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Comment by olyjohn | Hacker News Reader

The demo keyboards in the article, I'm pretty sure are wrong.

The "Start" or Windows key is the same as the "Command" key

"Alt" is the same key as "Option"

This is how every keyboard I've ever used has worked. This is usually how they work when you plug a PC keyboard into a Mac or vice-versa.

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That's how it is by default but doesn't approximately everyone, when they first plug a non-Mac external keyboard into their Mac, immediately go to System Settings -> Keyboard -> Modifier keys and switch Command with Option?

Otherwise it would be really confusing when you switch from your external keyboard to the laptop keyboard.

Yes! Super frustrating that Apple didn't map Alt->Command and Win->Option so the keys would be in the same place on laptop and external keyboards.

It isn’t Apple’s fault (their keys predate Windows), and it isn’t really Microsoft’s fault either – when they were adding Windows key, the Alt key and its scancode already existed, too. Both companies were doing rational things that benefitted the users at the time.

Most newer keyboards I know have a toggle so the CMD and ALT switch in software. I had to switch from Mac to Win and Linux so often that I simply kept my CMD key where Super or Win is located and got used to it. Still sometimes weird when I use an actual Mac keyboard.

I do this as well as swap command/option on the built in keyboards. It works great for me switching between my own computers/OSes but always a second of re-calibration when I touch someone else's Macbook.

Logitech in particular do this. Their keyboards adapt to the OS so the keys are in the right place, not sure if this needs their drivers or not though.

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