Configuring the Keyboard ?

[Geoffrey Hunter]

Does anyone on this list know how to configure the keyboard ?

I have two frequent irritations:

I Never want Overwrite Mode and I Never want Caps-Lock On, 
yet when I am typing some text, one or the other 
"accidentally" (mysteriously) gets set On.

When I notice that the text that I thought I was inserting is actually
overwriting some text that I want to keep, I key the Insert Key to
toggle Overwite Off, and then (if I can remember) re-write the text
that was overwritten (this happened while I was typing this email).

When I notice that the text that I thought was (mostly) in lower case
is in fact in ALL CAPS, then I key the Caps Lock key to set Caps Lock
Off, erase everything that I just typed and re-type it in (mostly)
lower case.

I'd like to permanently disable the Overwrite and ALL-CAPS modes under
both Linux (Mandrake 8.x) and Windows (XP), which would include
disabling the Insert and Caps-Lock keys

It would be preferable to configure a single Keyboard Driver 
(used by all application programs) so that the disabling would 
apply to all application programs that receive keyboard input.

I found out how to make Windows Beep when Caps Lock gets set on
(which alerts me to press the Caps Lock key to set it Off), but 
couldn't find out how to do this for Insert/Overwrite, 
nor how to permanently disable either of them.

Incidentally, in an ideal world the 26 letters of our alphabet would
be arranged in alphabetical order; the QWERTY order was designed to
slow down (I kid you not) typing on mechanical typewriters to reduce
the occurrence of key-hammer jams; it is an unfortunate legacy that
we are still using that slow-you-down arrangement when its purpose
has not pertained since mechanical typewriters were displaced by 
electric typewriters, and later by electronic input.

How about this for a (partial) keyboard arrangement:

     A B C D E F G H I
     1 2 3 J K L M N O   4 rows x 9 columns
     4 5 6 P Q R S T U    = 36 characters = 26 letters + 10 digits
     7 8 9 0 V W X Y Z

3 of the vowels (I,O,U) are at the ends of the first 3 rows;
A is at the beginning of the first row,
E is symmetrically in the middle of the first row, 
(which is good because E is the most frequently used vowel).
 
Geoffrey Hunter
Chemistry Building Room 318
York University, 4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J1P3
Office: 416-736-5306
Office Fax: 416-736-5936
email: GHunter-4mebg6r7xUY at public.gmane.org
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