I always tell my friends that Lenovo Thinkpad has one of the best keyboard in the world. It feels very comfortable to type with and I simply love the sound. And I think Lenovo also knows that one of their strength is the keyboard. That’s why they put in lots of effort in the Thinkpad T400s keyboard design.
But whenever I lend a non-Thinkpad user my old trusty T43, the only major complains that I get is the position of the Fn button. Unlike most keyboard, the Thinkpad’s keyboard placed the Fn button on the left most corner. On a normal keyboard, that is usually the Ctrl button position. But I guess over the years, Thinkpad users (like me) have gotten used to the position of the Fn button. It’s just the new users that have problems adopting it.
Lenovo just announced that they will allow users to swop the position of the Fn and Ctrl via the BIOS. This move came as a surprise to almost everyone. And I think this is the best solution to the legacy problem. If they simply swop the position of the Fn and Ctrl button, the existing Thinkpad users might not like it. If they don’t swop, they have a hard time reaching out to new Thinkpad users. So an option in the BIOS is the best solution.
But do note that the options will only be available in the new models. There is no way for existing Thinkpad users to get this option. I think it’s a pity. Perhaps Lenovo should consider allowing existing Thinkpad users to upgrade their BIOS to get this option (if that is possible).
Just wondering, will anyone be making Fn and Ctrl stickers for Thinkpad users to paste over their swopped keys? Haha.
on Nov 6th, 2009 at 1:21 PM
DK, I use http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/mapkeyboard/mapkeyboard.html which is free to map keyboard keys.
Same issue with my Kojinsha mini notebook, the Shift and Ctrl are swapped, kept typing wrong key.
on Nov 6th, 2009 at 1:26 PM
one of the main advantages for having the Fn button at the corner, is the convenience when you want to turn on the light (non thinkpad users would probably hv no idea what im talking abt.)
its just two corner buttons tp turn on the light.
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on Nov 6th, 2009 at 1:26 PM
Shen: Interesting. Didn’t know there is such software.
But I guess having it in the BIOS means it won’t take up resources.
on Nov 6th, 2009 at 2:00 PM
Hisham: Yeap yeap. Very convenient. Hard to miss it in the dark.
on Nov 11th, 2009 at 11:00 AM
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