Map some other function to the insert key

[Eric Dunbar]

> First of all, let me point out that I don't think Ubuntu's job is to
> fiddle with people's keyboards, so I'm really playing devil's advocate
> here...

No, but they are trying to make a usable OS so... that may require
fiddling with default behaviours!

> > About overvrite-mode... It's a basic of electronic use - don't press
> > the button until you know what it will do ;)

> > Changing behaviour just to prevent "strange things" to guy who is
> > pressing keys without care / thinking for me sounds as a bad idea.
>
> I agree in principle, except for the problem of the accidental press.
> This is particularly a problem on laptops. Indeed, just this morning I
> went for the delete key and pressed the insert key without knowing it. I
> got a word or two in before I realized what the problem was.

Twice today I accidentally activated the @#!%!@#$# mode and lost five
characters and nothing the second time (undo worked) (the only reason
I actually took note of how often it happened is this discussion).
Insert is unfortunately right beside Backspace and above Delete so
this silly little key gets activated quite regularaly.

> And now, for a realworld example of a confused user (in case you think
> is just idle speculation). I put Ubuntu on my dad's and sister's
> computers in January. They've both been using computers for many years
> (several decades for my dad). He complained to me that he couldn't get
> the computer to type words into the middle of his openoffice documents
> without destroying the words after where he typed. I had to explain to
> him about the insert key and how he can see the insert status at the
> bottom of his openoffice window.

This is one of the hardest things to explain to people not steeped in
the ancient art of BBSing... modes are a nasty holdover from earlier
times when UI design was by programmers for programmers, not for users
;-)

Eric.