Numlock

[Bob Barrett <bobbrrtt earthlink net>]

First, a comment about responses to requests for help.  I know that the 
contributors are volunteers, and that they are busy people, but the list 
exists to help users with problems.  The suggestion is often that the 
user try to find the solution before they ask.  Where?  Beyond the 
basics, the online help is frequently little help.  How does one find 
help on the Gnome web site?  Www.gnome.org lists across the top of the 
page: About Gnome - Download - Users - Art & Themes - Developers - 
Foudation - Contact.  Where's the help?  Where's the documentation?  
Where's the FAQ?  I have looked and looked.

Enough of that.

My subject line is "Numlock".  This is the most useless key on a PC 
keyboard.  I have never used any other type of keyboard.  I don't 
suppose that many unix OS or application programmers have a number 
crunching background.  Anyone who has used various calculators for 
engineering or accounting, etc. would much rather use the keypad than 
the numbers above the alphabet.  The only other use is as cursor keys, 
and the PC keyboard has those more conveniently located.  The numlock 
key should always be on.

I have been using Slackware and Debian flavors of Linux and it took some 
digging to find out how to have numlock turned on always.  I have added 
the proper command to rc.local.  It works great for the console, but 
doesn't do a thing for Gnome.  I have looked and looked, but cannot find 
where this can be configured.  I have tried xset, but "xset led on" 
turns on the third led only (scroll lock) as does "xset led 3".  The man 
page implies that the number for the numlock key could anything from 1 
to 32.  I have tried them all.
I have set "Option "Xleds" "1 2 3" " in XF86Config and xorg.conf and 
tried xset led in xinitrc.  Nothing works.

Maybe I'm just dumb, but I can't be the only one who wants to do this.

I would appreciate any help.

Bob