Happy Hacking Keyboard - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Happy Hacking Keyboard is a small computer keyboard

Keyboard (computing)

In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...

produced by PFU Limited of Japan, co-developed with Japanese computer pioneer Eiiti Wada

Eiiti Wada

Eiiti Wada is an emeritus computer scientist professor at the University of Tokyo and the Research Director of Internet Initiative Japan a network technology company. He is one of the creators of the Happy Hacking Keyboard.-References:...

. The current models in production are the Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2, Professional JP, and the Happy Hacking Keyboard Lite 2.

Common Features

Some of the Happy Hacking Keyboard design tenets, as dictated by Wada, include a minimal 60 key design, no cursor or function keys, and standard keyboard pitch, all optimized for use in UNIX

Unix

Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...

environments.

Happy Hacking Keyboards lack a numeric keypad

Numeric keypad

A numeric keypad, numpad or tenkey for short, is the small, palm-sized, seventeen key section of a computer keyboard, usually on the very far right. The numeric keypad features digits 0 to 9, addition , subtraction , multiplication and division symbols, a decimal point and Num Lock and Enter keys...

, and keys outside the typewriter key area are mainly accessible through the Fn key

Fn key

Fn, or 'Function', is a modifier key on many keyboards, especially on laptops, used in a compact layout to combine keys which are usually kept separate. It is typically found on laptops, since a full-sized keyboard would be difficult to fit in a laptop chassis. It is also found in many full-sized...

. The keys are arranged in a layout resembling the Sun Type 3 keyboard. Specifically:

The control key
Control key
In computing, a Control key is a modifier key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, will perform a special operation ; similar to the Shift key, the Control key rarely performs any function when pressed by itself...

is found where most keyboards place the caps lock
Caps lock
Caps lock is a key on many computer keyboards. Pressing it sets an input mode in which typed letters are uppercase by default. The keyboard remains in caps lock mode until the key is pressed again...

. This is the only control key on the keyboard.
The esc key
Esc key
On computer keyboards, the Esc key is a key labeled Esc or Escape that is used to generate the ASCII Escape character , the character code traditionally used to initiate an escape sequence...

is located to the left of the 1 key; the tilde key normally found there is at the right end of the same row.
The delete key
Delete key
The delete key , known less ambiguously as forward delete, performs a function when struck on a computer keyboard during text or command editing, which is to discard the character ahead of the cursor's position, moving all following characters one position "back" towards the freed letterspace. The...

is located directly above the enter key
Enter key
In computer keyboards, the enter key in most cases causes a command line, window form, or dialog box to operate its default function...

; the key normally found there is the second rightmost key on the row above it. Furthermore, this is an actual delete key, not a historically named backspace
Backspace
Backspace is the keyboard key that originally pushed the typewriter carriage one position backwards, and in modern computer displays moves the cursor one position backwards, deletes the preceding character, and shifts back the text after it by one position....

. Backspace is accessible through Fn+Delete.
The windows
Windows key
The Windows logo key—also known as the Windows key, the home key, the meta key, the start key, MOD4, or the flag key —is a keyboard key which was originally introduced on the Microsoft Natural keyboard before the release of Windows 95. This key became a standard key on PC keyboards...

/command key
Command key
The Command key, also historically known as the Apple key, open-Apple key or meta key is a modifier key present on Apple Keyboards. The Command key's purpose is to allow the user to enter keyboard shortcut commands to GUI applications...

s are located between the space bar
Space bar
thumb|250px|A [[computer keyboard]], Space Bar is on the bottom center of the keyboardThe space bar, spacebar, or space key, is a key on an alphanumeric keyboard in the form of a horizontal bar in the lowermost row, significantly wider than other keys. Its main purpose is to conveniently enter the...

and the alt key
Alt key
The Alt key on a computer keyboard is used to change the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For example, simply pressing "A" will type the letter a, but if you hold down either Alt key while pressing A, the computer...

s, and are represented by ◇
Unicode Geometric Shapes
Geometric Shapes is a Unicode block of 96 symbols at codepoint range U+25A0-25FF.-U+25A0-U+25CF:-U+25D0-U+25FF:-Font coverage:Only two font sets—Code2000 and the DejaVu family—include coverage for each of the glyphs in the Geometric Shapes range, Unifont also contains all the glyphs...

.

On the far side of the keyboard there are DIP switch

DIP switch

DIP switches are manual electric switches that are packaged in a group in a standard dual in-line package...

es. These may be used to

Turn the delete key into a backspace. Fn+Delete remains backspace, and Fn + top-right key remains delete.
Swap the alt and meta key
Meta key
The meta key is a special key on MIT keyboards, such as the space-cadet keyboard, and on Sun Microsystems keyboards, marked as a solid diamond.The key is similar in function to the Macintosh's command key, which has the same location...

s.
Enable/disable downstream USB ports on USB models.

Features by Model

Model Name	Model #	Color	Switch Type	Interface	Blank Keytops	Introduced	EOL	Other Features
Happy Hacking Keyboard	PD-KB02	White	Membrane	PS/2 PS/2 connector The PS/2 connector is a 6-pin Mini-DIN connector used for connecting some keyboards and mice to a PC compatible computer system. Its name comes from the IBM Personal System/2 series of personal computers, with which it was introduced in 1987... , Sun, ADB Apple Desktop Bus Apple Desktop Bus is an obsolete bit-serial computer bus connecting low-speed devices to computers. Used primarily on the Macintosh platform, ADB equipment is still available but not supported by most Apple hardware manufactured since 1999....	rowspan="17"	Dec 20, 1996	Dec 10, 2006	Buzzer (Sun), Power supply switch (Sun/Mac)
Happy Hacking Keyboard	PD-KB02N	White				Dec 20, 1996	Dec 10, 2006	Buzzer (Sun), Power supply switch (Sun/Mac)
Happy Hacking Keyboard Lite	PD-KB100W	White		PS/2	Jun 7, 1999		Was also available in black and white non-labeled versions
Happy Hacking Keyboard Lite 2	PD-KB200W/P	White			Mar 15, 2001	Dec 19, 2008	Arrow keys, 2-port USB hub. Available in Japanese and English layouts.
	PD-KB200B/P	Black				Dec 19, 2008
	PD-KB200W/U	White		USB
	PD-KB200B/U	Black
	PD-KB210W/U	White
	PD-KB210B/U	Black
	PD-KB220W/U	White
	PD-KB220B/U	Black
	PD-KB220MKW	White					Mac version, has command and option keys in addition to the other Lite 2 features.
	PD-KB200MKB	Black
	PD-KB200MA	White
	PD-KB220MA	White
Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional	PD-KB300	White	Capacitive		Apr 24, 2003	Dec 10, 2006
	PD-KB300B	Charcoal Gray
	PD-KB300NL	White						rowspan="2"
	PD-KB300BN	Charcoal Gray
Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2	PD-KB400W	White			rowspan="2"	Mar 24, 2006		2-port USB hub
	PD-KB400B	Charcoal Gray
	PD-KB400WN	White			rowspan="2"
	PD-KB400BN	Charcoal Gray
Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional JP	PD-KB420W	White			rowspan="2"	Nov 10, 2008		HHKB Professional 2 with Japanese layout and arrow keys
Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional JP	PD-KB420B	Charcoal Gray				Nov 10, 2008		HHKB Professional 2 with Japanese layout and arrow keys
Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional HG	PD-KB500W	White			rowspan="2"	Oct 12, 2006		Special 10-year anniversary models
	PD-KB500B	Black
	PD-KB500WN	White			rowspan="3"
	PD-KB500BN	Black
Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional HG JAPAN	PD-KB500J	Wajima-style lacquer
Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2 Type-S	PD-KB400WS	White			rowspan="1"	June 29, 2011		with Silencing
Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2 Type-S	PD-KB400WNS	White			rowspan="1"
Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional JP Type-S	PD-KB420WS	White			rowspan="1"

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Common Features

Features by Model

See also

External links