3/28/2023 0 Comments Us keyboard layoutI returned the laptop I purchased two years ago and instead had to look at other options from Dell and Microsoft which both come with UK ISO keyboard layouts. Since there does not seem to be a huge backlash from European consumers against this practice and both HP and Asus seem to be selling laptops, I’m not confident we will see a return to normality. So to slowly and secretly start selling ANSI keyboard layouts on UK laptops is disappointing to say the least. Let’s be honest, HP knows how to make standard ISO UK keyboards because the entire college, my workstation and my old HP Chromebook all had one! If you are not familiar with what I’m on about, here is the difference between ISO and ANSI keyboard layouts: Source: Wikimedia Commons I wasn’t surprised there were other posts talking about the same problem. I raised this issue with their confused customer support but got nowhere because as far as they were concerned it was a UK keyboard and I got what I purchased. Then came the surprise: my UK HP Spectre laptop came with an ANSI keyboard layout! HP was cheeky in their marketing because to this day, their HP Spectre website says “If included, PCs will come with an UK keyboard and power adapter.” That gives the impression it come will a standard ISO UK keyboard layout but this is what I received: HP Spectre UK laptop with ANSI Keyboard Layout I was also really happy with my HP Chromebook so I thought their flagship laptop would be great. It had all the specs I need and the price was really good. So, I purchased a new HP Spectre laptop in summer 2020. But the Chromebook wasn’t flexible and powerful enough to work on everyday. Using the AltChar Key Most keyboards have two Alt keys, one on each side of the Spacebar. If you are not familiar with using a keyboard arranged in this manner, the US International Keyboard Layout may not be the best layout for your needs. It has an identical symbol set as US English but with additional Euro symbol and Alt Gr key instead of Alt. Normally, I would balance my workload between my office desktop workstation and my Chromebook. This keyboard is based on the QWERTY keyboard layout that is commonly used in the United States. Two years ago in the midst of the pandemic and working exclusively from home, I realised my HP Chromebook wasn’t up for the job. Let me explain what is going in more detail. I came across HP and Asus both doing this. But for myself and my colleagues who’ve been programming on an ISO UK keyboard layout for years, changing the physical layout of the keyboard is a big problem. Since most consumers don’t mind or notice the difference, they get away with it. Instead of manufacturing laptop chassis with two different keyboard layouts, ANSI and ISO, they just produce ANSI instead which presumably is cheaper and easier. I hypothesise it has something to do with reducing costs.
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