Re: [Usability] Using Control-Esc and Windows keys to access

[Lennart Borgman <lennart borgman 073 student lu se>]

Thomas Folz-Donahue wrote:
> Super is what the Free World calls the keys that on many keyboards 
> have a Windows logo.
>
>     - What kind of applications actually use Super?
>
>
> None, so far.  Instead, people are free to bind  Super themselves.  I 
> myself use Super-T to launch gnome-terminal and Super-F to launch Firefox.
Thanks.
>     - Are those applications perhaps mainly programming IDE/editors?
>
>
> Emacs dose not use Super.  Emacs uses control and meta.
Where is then Emacs meta by default? Is not that on Alt? And is not Alt 
used for the menus and app switching etc in Gnome.

>     - Can an application override the global binding of super?
>
>
> Emacs already overrides Control and Alt, so, probably.
Ok.
>     I can see the need for super in certain applications (like Emacs)
>     but in
>     the case of MS Windows I use the windows keys inside Emacs as
>     Emacs-meta.
>
>
> What the hell do you do that for?
Because I like it ;-) -- and because it feels much easier for me since 
Alt is available for the menus.

>   Alt is alot closer to where your thumbs hang out.  I bet  you still 
> have that useless caps lock key 'cause you're too lazy to open 
> keyboard preferences and rebind it to Control.  Well, when you get 
> around to doing that, your hands will thank you.
I am lazy, you are right. I however save my hands using StickyKeys on MS 
Windows (see http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki/StickyModifiers). 
Without that I would not be using Emacs.

Well, and on MS Windows it is not that simple to rebind caps lock (at 
least not on w2k). Though I surely dislike it since I often use vi key 
bindings.

> Personally, I like things the way they are, which is, Control for 
> apps, Alt for the system, Super for users to bind.
>
> I have one request.  Please do not make pressing modifier keys do 
> anything.  Windows opens the (bloaty) Start menu when you push the 
> Super key, and that was a terrible UI decision.  Pleas use Super-space 
> or some actual character instead.
I guess MS had a hard decision on this too. However MS Windows users are 
probably used to this. My proposals has been around making it easier for 
them. On some distros this should probably be the default (in my opinion 
of course) and on other not. The main point here is that it should be 
easy to change both for users and distros.