[Localization] What happened with German and French keyboard layouts?

[Edward Cherlin]

On Thu, Feb 12, 2009 at 9:43 AM, Nicholas Bodley <nbodley at speakeasy.net> wrote:
> On Thu, 12 Feb 2009 12:31:11 -0500, Edward Cherlin <echerlin at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> G1G1 shipped with US International keyboards only. They couldn't manage
>> the SKUs.
>
> Thanks.
>
> That's quite unfortunate. Shortly after I learned of the decision not to
> offer those keyboards, I learned that "QWERTZ" (the German layout) is used
> in quite a few countries (and, of course, that "AZERTY" is used in a number,
> as well). Some of those countries are not wealthy, and XOs would probably be
> very welcome.

I proposed shipping the XOs with blank keyboards (as Galbraith did
with his children in Cheaper by the Dozen), so that users will not be
confused or offended by having the wrong pictures, and will by
necessity learn to touch type.

> The next major design of the XO, I expect, will have
> software-defined graphics for its keyboard, so that changing a keymap will
> be very easy.

That's the XO-2, as announced.

> While on that topic, a Russian company is now selling (or was, until the
> financial meltdown) a keyboard with a small OLED display inside every
> keytop. It's costly, though; not at all appropriate for a low-cost computer.
>
> Regards,
>
> --
> Nicholas Bodley /|*|\ Waltham, Mass.
> Dvorak-layout user

Likewise. aoeui. Also Russian, фывап, and others.

-- 
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The Cosmos is my dwelling place, The Truth my destination.
http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/User:Mokurai (Ed Cherlin)