Hi,

What does this computer have to do with your work today?

You are looking at an ADM-3A from 1976.

But why should this computer still interest you nearly 50 years later?

The ADM-3A is the reason for some standards you use today

Take a look at the keyboard layout:

Why do people still use esc to enter command mode in vi?

On the ADM-3A, the esc key was right next to Q.
It was easily accessible.

The same goes for the use of : in vi.

You find it right next to the 0.
It was easily accessible.

Or do you see the arrow keys on H, J, K, and L?

That’s why you navigate in vi using h, j, k, and l.
It was labeled that way on the keyboard.

Or even more interesting: Do you see the ~ symbol at the top right? It’s right under “Home”.

That’s why ~ still refers to the home directory of the current user on UNIX systems today.
It was labeled that way on the keyboard.

And ^ is also on the Home key. That’s why we still refer to the “Home Position”, or the beginning of a line, with ^ in a regular expression.

And lastly, I’d like to point out the position of Ctrl. It’s located where we find our Caps Lock key today. Many UNIX shortcuts were designed with this keyboard. And they are easier to reach when Ctrl is in this position. Try a rebind. Honestly - when was the last time you actually used the Caps Lock key?

Rule the Backend,

~ Marcus