The video explores the history of cursor keys on keyboards, highlighting the transition from non-standard layouts to the inverted T arrangement found on modern keyboards. It traces the earliest use of this layout to a terminal in 1970 and notes how various computers and terminals adopted different configurations over time. The video emphasizes the inverted T's efficiency, allowing fingers to remain on keys for touch operation, and credits the Digital Equipment Corporation's LK201 keyboard from 1982 with popularizing this design. Despite IBM's Model M keyboard from 1985 being widely recognized, it wasn't the first to use this layout. The video also discusses how cursor keys were initially intended for screen navigation but later adapted for gaming and other functions. The presenter reflects on the lack of standardization in earlier decades and how it can challenge those unfamiliar with vintage computers today.
Here are the key facts from the text:
1. The inverted T cursor arrangement is a common keyboard layout.
2. Digital Equipment Corporation adopted this layout in 1982 with the LK201 keyboard.
3. The LK201 keyboard was designed with the left, right, and down keys in easy reach.
4. The IBM Model M keyboard, released in 1985, helped popularize the inverted T arrangement.
5. The concept of cursor keys has been around since at least 1970, with the ADS console 880 terminal.
6. Cursor keys were originally used to move the cursor on a screen, but were also used for other functions like navigating menus and playing games.
7. The original Apple II keyboard, released in 1977, had only two cursor keys for left and right.
8. The Apple II keyboard also lacked a backspace key, requiring users to use the left cursor key to back up.
9. The Sinclair machines required the use of a modifier key to access cursor keys.
10. The TI-994 series of computers lacked dedicated cursor keys, making it difficult to use.
11. The original TRS-80, released in 1977, had all four cursor keys, but they were placed on opposite sides of the keyboard.
12. The Commodore PET, released in 1977, had only two cursor keys, with the default movement being down and right.
13. Later Commodore computers, such as the VIC-20 and C64, kept the same concept but placed the cursor keys at the bottom right of the keyboard.
14. The Amiga 1000, released in 1985, had a unique cursor key arrangement that was not like the modern inverted T layout.
15. The Amiga 500, released in 1987, switched to the inverted T layout.
16. The Osborne computer had a setup that was similar to the Amiga 1000, but with the left cursor key also doubling as a backspace key.
17. The IBM PC, released in 1981, used the number pad for cursor keys, with the num lock key turned off by default.
18. The IBM PC Junior used the same cursor key arrangement as the IBM PC.
19. The Regent 1000 terminal and the Coleco Adam used a similar cursor key arrangement to the IBM PC.
20. The Amiga computers, except for the original, used the inverted T cursor key arrangement.
21. The Commodore 65, a never-released computer, had the inverted T cursor key arrangement.
22. The Atari ST systems used the inverted T cursor key arrangement and provided a place to rest the palm.
23. Apple eventually offered the inverted T cursor key arrangement in their larger enhanced keyboards.
24. Unix workstation-type machines, including Sun Spark stations and Silicon Graphics, used the inverted T cursor key arrangement.