Re: [pc110] Free PC110 parts, FS docking station

robin nospam at acm.org
Fri, 30 May 1997 00:43:57 +0100

On Wed, 21 May 1997 14:41:50 +1000 (EST) Ian Woolf <iwoolf nospam at socs.uts.EDU.AU>
wrote:
> Hi, I'm looking at both the PC110 and the Libretto, for a pocket Linux box
> and PIM. Overall, I prefer the size and interfaces of the PC110, but I was
> hopeful that IBM would do as Toshiba is doing and release it with a US
> keyboard, internationally.
It seems unlikely IBM will take this further; T-Zone tell me that the
PC110 has been discontinued, though supplies will last for a while yet.
I think that's a great shame, as it is the most wonderful gadget I have
seen in a long time.

> Just what are the differences between the Japanese keyboard and the more
> familiar US keyboard?
As Alan said, some of the symbols are in strange places, but it is still
the same basic layout. I even used mine for a while with a US keymap,
but I now have the proper layout (http://swan.ml.org/pc110/pc110.keymap)
so when I need something obscure I don't have to try to remember where
it would normally be. The main problem with the keyboard is not the
layout but that it is so small---there is no hope of touch-typing on it
and I usually end up just using my index fingers. On the plus side, the
whole keyboard is smaller than my hand-span, so typing ctrl-alt-whatever
one-handed is possible! The tiny and displaced right shift key is
a bit inconvenient too, but you do get used to it. I can enter text
reasonably quickly now, but C still slows me down as it uses a much
richer set of symbols.

Robin.