That awful Spectrum keyboard - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

21 Oct 2001

...
  So far I've worked out how to generate all
characters on the keytops (letters,
...
  keywords and symbols) using CAPS SHIFT or SYMBOL
SHIFT. I've also discovered
...
  how to print the keywords listed above each key, by
pressing both SHIFT keys
...
  in order to enter the "E" input mode. But
I'm lost as to how to print the
 keywords and characters listed below the keys. No combinations of SHIFT keys
...
  seem to work out. 
Go into Extended Mode (both shifts down at once to get the "E" cursor), then
press the command key you want while keeping Symbol Shift held down.

Good old Sinclair keyboards... the keyword entry thing worked ok on the
ZX80/ZX81 IMHO because they were such horrible "key"boards. Not so sure
about the Spectrum, there were just too many keywords to find, even if you
knew where to look it was still a pain to type in a listing from a magazine
:-) I recently got hold of one of the 128K Spectrum+ machines - the ones
with the QL-style keyboard. Firing up the 128K BASIC allows you to type in a
program character by character - I would have thought that would be an
improvement, but I find it to be just as nasty as the 48K BASIC's keyword
mechanism because the keyboard layout is non-standard. I ask you, putting
the " on it's own key :-)

-al