Keyboard layouts get political

[Grench]

So - SCART was the European HDMI of the 1970s...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCART

I don't think I've ever owned or even seen a piece of equipment that actually had one of those ports.

Bind 4 or so of the male connectors together and attach a handle and it would work well for tenderizing cheap steaks...

Back to keyboards...

I think that the French will likely debate this for a year or so then other nations in the EU will decide that one keyboard must be compatible with all European languages. That will result in a ban of all keyboards that fail to meet an 'All EU Languages' requirement.

This new "AEUL" requirement will get taken literally by those tasked with keyboard design and the first wave of keyboards produced will have AEUL as the top left sequence instead of AZER or QWER.

Promptly after replacing all keyboards in all governmental offices across the EU, a general union will be formed of all EU people who are required to type for a living. They will promptly go on strike to protest the negative impact to their typing speed.

The United States and Germany will then add to the chaos by using drones to airlift English and German language keyboards and drop them onto major population centers, thus starting the war of keys.

When all has descended into chaos, someone will notice a guy on the corner waiting for a bus, thumb typing in 3 languages at once on a small clam shell device with a built in keyboard and gaming controls...

 

[Swordfish II]

I guess my issue with SCART is that it wasn't filling a void, it simply packaged already existing standards into a new (larger) form. It would be like me taking the hdmi standard, and turning it into a huge plug.

I'm a bit irritated as the current TV im using has HDMI and SCART, but no video RCA/ component, so I had to get an adaptor.

 

[Kev2442]

Sorry for you. Strange to still see SCART without anything else besides HDMI.

SCART was great for video and everything, and France made it an absolute standard within our borders.
I got it wrong, though. We didn't invent it, but helped in diffusing it.

Main advantage was easy cable sorting - just one, and if you wanted RCA, you just had to use an adapter.
Even if it was "plug-and-pray" at times, it still was convenient and helped in having a high-quality video standard available in every home.
Plus, it allowed for RGB output on compatible equipment. Even Dolby if you were lucky.

Back on topic : I really hope we'll get a good layout soon. I don't want to wait until I break this cheap-ass Logitech combo (bought ~3 years ago, built-to-last though) 'cause I don't want to buy a keyboard not fit for French.
Else I'll get a QWERTY, but our government wouldn't like me to do that.

 

[levi]

SCART was probably designed for hooking up VCRs to TVs, as it supports bi-directional video and audio (at least in composite) and it's also the only consumer tech that connects RGB signals, as already mentioned. Apparently (though I've never seen this) it also support YPbPr component video, and to my mind it's easier to connect and route one scart cable than five RCA/BNC connectors for component video + stereo audio (not to mention SCARTs auto-switching and aspect selection facilities).

Since the dawn of HDTV, I'm constantly having to fiddle with the aspect ratio on my devices, because it seems more common for HDMI connected devices to misreport their aspect ratio than it used to be on SCART. Perhaps because SCART defaulted to 4:3, and you had to raise a voltage to get widescreen output on many TVs, whereas most HDMI devices start outputting 16:9 and don't care enough to change it to the proper 4:3 ratio when required.

 

[Grench]

Back on topic : I really hope we'll get a good layout soon. I don't want to wait until I break this cheap-ass Logitech combo (bought ~3 years ago, built-to-last though) 'cause I don't want to buy a keyboard not fit for French.
Else I'll get a QWERTY, but our government wouldn't like me to do that.

In all seriousness, I think that the layout we came up with for the Pyra, or something very close to it, could be used on a full-sized keyboard and be far more efficient than what the French are using now.

So - the politicians are right that the French need a better layout. The process to get there, though, should be entertaining. If you or anyone else in France wants to keep the rest of us plugged into this process, I would appreciate it.

 

[Kev2442]

Agreed. The Pyra is a real success for such a tiny keyboard. Will confirm when I'll get one in my hands though.

I don't think I have the influence needed for such a move, but I may get in line as soon as there is a new keyboard that I like. Been considering mechanical for a while, but there's no shop near my place where they have one.