On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 4:22 AM, Jim Lemon <jim at bitwrit.com.au> wrote:
> On 04/24/2011 08:13 AM, derek wrote:
>>
>> Thank you very much. It was the Insert key. It was very annoying. Actually
>> is
>> this owerwrite function of any use?
>>
> Hi derek,
> As Duncan mentioned, it is very useful when one wishes to type over existing
> text. However, this is a fairly uncommon wish in the typical GUI user
> environment, where the typist can highlight a group of characters and then
> begin typing. The highlighted characters disappear and the replacement is
> accomplished without changing the behavior of the keyboard. Many
> applications now attempt to guess what you want to highlight by performing
> the operation on words. To me this is not an advantage, for it often means
> that I delete one or more characters beyond what I wish. As Rolf noted, the
> adjacency of the Insert and Delete keys makes it far too easy to switch
> unwittingly to Insert mode. I sometimes wonder whether keyboard designers
> ever have to type, or whether they simply dictate their design inspirations
> into a microphone as some non-typists of my acquaintance do. When I received
> a new PC at work, some bright spark had placed an extra Backslash key next
> to the left Shift key _and_ reduced the size of the Shift key. After a few
> days of typing backslashes every time I wanted a capital letter, I popped
> both keys off and extended the Shift key to mostly cover the useless
> Backslash. I once programmed a special keyboard for a one-handed typist that
> allowed one to reprogram the meaning of keys, thereby accommodating
> individual preference rather than the lumbering Frankenstein of the average
> user. Now that would be a worthwhile innovation.

A reprogrammable Lego keyboard would be good, thanks in advance. If
you do it, would you please consider adding an extra safety feature
for windows users: every time the victim either holds Shift for 8
seconds or presses Shift for 5 times in a row, there would be a nice
voice saying: "You just pressed Shift for N times. Ordinarily that
means that Windows will activate StickyKeys(TM) which will make your
keyboard useless until you restart the computer. If you really wish to
activate StickyKeys(TM), press Ctrl-Backspace-Esc for 12 times, then
RightAlt-Tab-F8 for 3 times, and then smile in your webcam for at
least 45 seconds without making any facial movements not directly
required to perform the aforementioned task.".

KK