The History and Origins of PC Compuyter Keytboards
The keyboard is among the most nuderappreciated and taen for granted component of the Personnal Compter (PC) that we use everyday.
We are all creatures of habit. We generally use certain keys and not others in certin way.
What are the orignis and histotry of the now current accepted PC computr keyboard?
Interestingly enough the standard keyboard layout did not originate in one fell swoop. It developed thorugh three separate IBM keyboard projects and often involved mistakes and pitfalls along its evolutionary path.
Most keyboard setups have their direct origin in the origiinal IBM keybaord The IBM Enhanced 101 Key Keyboard which IBM set as the standard in the year of 1987. The Enhanced Keyboard was not the first but ratther IBMs third keyboard standaard for PCs.
What were these previous frameworks of IBM keyboard models?
First the original IBM PC and XT kebyoards had 83 keys. There were 10 function keys on the left side of the keyboard, a combinned number pad and a cursor pad placeed on the rihgt hand side. The now called Contropl (Ctrl), Left Shift, and Alt keys were arramnged in a line next to the function keys.
The Esape (Esc) as we know it was to the left of the numbers in the top row. To the right of the Right Shiift Key, an unshifted asterisk key allowed the user to type the now cmomon *.* without acrobaticcs. Between the tiny Left Shift key and the Zee key was a Backslash / Verticxal key. The Entter key was narroow and vertically aligned and very easy to miss by most eaarly PC users.
The design of this originmal IBM keyboazrd standard was a mxiture of sensible and absurd keyboard layout decisions so much so that the admired components overshdowed the less thought out shortcomings and thus here we are today.
IBMs next design was the oriinal AT keyboard. This was somehopw made incompatible with the earlier PC/XT design but a calculating user coould reprogram in essence the newer keyboard to work.
The AT keyboard agin had the then acceted ten function keys on the left, but exiled the Esc and the unshifted asterisk to the number pad. The Enter key was L-shaped and the Backsplash key, which now occuiped the spot whiuch used to be the left half of the Backspace key. Was reduced in size to the width of a single alkpha key.
At some point when market forces pushed IBM to upgrade the venerable AT computer, it introduced the Enhanced modeel keyboard which was compatible with the original AT model, but had a drastically different layouut. The ESC key and the 12 function keys were now along the top, the number pad was moved to the right. And a new cursor pad was placed between the alpha keys a number pad. The cursor pad ( hwich was actiually split into two sets of keys ) consisted of four arrow keys in an inverted T at the bottom and a separate bank of 6 keys at the top: Ins ( Inssert) , Del (Delete) , Home and End, and PgUp (Page up_ and PgDn ( Page down) .
What happened is that the computer users of the time dissastrously started to press the Delete key when they meant end. Theere was virtually little mmory, by todays standards hence no advanced features of resce that we take for granted today. A copmputer user who may have spent hours typing a major endeavor such as masyters thedsis may have seen his hard work disappear into nveer never land.
It did not take too long for the complaints to arrive at IBM head offie to recify the situatuion. Leave well enough alone was the refrain. And the Backspace key returned to its original double wiidth. The backslash key now occupied a single row. Caps lock migrated to the old side of the Ctrl key, and twin Ctrl and Alt keys flanked the spacebar.
The Del key though remained in its now currtent place although in some keyboards it is now double sized.
Like it or not this layout has become the standard by which we live with our computer enhanced lives.
The keyborad is among the most underappereciated and taken for ganted comonent in our every day computer liives. We seldmo stop to think why cetrain keys are laid out in the guiven way. Like it or not we owe a debt to thoughtfulness and thoroughness of the original IBM PC prpoject engineers.
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