Why is there no # b...
 

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[Closed] Why is there no # button on an iMac keyboard?

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 iolo
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I just got a new iMac and couldn't find the # key. I googled it and see its alt + 3. That seems a bit silly. Why not write it on the 3 button.
Is there a reason for this?


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 6:47 pm
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Americans don't have a £ sign on their keyboards, of course, but we do have $ because it's needed when writing code. They have # (which they also call 'pound' for some reason) where we have £. But we also need # so we stick it on another key near the enter key. If you are trying to shrink a keyboard by taking out some keys, an American finds it easy to remove the one that # is on on our keyboard, and then simply put £ on shift-3 instead of #. But then this leaves us without a #.

Or in other words, this is Apple. You'll get what we give you and like it.


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 7:02 pm
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It's probably been only in the last three or four years that the average Mac user has noticed that there wasn't a hash key on the keyboard.
I don't see the issue really, it's the same number of keypresses.


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 7:12 pm
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# is fairly universally used as pound when talking about pipe weight per foot molgrips, it probably orginated as an americanism but its widely used in industry now.


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 7:17 pm
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Just read the wikipedia article. It suggests that it was a stylised version of lb, similar to the & sign for 'et', but it also says that it's only called 'pound' in the US and it's usually only used to mean number in the US too.


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 7:21 pm
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How about Chromebooks (or my Toshiba at least) having a slightly annoying search button where the CapsLock should be? I think you can lock the shift button though.


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 7:23 pm
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Why not write it on the 3 button.

[img] [/img]

?


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 7:27 pm
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Because Apple aren't Enduro enough


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 8:35 pm
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#worstIjustgotanewmacthreadever


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 8:40 pm
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#LOL


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 8:51 pm
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Newer Mac keyboard do have it on the 3. Certainly the one I'm typing on does.


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 8:54 pm
 iolo
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#imsadbutnotthatsad 🙂


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 8:54 pm
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And on a chromebook you can change the settings so that the search button becomes the caps lock.


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 8:57 pm
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I think that the chromebook use of the caps key is excellent. On all of my Windows machines I now have caps and windows keys assigned to load a little searcher called launchy.


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 9:02 pm
 iolo
Posts: 194
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Which Mac do you have bensales?


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 9:18 pm
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As a maybe-interesting aside... if you go into System Preferences > Keyboard and check the 'Show Keyboard & Character viewers' box, it'll give you the symbol seen next to the wi-fi symbol in the menu bar:

[IMG] [/IMG]

Click that, then Show Character Viewer and you'll have easy access to a whole load of fancy shit you'll never use.


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 9:25 pm
 Kuco
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#############Yep works on my macbook air##############


 
Posted : 27/06/2015 9:37 pm