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THIS MAY BE MY LAST CHANCE TO USE THE CAPS LOCK KEY, SO I’M GOING TO MAKE IT A GOOD ONE.

LAST WEEK SAW THE LAUNCH OF “CAPSOFF,” A CAMPAIGN IN WHICH THE HEAD OF A COMPANY CALLED IMATIX, PIETER HINTJENS, WILL BE URGING MANUFACTURERS TO REMOVE THE KEY FROM ALL FUTURE KEYBOARDS. THIS KEY, ACCORDING TO HINTJENS, CONFUSES USERS, CAUSES PASSWORD ERRORS AND LEADS TO ONLINE “SHOUTING,” EVEN FROM USERS (LIKE ME, RIGHT NOW) WHO ARE SIMPLY TRYING TO BE HEARD.

PERSONALLY, I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE CAPS LOCK KEY WAS RATHER WELL-DESIGNED. IT’S APPROPRIATE THAT IT SITS ABOVE THE SHIFT KEY, BECAUSE IT IS CLOSELY RELATED TO THE SHIFT FUNCTION, AND OTHER THAN THE NUM LOCK KEY IS THE ONLY ONE TO BE GIVEN AN LED INDICATOR LIGHT WHEN IT IS IN USE. HOW COULD EVEN A NOVICE USER SCREW THAT UP?

AS THE CAPSOFF WEBSITE NOTES, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST BATTLE IN THIS PARTICULAR WAR. IT MAKES NOTE OF A SIMILAR MOVEMENT IN SWEDEN WHICH HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR FIVE YEARS. HARDWARE DESIGNERS, MEANWHILE, HAVE NOT BEEN AS STAGNANT AS CAPSOFF MIGHT HAVE YOU BELIEVE. EARLIER THIS YEAR, FOR EXAMPLE, A GROUP CALLED COLEMAK INTRODUCED A KEYBOARD DESIGN SANS CAPS LOCK THAT IS BILLED AS MORE USER-FRIENDLY THAN THE QWERTY OR THE DVORAK.

THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER KEYS, MEANWHILE, THAT MOST KEYBOARDS COULD DO WITHOUT. HOW MANY OFFICE COMPUTER USERS OUTSIDE OF THE IT DEPARTMENT MAKE REGULAR USE OF THE ESC KEY, THE HELP KEY OR EVEN THE FUNCTION KEYS?  THE DIFFERENCE, OF COURSE, THAT THESE KEYS AREN’T USED IN THE COMPOSITION OF MESSAGES. IT IS THE INCREASE IN ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION THAT MAKES MISUSE OF THE CAPS LOCK KEY SUCH A THORN IN SOME USER’S SIDES.

THE ONLY LOGICAL WAY TO SETTLE THIS DEBATE, THEREFORE, IS TO CONSIDER IT FROM A UTILIZATION/PRODUCTIVITY PERSPECTIVE. IF THE CAPS LOCK KEY ISN’T USED VERY MUCH BY MOST EMPLOYEES, IS THERE BETTER USE FOR THAT DESKTOP REAL ESTATE? MUCH LIKE THIN-CLIENT COMPUTERS THAT DON’T HOUSE THEIR OWN APPLICATIONS, PERHAPS THE CASE COULD BE MADE FOR A MORE BASIC PC KEYBOARD. FOR POWER USERS SUCH AS PROGRAMMERS, ON THE OTHER HAND, A CAPS LOCK KEY MIGHT MAKE SENSE, BUT SHOULD THEY HOLD ON TO THE EXISTING DESIGNS, OR SHOULD WE CONSIDER OTHER SHORT CUT KEYS THAT COULD AID THEIR USER EXPERIENCES?

AS FRIVOLOUS AS THE CAPSOFF CAMPAIGN APPEARS, IT MAY PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE IMPROVEMENTS IN A PART OF THE PC INTERFACE THAT OFTEN GOES IGNORED AMONG ADVANCEMENTS IN MONITOR SCREENS, CHASSIS SIZES AND WIRELESS MICE. IN AN INDUSTRY THAT PRIDES ITSELF ON CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND A FOCUS ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, DATA ENTRY THROUGH THE KEYBOARD REPRESENTS A CRITICAL PART OF ENTERPRISE WORKFLOW, AND ONE THAT IS RAPIDLY MOVING TO SMALLER AND SMALLER DEVICES. THERE’S GOT TO BE SOME BEST PRACTICES HERE. ALL I KNOW IS THAT USING THE CAPS LOCK KEY TO THIS EXTENT ISN’T ONE OF THEM.

SSCHICK@ITBUSINESS.CA

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