If all you did was type ASCII, or Commodore Business Machine's variation of it, then yes, all those other keys and key combinations would be a serious pain in the whatsis any time you did need to use them, and just what IS a Run/Stop key doing on our standard keyboard anywa? … Oh yes… It's a computer, after all! Not a Smith Corona or Olivetti.

But the solution to this problem would be what?! Another 50 keys? An "alt ###" solution substituting the Commodore key instead (with an added 17 or 12 key keypad?)? Jack Tramiel would have scoffed at that expensive solution, and users given either of these options would scoff too. Once mastered, the Commodore 64 keyboard setup, while difficult at first, is highly compact with each key serving a multitude of purposes. A serious user of it loved it, and wouldn't part with it for all the standard IBM keyboards in China… or Cape Breton! The only deficiency we will gladly admit to is the lack of a keypad.

I can see how typists can "get used to" easily pressed keys that require feather-like touch typing. Ditto for someone transitioning to a Commodore keyboard after having used a Selectric or other computer keyboard that follows "the standard". But guess what? I transitioned from the Commie keyboard to others, and while the easy keys of a circa 1990 IBM clone were much easier to use, they certainly were no easier to master or memorize for me. Quite the contrary.

Let's also forget a small bit of trivia today that wasn't so trivial in the late 70′s and early 80′s and is quite relevant to this discussion. The vast majority of the teeming masses did not type! No sir, they didn't until that home computer found it's way in their front door! So whatever they brought home became "the standard" keyboard for them, as it did for me, unless they had regular access and use of other standard keyboards in their lives.

The proof of this for me is that about four months ago, I found and began using a Commodore 64 emulator, and began typing in a very large application whose program listing I dumped 20 years ago to printer (No online source of the program available). I immediately began using the emulator a lot. I was then, and am now, flipping between using my IBM clone's standard keyboard for both Commodore 64 work (the emulator changes key functions to that of a Commdore), and normal IBM clone work. And wonder of wonders, now that I have a "Commodore keyboard" again, I'm hitting my clone's Shift-2 for the Commodore double-quote character on a regular basis when I am not using the emulator! I had not used a Commodore 64 in nearly 15 years, and "my standard" keyboard came back to me within two days, one of which was spent learning where a few odd-ball key substitions which, unhelpfully, are NOT within reach from home row like they were on the Commodore.

So for all those that grew up with a standard keyboard, yes, I feel for you if you've suddenly found yourself time-warped, and forced to use the lowly Commodore 64 keyboard. It would seem to be one of the worst case scenarios to deal with. But you will never convince a generation who grew up and learned to on and became super-typists with a Commodore 64 keyboard that it was deficient. No sir, it just is not so! They, like me, found it a joy, and it still remains a friend, even if it is long lost, and you would as well had you been in our shoes.

chupadla!!!

I'd like to see an article on the 10 best keyboards. Keyboards like the Northgate and etc. are worthy of honor. I look forward to your comment.

As far as I can tell, the most significant problems with that keyboard were some aspects of key placement, but CLR/HOME being next to INST/DEL was not one of them. The RUN/STOP key being right next to SHIFT LOCK was much more of an issue. The RESTORE key that didn't do anything (unless you were also holding down RUN/STOP and basically just slapped it) was another. Another would have been the function keys, which probably should have been labeled F1 F2 F3 F4 and shifted values of F5 F6 F7 F8. The replacement of Esc with left-arrow.

And, of course, the cursor keys. Instead of having four keys arranged in a logical layout, there were only two keys. Unshifted, they led right and down; shifted, they led left and up.

But a nice, full-size, full-stroke keyboard was under your fingers. Most other common characters were in their more-or-less standard positions. And the legends on the front of the keys were much less distracting than the examples set by the Timex Sinclair machines mentioned in your article. Those things went a long way in compensating for the flaws.

Did your thinking go anywhere along these lines?

None of these are keyboards by themselves anyways. These are all self contained computers. Its only normal to have specific keys like Run/Stop……

C64 was the most expandable of the stuff mentioned, and the keyboard works nearly like a typewriter. … I think the haters are just sissies.

Im only 19. I can use the thing as fast as this IBM keyboard. I dont gimp up when I press keys….. -_-

at least you got the Timex crap up there. Nothing says lame like a buncha giant pocket calculators.

From my point-of-view this is not only about bad keyboards. In fact, mostly the latest entries are failures upon ergonomics and functionality, but on the other hand we could today lend some graphic design wisdom from the old pioneers.