Dell to fix screwy Vostro keys
(Credit:
Jake Gordon/Flickr )
We're not much for touch-typing, preferring instead to use a highly advanced version of the two-finger method we call the, uh, three-finger method (left and right index fingers, plus the right thumb). Still, anything even slightly out of the ordinary on a keyboard can throw a major roadblock in the way of our productivity.
Dell turned a few heads earlier this month with the European keyboard layouts for the latest Vostro laptops. While the U.S. model we reviewed seemed normal enough, our friends across the Atlantic found that some Vostro 1310 and 1510 models had a bizarre bottom row of letter keys, all shifted one key to the right. For example, the "z" key (or "zed" over there) sits not between the "a" and "s" keys, but between the "s" and "d" keys on the affected models.
After one Vostro user noticed the weird layout on his new laptop and posted photos to Flickr, Dell jumped in and now says:
"There is no way to say it...we made a mistake and want to apologize to affected customers...All affected customers will receive an updated keyboard. They will have two options: we can send the keyboard and required BIOS update directly to them, or they can choose to have a field technician replace the keyboard onsite."
New York native Dan Ackerman, a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. He hosts the weekly Digital City podcast and the New York edition of Editors' Office Hours. Dan's new album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now. E-mail Dan. 
