[Thinkpad] Windows Button; more on

(Pun not intended, but thought I'd leave it.)
On the lack of a "Windows" button on the thinkpad, I stumbled into a cheap, easier, safer way than tinkering with unknowns in the registry. On eBay looking for a 'mini' mouse, I found an Omega optical mini mouse for,say, less than $10.
The software included allowed a press/klik down on the scroll button to select the 'start' menu. Also popping up are choices of command menu; exploring'my computer'; Desktop; Autoscrolling; Documents; Run; Windows 'find';Notepad, and others, seeminly handy. Yeah, right.... At first I thought this was useless fruppery, merely window dressing to make a cheap mouse look good. I just wanted a cheap minnie mouse but am finding the scroll popups increasingly useful. Unknown how this works with other mouses/meeces but perhaps the software alone is available. Don't know if I should distribute a copy or not, but perhaps this message as a point in the right direction, with a good search may prove fruitful.
Enjoy lapwarming this winter!
Steve, KE8PA

   1. Re: No Windows key (ie Start Menu key) on aThinkpad 570e -
      Workaround? (Jane Loyless)
 
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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2004 12:02:14 -0500
From: Jane Loyless <jloyless@netbox.com>
Subject: Re: [Thinkpad] No Windows key (ie Start Menu key) on
aThinkpad 570e - Workaround?
To: ThinkPad Mailing List <thinkpad@stderr.org>
Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.20040313120214.01d9fe48@pop.mindspring.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

At 01:30 PM 3/12/2004 +0000, clive harrison wrote:

> Is there a workaround?
I think that others may have already answered this, but you can also find
more info in the archives at:

http://zurich.ai.mit.edu/hypermail/thinkpad/

Also, check out http://thinkpads.com/windowskey.htm

Someone else on Bill's forum recently gave information about using the Caps
Lock key as the Windows key. Here's what he said:

*****
I have used the CAPS-LOCK key for this since I have almost never used it in
about 20 years of computer usage; it seems to work on all thinkpads I have
used so far.

My registry settings are these:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,5b,e0,3a,00,00,00,00,00
*****

I have no idea if any of these work since I never use the Windows key on
keyboards that have one and haven't explored adding one to my ThinkPad
usage. My personal wish is that IBM continues to leave it off and not
cramp other keys to make space for it.

Hope this helps!

Jane

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Received on Mon Mar 15 16:59:10 2004