If the caps lock key didn't already exist and someone proposed it, it would seem like an insane idea.
-
Why was it created in the first place?
Typewriters had only one font, so people would often use all caps to distinguish titles and section names.
-
-
Ahhh, makes sense. Thank you.
-
The mechanical nature of a typewriter moved the entire printing block to place the caps versions on the characters in line with the ribbon, caps lock was a hook to hold the shift in place. Brilliant engineering.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
P L U S U N D E R L I N E S - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
Just like e-books/stories, its an example where someone directly ported an old experience into a new format without considering how the new format could change / open things up....
-
Encarta vs. Wikipedia.
- Show replies
New conversation -
-
-
I thought it was for when you wanted to type really long, angry messages.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
In other words, it was simply a carry-over from typewriters into computer keyboards. Interesting.
-
We have tons of that. Modern unicode has thousands of emoji... but still reserves one code point for "this letter has been deleted", a holdover from punch cards which could only punch out letters to correct mistakes, leaving that specific value instead.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
It's also because typewriters were mechanical and HEAVY! If you wanted to "SHIFT" to the second (CAPS) type face, it was a physical lift of all keys that took real effort. If you needed titles etc. caps LOCK had a very real need.
-
It was a literal LOCK - it lifted and LOCKED the second typeface in place.
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.