[meitham]

I like how Apple introduced the CMD key, with copy/paste linked to it in the terminal, leaving CTRL to work as intended. Even outside the terminal basic emacs key binding work as intended, such as c-k c-u etc

[AnonymousPlanet]

That's an arrangement I also really appreciate. But the origins are different from what most might assume.

Apple introduced copy and paste in 1983 using the command key. Microsoft later copied the idea using the control key because PCs lacked a command key [1].

X had super, meta, hyper keys before the PC's stunted set of modifiers became a standard [2]. Microsoft and the PC are rarely the origins of things, mainly because CP/M, DOS and later Windows were poor, amateurish, and incomplete copies of other systems.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut,_copy,_and_paste

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_key_(keyboard_button)

[lucideer]

I use Toshy along with an Apple keyboard to work around Linux distros' unfortunate Windowsiness here but I really really wish someone would release a fully fledged distro or DE put together with Apple keyboards in mind.

There's a lot of things about Apple I dislike but it's clear Microsoft's overloading of Ctrl for GUI shortcuts was a move made with complete disregard for terminal users, & one that's resulted in decades of pain for anyone regularly switching between GUI & terminal contexts, & I have to give it to Apple that Cmd was clearly designed to respect, retain & augment optimal terminal use.

[koiueo]

OTOH, Microsoft's introduction of "menu accelerators" (Alt+*) is an incredible productivity booster (which luckily most Linux graphical toolkits have adopted).

I got to appreciate it only after I had to use macOS at work.

Somehow I got used to Ctrl workarounds in terminal emulators (just add shift). But the lack of accelerators bugs me immensely.

[biehl]

Also lovely! I was going to look for somthing like Toshy - https://github.com/RedBearAK/toshy

[louthy]

> I like how Apple introduced the CMD key, with copy/paste linked to it in

As someone who switches between macOS and Linux every day, the change of control-key from CTRL to CMD is hella annoying. I am always pressing the wrong combo on macOS.

[npteljes]

I completely agree. If only Windows also had WinKey+C/X/V as shortcuts, it would make so much sense in other Windows software too. Same with ALT+TAB and ALT+F4, CTRL+SPACE etc, these should also be handled by the win key. Then the Win/Cmd key would be assigned to OS functions, and the rest of them could be assigned to application functions, providing a clean separation.

[rafram]

Non-Mac keyboards have a meta / “Windows” key as well, usually sitting there doing nothing.

[samlinnfer]

On Linux it is often already used for window manager specific shortcuts.

[cycomanic]

They are the most common modifier key for tiling window managers. It's very likely one of the most often pressed key in my setup.

[npteljes]

Yeah, that is the most sensible choice. OS key to interact with the OS, rest of the keys to interact with the application.