What is Computer Keyboard ?

There are few global brands that specializes in such products, among them Keyshorts, of which I am the co-founder. You can see some of the MacBook keyboard decals on our website.

the computer's CPU then shows the character on the screen, usually at the place where the cursor is. Besides entering characters, computer keyboards also have keys that change the symbol (such as shift or caps lock) or give the computer special commands (such as the arrow keys, CTRL and ALT). Different computer operating systems use different special keys, or use them differently

There are four keys on majority of modern keyboards that are legacy from the ancient times of computers. Here we'll focus on three of them:

A keyboard can be joined to a computer using a wire, but can also be wireless (like those that use Bluetooth). Most 21st century keyboards that use wires connect to a USB port on the computer, but older ones use a less versatile DIN connector port.

There are different types of keyboards. They can be based on the way the keys work; for example, laptops have keys that don't move a lot, because the keyboard has to be very thin in order to fit inside the laptop.

System Request is often abbreviated SysRq or Sys Req.

There are also different ways the keys on a keyboard are laid out, usually to deal with different regions and languages of the world. The most popular layout is called QWERTY, which is based on the first six letters on typewriter keyboards

The origin of this key dates back to 1980, when IBM computers typically ran few operating systems.

Keystroke logging is capturing a record of each key that is pressed. Keystroke logging can be used to measure employee activity. Hackers can also use keystroke logging

System Request was designed to switch between them. Since then, the key has no purpose.

Today it is rarely used in software testing and programming on Windows system.

Print Screen (usually placed in conjunction with System Request), often abbreviated PrtScr or PrntScrn.

It's original purpose was to capture the screen and print it on paper. Today it's used to capture the screen and save it to clipboard.

Pause/Break key have it's predecessor in 19th century telegraph, where electrical circuit had to break in certain moment.

Today, the key has no real meaning and it's used in keyboard shortcuts and few games. Pause functionality works in terminal environments to pause the execution of command or program, but is rarely used almost exclusively by programmers.

Many people and businesses communicate in two or more languages.

Translators need bilingual keyboards to easily type in one of selected keyboard layout.

People who have families in two different countries often need bilingual keyboards to write emails or chat on Facebook in two languages. Businesses (especially in customer service departments) must communicate with customers who speak foreign languages.

All those people need special keyboards.

Of course keyboards are simply produced this way, many layouts are bilingual by default (eg. korean, arabic, japanese), but still, the possibilities are limited and the cost is higher than normal keyboard.

That's why people use bilingual stickers for keyboards, which simply expand the functionality for a reasonable price. Plus, you can change them over time to something different.

Scroll Lock (abbreviated ScrLk) is the fourth of rather useless keys on modern keyboards, but it deserves it's own place on the list. Why?

Because it never really had any particular function (!). It supposed to lock page scrolling with arrow keys, but since its introduction it never worked that way.

Today it is very rarely used, mainly as a part of keyboard shortcuts.

The model M, produced by IBM and Lexmark starting in 1984, is the father of modern day keyboard.