Instruction manual

Non-English Keyboards (JK)
Apple makes standard and extended keyboards for all the major Western European lan-
guages, plus Japanese, Korean, Russian, Persian, Hebrew, Greek, Turkish, Icelandic,
Finnish, and Flemish. To use them properly, you need the corresponding version of the
system software. You can order both the keyboard and the system software through
Apple dealers.
A Chord Keyboard (Caleb Clark)
The BAT Personal Keyboard ($199, Infogrip) is a seven-button keyboard that lets
you type one-handed: there’s one key for each of your four fingers and three for your
thumb. You hit combinations (“chords”) of the seven keys to produce all the various
keyboard characters. For example, the chord for the letter g is the middle thumb and
ring finger keys pushed down simultaneously.
Standard keyboards are faster than the BAT for straight typing, but the BAT is con-
venient for things such as layout or text editing, because you can keep one hand on
the keyboard and one on the mouse, and never look away from the screen. I put the
BAT to the left of my standard keyboard so I can type on either one according to
the situation, and it works great.
The BAT has a palmrest and ergonomically designed keys, and it didn’t take long
to learn.
Mice and Other Pointing Devices
Mice are one of the Mac’s great innovations. They give you much more direct control
over what’s on the screen than any keyboard can. The mouse controls the pointer,
which gives you the ability to select objects on the screen and control cursors in word
processors, paintbrushes in art programs, and paddles in shuffleboard games.
Mice
There’s certainly nothing wrong with the mouse that comes with your Mac, but some-
day you may have to replace it, or there may be a substitute that would better fit the
way you use your Mac. For example, some mice and trackballs have extra buttons that
lock down for dragging objects, or for other purposes that you can assign. Here are
several alternative mice you might consider.
Chapter 6: Basic Peripherals188