[muglo] Re: eMac Keyboard Problem [OT]

Eric:

Last I looked, the "Francophone" population of Canada was closer to 30% and
they are not located only in Quebec. But that's not really the issue, is it?

In Ontario, for example, ALL Provincial laws and courts (Municipal too, but
it's not enforced) must be in both Official languages. That's not Apple's
fault. 

How do you suggest Gov't and Court workers in Ontario or any other
province/territory enter/revise French data without a keyboard capable of
producing French characters? In Quebec, they have largely standardized on
the "AZERTY" keyboard of France. "AZERTY" is the first six left-to-right
characters on the 2nd row of the keyboard... The "English speaking world"
uses "QWERTY". The CSA keyboard is actually a pretty neat solution for
native English speakers to able to work in French without having to learn a
whole new keyboard.

Frankly, I find it appalling that a fellow Canadian, could adopt such an
attitude as to call it "stupid" for a company to service it's customers as
best it can. Is this really such an issue for you or as I infer from your
rant, are you simply one of the "English Bigots" that prefer an American
standard to a Canadian one? If so, you'll be very happy to hear that Apple
USA is working a Latino version of CSA that would replace the US Standard
you're using now. It'll will work the same, but at least it won't be in
French.

Microsoft, offers a command set of "alt+numerics" to generate accented
characters. Not quite as user friendly, but they love it out in Alberta.

As for other languages, that you might find more useful in various locations
across Canada, I again, remind you that we are talking about "Official"
languages here. Again, last time I looked there are NO jurisdictions
anywhere in Canada requiring laws be written in anything other than English
or French, except in the Far North where it is OPTIONAL to add Native
languages up there. (also under review to eliminate the "option" and make it
mandatory.

> It's rather amusing that Apple alienates 3/4 of the country with stupidity,
> and underservices the other 1/4 as a consequence. Does Micro$oft do the same
> thing (I can't remember whether they have a Canada - English = USA settings
> policy as well)?
> 
> What we need is a Canada - English and Canada - French setting: Both
> settings using SI (obviously), but Canada - English set to the "regular"
> (read USA) keyboard that we (Anglos) *all* use, and Canada- French using the
> "whatever" CSA keyboard they use (do they use a *real* French (as in France)
> keyboard or do they use some silly Canadian invention?).
> 
>> From: Eurogarth <eurogarth@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> Reply-To: muglo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> To: "Muglo@Freelists. Org" <muglo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Subject: [muglo] Re: eMac Keyboard Problem
>> Date: Sat, 27 Sep 2003 19:54:36 -0400
>> 
>> Guys!
>> 
>> You're fishing up the wrong tree... It ain't Apple so much as Apple's
>> desire
>> to sell into the Education and Government markets in Canada (last I looked
>> La Belle Province is still a part of Canada and so much the better for us!)
>> and that means a Bi-lingual keyboard. At least it's not Azerty. I think
>> Apple's great for even considering the customers it has in Quebec.
> 
> That is admirable but unfortunately we (non Quebecers) get screwed in the
> process. Well, not *me* but people who haven't had to fight the idiocy that
> Apple sometimes is capable of for 19 years (technically 16 since I didn't
> come to Canada until 3 years after we got our first Mac) won't know what's
> wrong or what to change! Actually, no, "me too". I've had to provide tech
> support to people who didn't know what stupidity Apple was doing.
> 
>> Canada is
>> officially bi-lingual and you can either like it or get involved and change
>> it. Don't blame apple for meeting Canadian requirements!
> 
> I have to disagree. They *aren't* meeting Canadians' requirements (perhaps
> regulations but far too many of those involving Quebec haven't been well
> implemented at times (I keep coming back to the farcical nature of Canada's
> food labelling laws... yes, I know how to say beurre d'arrachides in French,
> but there's no such thing as the Cantonese or Mandarin or Italian versions
> (*much* more important than French in Toronto or Vancouver)) ;-). They are
> failing miserably since selecting Canada in the preferences does not set SI
> and sets an unworkable keyboard that has no relationship with the keyboard
> Canadians have been using since time immemorial (I find it so amusing to see
> people swearing up and down when they find out for the first time that Apple
> sets a @!#!% Canadian keyboard when you select Canada).
> 
> Asserting our independence from the US is a national pasttime and also valid
> since we're wildly different societies and the US, as a whole (there are
> pockets of rationality... of course, we too have our Alberta (home of King
> "Kyoto is evil and so are the Liberals and Ontario and gay marriage and the
> Supreme Court and..." Ralph and a mini Canadian "Bible belt") has little
> worth emulating (much to the chagrin of the CRAP party of Alberta and for
> some very bizarre reason, parts of BC)...
> 
> Anyway, my political rant aside, my point is that there's absolutely *no*
> reason to have a "separate" Anglo CSA keyboard since hardly anyone outside
> of la belle province uses CSA (unless they have some particular need to
> communicate with la belle province... since I do all my trilingual
> communications in English, Dutch and German I have no use for CSA, and, even
> if I did, since I was 9 years old I learned how to do it with a regular
> keyboard, not the bizarre CSA keyboard).
> 
> Ironically schools don't use it. I once walked into a lab to find computers
> set to be in the US -- it turned out this was the easiest way to make sure
> the computers were usable ;)
> 
>> 'Scuse me while I get an umbrella for the coming shit-storm of commentary.
> 
> Hehehehe. It *stinks*.
> 
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