anticAPSLOCK.com
CAPSoff is not the first campaign against this ludicrous key. The http://anticapslock.com/ campaign was launched in Sweden in 2001. The site says, "Our goal here at anticAPSLOCK.com is to have the capslock key removed from keyboards that are manufactured in the future."
Who invented Caps Lock?
Historically, Shift Lock was used to type uppercase on typewriters that had no other form of emphasis - no bold, italic, or underline (except by backspacing and retyping underlines).
- In the early1980's IBM introduced the PC/XT keyboard with a Caps Lock that shifted only letters, not digits or punctuation.
- The next generation of IBM PCs came with the PC/AT keyboard which left the Caps Lock and Control keys unchanged.
The Control key was, and still is, very heavily used for combinations like Ctrl+S (Save), Ctrl+C (Cut), Ctrl+V (Paste) and its position on the home row was seen as convenient to many users. However, for some mainframe users, and people still working with typewriters, the Control key was seen as inconvenient.
- In 1986, IBM introduced the 101 Enhanced Keyboard which moved the Caps Lock onto the home row, under Tab. Many people were unhappy with the positioning of the Control and Escape keys, which were widely used. But this keyboard became the de-facto standard for all modern layouts.
There are several theories about why IBM moved the Caps Lock to such a prominent position, the most likely explanation is that it was used to boost corporate sales, for businesses that used all-uppercase applications. In 1986, this was standard for all mainframe applications. In the PC world, however, the Caps Lock key has been little used, with some people claiming they use it deliberately only once or twice per year.
Comments
If you look at the typewriter, from early mechanical models to the later electronic models, you will find a Caps Lock key. However, the typewriter was not abusive to users in the way that the keyboard is. It seems that the designers of the keyboard took a superficial look at the typewriter and mimicked its layout. They did not take into consideration the design principles that went into the typewriter.
On the typewriter, the Caps Lock key is not a toggle key. Pressing the key does not switch between states. No matter how many times you pressed the key, the end result is the same; caps-locked.
When you pressed the Caps Lock key, it remained physically depressed. You could see and feel that the typewriter was in caps-locked mode. The best the keyboard provides is indirect indication with a LED lit in the corner of the keyboard, amidst an array of other LEDs.
On the typewriter, the caps lock mode was very transient. Pressing either Shift key would release the caps lock. A typist that did not notice a caps-lock state would automatically be released from this mode as the shift key is pressed to begin the next sentence. As such, tHE eRROR oF tYPING lIKE tHIS never occurred on the typewriter.
The design of the typewriter Caps Lock key seems to consider human behavioral norms. The keyboard abuses these behaviors. There are no logical reasons for the keyboard not to follow the design patterns set forth by the typewriter. On the contrary, the keyboard brought an opportunity to improve upon the design. It is a shame we are still stuck with the results of this wrong turn.