http://karpoke.ignaciocano.com/tags/ibm-pc/Recent content in Ibm-Pc on Karpoke - Just Another BlogHugo -- 0.167.0esSun, 27 Oct 2019 16:20:00 +0100http://karpoke.ignaciocano.com/2019/10/27/pc-keyboard-the-first-five-years/Sun, 27 Oct 2019 16:20:00 +0100http://karpoke.ignaciocano.com/2019/10/27/pc-keyboard-the-first-five-years/<blockquote> <p>The vast majority of PC users today have no memory of what PC keyboards looked like before the standard 101/102-key layout arrived, even though various OEMs do their best to mangle the standard layout in order to minimize usability, especially on laptops. OEM-specific modifications aside, the basic layout of the main block of alphanumeric keys has not changed in over 30 years, since 1986.</p> <p>However, up until that point the PC keyboard layout and the keyboard hardware changed quite a bit, and looking at the 1981-1986 IBM Technical References is key to understanding a) why the standard keyboard scan codes are so complex, and b) why there are so many seemingly odd vendor-specific modifications of the standard layout.</p> </blockquote>