Garak in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement + first look at the Cover!

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Kilana2, Mar 5, 2015.

  1. Iamnotspock

    Iamnotspock Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2008
    Location:
    Bristol, England
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    We do, although 'quotation mark' is acceptable here too. On a UK keyboard, the apostrophe is on the same key as the '@', while the quotation mark is on the '2' key.
     
  2. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    And here we have the '@' on the '2' key! You're in some freaky mixed-up mirror world, man!

    Or am I...? :wtf::eek:
     
  3. Kilana2

    Kilana2 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2015
    Location:
    Kilana2
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement


    Don´t get me started with different keyboards (German/British/American/Chinese etc). I have Windows 7, no need for changes. Several days ago I got into this forum with another notebook with Windows 8. I wanted to write in English. Every single word was underscored in red. So I changed the language to American English. The change turned my keyboard into an American one with Y turning into Z and so on. I wanted to keep the German keyboard while writing in English. I finally found out how to effect the changes. One small checkmark was missing. No such problems with Windows 7, though.

    As to the apostrophes, I find Markonian's advice very helpful, I only need some getting used to it. :)

    I also found this:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotation_mark#German_.28Germany_and_Austria.29
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2015
  4. Kilana2

    Kilana2 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2015
    Location:
    Kilana2
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    The @ is on the same key as the quotation mark and Nr. 2 when I switch my keyboard to English (USA). And it changes the letters (y = z). On a German keyboard @ is "Alt Gr + Q". Very confusing, so no need to change the keyboard.
     
  5. Jeri

    Jeri Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2001
    Location:
    Chicago, Illinois, USA
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    That cover is sleek and to the point; it's gorgeous. Thanks!
     
  6. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    It actually changes what's displayed on your keyboard keys? How? Is it a virtual keyboard on a touchscreen?
     
  7. Kilana2

    Kilana2 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2015
    Location:
    Kilana2
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement


    It is a normal notebook keypad. And it is what Windows 7 does when I change the language.

    I guess you have QWERTY.
    I have QWERTZ as keyboard layout.

    In this forum I write in English with German language settings. The English (US) settings changes the keyboard layout automatically. It is also possible to pick the English settings with a German keyboard layout. It has to be adjusted manually.
     
  8. Idran

    Idran Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2011
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    Just to clarify in case you're still confused, Christopher, she means the keyboard layout in software, not the physical keyboard layout. You can set your computer to use any keyboard layout you want independent of what's actually printed on the keys or what it's designed for. And like Kilana said, German keyboards use a QWERTZ layout for the letters rather than QWERTY.
     
  9. Kilana2

    Kilana2 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2015
    Location:
    Kilana2
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    Got my keyboard layout problem solved.

    I haven't found the Atonement cover anywhere else. And Garak as guest in it will be great. I can't wait for this to be released.
     
  10. Csalem

    Csalem Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 28, 2006
    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    I had this problem recently when the " on my 2 key became @, and vice versa. I was nearly in a state of panic thinking maybe I had a virus or I did something to damage my laptop. Contacted my IT friend and he said the language settings on my computer had switched from English (UK) to English (American).

    I love how we all speak English but create these differences just to confuse ourselves. And I am writing this on my laptop in Ireland!
     
  11. Kilana2

    Kilana2 Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2015
    Location:
    Kilana2
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    Switching from American to British English is bad enough. Be glad, that it didn't turn into Chinese or Dominionese. :devil:
     
  12. Galekarens

    Galekarens Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Apr 29, 2009
    Location:
    Midwest, USA
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    PS the Atonement cover image from the link is now listed in Memory Beta on the Atonement page, but doesn't look like it for Memory Alpha.
     
  13. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2004
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    I like that cover. It's simple, but it still gets it's point across.

    I didn't realize different English speaking countries had different keyboard layouts. I had always assumed that every country that used the English alphabet used the same keyboard layout.
     
  14. Idran

    Idran Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2011
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    If I remember my history right, originally typewriters on both sides of the pond had the currently-British "-above-2-@-near-carriage-return layout, because @ was used much more often in general industry than " (financial purposes and all), so it was thought that it ought to be closer to home row resting position for convenience-sake. For the same reason, ' was also a meta key (looks like it used to be Shift+8 on most typewriters) and the cent symbol was where ' is on a keyboard now. That layout ended up carrying over into TTY terminals. There, though, @ and the cent symbol were getting increasingly less common while " and ' were getting increasingly more, mostly because of computer programming. Some terminal keyboard layout over here swapped things around as a result (Wikipedia says it was the IBM Selectric that first made that swap), and it just took hold from there in the US as a whole.
     
  15. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    ^Darn, I wish I still had a typewriter so I could check that.
     
  16. Markonian

    Markonian Fleet Admiral Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    Location:
    Derbyshire, UK
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    A very insightful discussion!

    For years I had a typewriter with Kyrillic script but strange letters until years later I realized it wasn't a Russian typewriter but a Bulgarian one. :rommie:

    The keyboard layout is important for me at work. I'm in customer support chat and am very lucky to have a German keyboard. My colleagues from phone support are working with English keyboards.

    But the @ is in a different place, and when I'm on my home laptop, I have to mentally switch back.

    I hope LCARS will be standardized. :bolian:
     
  17. Idran

    Idran Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2011
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    Unfortunately I think LCARS is the exact opposite of standardized if I remember right. :p

    Not even mentioning it just to be pedantic, but because I think it's kind of a cool concept from a UI design point of view: from what I remember, there's a base interface that every user customizes to their own personal preference in terms of location and arrangement of interface elements when they're active at a given console, meaning that everyone can set their station up to whatever's most efficient for them personally. I think it's a biometric thing for user identification?

    Though now that makes me wonder if LCARS is strictly a Starfleet operating system or if civilian computers also use it. I can't remember offhand, are there any examples of strictly civilian Federation computer systems using LCARS interfaces?
     
  18. Avro Arrow

    Avro Arrow Vice Admiral Moderator

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2003
    Location:
    Canada
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    I will, somewhat frequently, accidentally use the hotkey sequence that changes my keyboard setting to "Canadian French". I don't usually notice until I type ' and it comes out as `, or I type ? and get É instead.

    Want to have some real fun? Switch your keyboard to Dvorak. Hilarity ensues! :lol:
     
  19. Sci

    Sci Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2002
    Location:
    Montgomery County, State of Maryland
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    Well, we know that the Raven, Seven of Nine's parents' ship, was using an LCARS operating system in the 2350s. Unfortunately, the canon is not entirely clear on whether the Raven is a Starfleet vessel or not -- in "The Raven," it is introduced as the S.S. Raven, implying a civilian ship; but in "Dark Frontier," it is referred to as the USS Raven, implying a Starfleet vessel (potentially on loan to the Hansens through a civilian research program?).

    I'm inclined to assume that it's actually the S.S. Raven and a privately-owned civilian ship. In which case, apparently there are some editions of the LCARS operating system available for civilian use.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Re: Elim Garak to appear in Kirsten Beyer´s Atonement

    Maybe not LCARS specifically, but pretty much every computer interface we saw in the 24th-century series was a touchscreen system, since it was cheaper for the production staff to print up colored transparencies than to build physical control banks.

    The Raven in VGR was an apparently civilian Federation ship that used Starfleet-style technology and LCARS consoles, but it may have been a decommissioned Starfleet vessel.