8 Mar
2007
8 Mar
'07
5:04 p.m.
Ah, yes... I forgot about the keypad... that's
much more of an
emulation issue for most users than double-high/double-wide. EDT,
WPS, etc... all heavily dependent on specific keys for specific
functions.
The keypad emulation is the very first thing I check when trying out a new
emulator. Then I look at double-high/double-wide. If I could find one that
handled both of those things *AND* screen display on my Mac properly, and
didn't require a mortgage, I think I'd pass out from shock.
Using a modern keyboard with a dumb terminal emulated
in modern
hardware (i.e. - microcontroller or FPGA), might prove to be
interesting, since real VT100 keyboards are somewhat difficult to
find, compared to, say, LK201s, which should still be relatively
plentiful (and not difficult to interface to).
My favorite is the LK401, it's fragile, but I like its feel, even if it is a
bit mushy for my tastes. But then my favorite terminal is the VT420, though
I'm running the one on my PDP-11 with a LK201 keyboard.
I'd like to pick up a VT525, with a good keyboard (I assume it would be a
LK450 or some such). The VT525 looks like a DEC Multia, can use a PS/2
keyboard, and will work with at least some LCD panels.
Both Compaq and HP have released some "thin-client" terminals running some
form of WinCE. They look rather interesting, but I don't know how good the
terminal emulation is.
Last I checked, you can still buy VT520's from Boundless (they bought DEC's
terminal business).
Zane