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bamchum · Dec 3, 2003, 03:42 PM

Looks like Apple France is probably going to replace my US-bought 15" Aluminum PowerBook.

They haven't told me yet whether they'll be able to replace it with an American one or not, but on the off chance that they can't, I'm wondering if anyone can point me to a site where I can look at the configurations of British or Irish PowerBook keyboards. Or, barring that, could someone take a picture?

I know they are both QWERTY, but I'm a little concerned about the placement and size of the "Return" key. I know that on French keyboards, even if you've changed the keyboard configuration to an American one, the tiny Return key way off to the far right is hard to get used to.

So, how about it? Anyone know where I can get this information, preferably in the form of a picture?

Blackstealth · Dec 4, 2003, 07:41 AM

UK keyboard (mine):

bamchum · Dec 4, 2003, 09:35 AM

Thanks a million!

Looks like I'm not going to be too happy with a UK keyboard... Guess I'd better hold out for a US model.

Thanks again.

threestain · Dec 4, 2003, 09:50 AM

what does a US model look like then?

there's another return key just next to the keyboard so its not that bad!

Blackstealth · Dec 4, 2003, 10:53 AM

US Keyboard:

bamchum · Dec 4, 2003, 11:49 AM

I tend to hit the enter key right on its leftmost part. Adjusting to a UK keyboard means learning to hit the key about a half-inch to the right. With the small finger, that's not so easy and, even then, you're hitting a tiny sliver of a key. To really get the enter key fully, you've got to go a half-inch to the right and up a row. I find that really unpleasant.

mintcake · Dec 4, 2003, 12:25 PM

Bizarre. The UK and US keyboards are virtually identical. I had been hoping to remap my (supposedly UK) keyboard to a traditional UK keyboard layout - in other words, the speech quotes as shift 2, the @ symbol to the right of the semicolon, etc. Anyone know how to do that?

bamchum · Dec 4, 2003, 01:11 PM

It can be done using ResEdit. I made my weirdo hybrid Franco-American keyboard that way. There are easier ways, in theory. Like this:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20953

But I couldn't get it to work at all when I tried it.

all2ofme · Dec 4, 2003, 02:24 PM

I agree - I don't see any advantages to having it that way, either. Anyone know why that's the case? I prefer everything about the keyboard on my British 12" to the American TiSD that I had EXCEPT the bloody enter key!

Originally posted by bamchum:
I find that really unpleasant.

Amorya · Dec 4, 2003, 06:51 PM

I've got used to the new return key placement now.

My Pismo had a bizarre keyboard which had a UK pound sign on, but American placement for the return and shift keys and no � key. I preferred it to my Albook keyboard (which is the UK one above), but I've got used to the latter now and it doesn't cause a problem.

Amorya

bamchum · Dec 18, 2003, 02:18 PM

Well, they replaced the keyboard and it's neither a British ISO keyboard nor an American ANSI keyboard. It seems to be an American ISO keyboard. Does such a thing exist?

It's basically got the British ISO layout but with the # rather than � over the 3.

Anyone have any idea what this weird keyboard might be?