If using a PC keyboard on a Mac, the Command and Option keys are 
reversed.  That is, Option on a Mac keyboard is Alt on a PC keyboard, 
and Command is the Windows logo key.

The reason for this is historical in nature—way back when, there were 
PC emulators and PC daughter cards for the Mac.  Since the Mac 
natively used the Command ("Apple") key for native functions, the 
less used "Option" key became the one used for a PC's "Alt" key.  
This was long before Windows 95, the PowerPC-based Mac, or USB.

At some point, Apple began offering "PC style" extended keyboards on 
Macs, which were appreciated by people using those combined Mac/PC 
solutions and people like secretaries used to the PC keyboard layout.

Along came the Microsoft Natural keyboard which introduced the 
Windows key basically for specialized purposes, and then Windows 95 
which generalized the function to the "standard" keyboard driver, and 
later came third-party keyboards featuring the same Windows keys and 
Application key.

The USB keyboard specification defines an "alternate function" key 
(which is literally what Option does on a Mac) and a "computer logo 
key".  The first Macs with USB keyboards still had the Apple logo on 
the Command key, so mapping the key to "computer logo" was rightly 
done.  Of course, Apple has long refused the use of its logo to third 
party keyboard makers, but by that point the key mapping stuck.

Likewise, "alternative function" on a PC is Alt, and "computer logo 
key" would be the Windows key if it was anything.  And so, the keys 
are pretty much defined forever now as "swapped" for PC and Mac 
users.

And now you know more about Command, Option, and Alt than you 
probably ever wanted to know!

Joseph - KF7QZC


On Fri, Jan 06, 2012 at 05:40:43AM -0500, Scott Howell wrote:
>To turn VoiceOver on you only have to press command f5. The command key =
>is immediately to the left of the spacebar on the keyboard. On a =
>full-size keyboard it is on either side. THink of it like an alt key if =
>you will.
>
>73
>Scott/N3BYY
>On Jan 5, 2012, at 6:32 PM, Scott Gillen wrote:
>
>> To the Mac users out there, how do you turn on speech on a Mac. I want =
>to tr=3D
>> y it in store and the sales people aren't likely to know.=3D20
>>=20
>> Scott
>>=20
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> =3D20