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in reply to The most useless key on my keyboard is:

I use Windowmaker on X Windows, and F12 pops up a list of open windows -- I use it daily.

I just tried the Windows (tm) key and got nothin'. I guess Windowmaker isn't set up to do anything with that key.

Certainly the most unused keys on my keyboard are the three loners: 

 [Print] [Scroll] [Pause]
 [Scrn ] [Lock  ] [     ]
 [     ] [      ] [     ]
 [SysRq] [      ] [Break]

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I think ^P used to do a Print Screen under DOS, but I haven't used that feature in ages. No idea what Scroll Lock does. I think Pause does a ^S/^Q toggle, like XOFF/XON, and I guess Break does a ^C.

I also have a bunch of browser buttons -- Back, Forward, Stop, Mail, Search, Favourites, Web/Home, and also My Computer, Calculator and Sleep. Never pressed any of them -- certainly not the Sleep button -- that way madness lies.

The funniest thing on my keyboard is the lovely silk-screened Microsoft (tm) logo. Heh, Red Hat Linux on this workstation for the last three years, pal.

Alex / talexb / Toronto

"Groklaw is the open-source mentality applied to legal research" ~ Linus Torvalds

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^2: The most useless key on my keyboard is:
by ikegami (Pope) on Nov 16, 2005 at 20:00 UTC
    Normally, the cursor keys change the cursor position. When Scroll Lock is on, the cursor keys move the view instead. In other words, Scroll Lock causes the cursor keys to act like they do when viewing an HTML page in Firefox and IE. Spreadsheet software usually support it.
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      Wow. That's so cool. I was going to vote for ScrollLock but read the replies before voting. I'm glad I did. This sounds like a key I'll have much use for, if the things I use actually support it.

      I've used PrtScr several times in the last few weeks (it stuffs the current screen contents into the paste buffer so I can crop them and include them in e-mail to managers who like their facts in the form of pretty pictures). :)

      Just for the sake of tradition, I'll note that the best answer was omitted. NumbLock, which should always be "on" (unless you have a miniature keyboard as part of some miniature device, of course).

      - tye        

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Re^2: The most useless key on my keyboard is:
by BrowserUk (Pope) on Nov 16, 2005 at 21:13 UTC
    I guess Break does a ^C

    Crtl-Break is treated differently than ^C, at least by Perl which can be handy: 

    P:\test>p1 ## ^C
perl> Terminating on signal SIGINT(2)

P:\test>p1 ## ^Break
perl> Terminating on signal SIGBREAK(21)

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    Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
    Lingua non convalesco, consenesco et abolesco. -- Rule 1 has a caveat! -- Who broke the cabal?
    "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
    In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
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[d/l]
Re^2: The most useless key on my keyboard is:
by Moriarty (Abbot) on Nov 17, 2005 at 02:03 UTC

    I use Windowmaker on X Windows, and F12 pops up a list of open windows -- I use it daily.

    I also use WindowMaker on one of my home machines but I didn't know this. Thanks for the info. :)

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      You're welcome -- since I started using Xwindows and Windowmaker, I can't imagine going back to Windows with a single desktop, and I'm really quite surprised that no one's done anything to address that on Windows.

      At work I'm set up with 10 desktops on a dual-headed system:

      1. E-Mail (mutt), IM (Gaim)
      2. Monitoring 1 (browser on Nagios, xterm on qstat (for the Sun Grid Engine), xload on the various servers I need to watch)
      3. Monitoring 2 (tabbed browser on the Production systems)
      4. Development (browser, various xterm ssh sessions, Razor bug tracking)
      5. Sometimes Development, sometimes Support
      6. Spare
      7. Spare
      8. Sometimes additional browsing
      9. Personal (browser on GMail, Slash, Groklaw, PerlMonks)
      No way would I be able to fit all that on any Windows desktop.

      Alex / talexb / Toronto

      "Groklaw is the open-source mentality applied to legal research" ~ Linus Torvalds

[reply]
        Actually Windows has such oportunity, but special equipment has to be installed :). e.g. my ATI RADEON card software can create up to 9 desktops. But it's still difficult to use it, because on switching between desktops it shuffles apps icons on taskbar. Also, when modal dialog is displayed on inactive desktop the whole system becomes dead-locked :)
        That's why i'm not using it :)
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        There are multiple tools to activate (it is already there) the multiple desktops on Windows. I use MultiDesktop Manager. Check out windows virtual desktop

        Microsoft even has a free tool. Lots of the others are free, too. Some even come with (gasp) source.

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