Marcin WicharySo excited!
In the museum store of National Museum of Computing you can buy a framed magazine. I spotted one issue with Lillian Malt (!) so I bought it and ditched the frame.
I think this describes the beginnings of the Maltron keyboard. I’ll scan it all once at home!
Finally, one bit-paired keyboard that’s not afraid to tell the whole truth.
Double soft keys, a very peculiar molly guard, and an arrow key layout from hell.
Ben@mwichary
That guard reminds me of a Thérac 25 console, in a way.
That guard reminds me of a Thérac 25 console, in a way.
@ben_zen Tell me more!
@mwichary
The Thérac 25 was a computer-controlled radiation therapy device, which took an earlier design with manual interlocks and… removed those interlocks. It turned out the delete key did not clear fields (amongst other issues that led to horrifying consequences), and instead of fixing the software the key was blocked off.
It's one of the pivotal cases of software failures resulting in loss of life. https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/case-study/therac-25
@ben_zen Thanks! I am familiar with the story – thought maybe this type of guard had a specific meaning (for Therac 20 or 25). As far as I understand they asked the operators to remove the keycap and tape over the switch of the key.
@mwichary
That's what I thought, but it still had that vibe of "oh, this key totally doesn't do what we expected."
That's what I thought, but it still had that vibe of "oh, this key totally doesn't do what we expected."