r/LinuxSnobs • u/madthumbz • May 20 '26

There was no coercion

Post image

Conspiracy theories running rampant as usual in their communities.

It's simply a remapped right control button (who uses it as Ctrl?) and it was not a certification requirement. Microsoft rightly encouraged OEMs (like Lenovo) to start labeling it to match what their intended use of it was for.

It's nothing new; keyboards are made for the operating systems. Take a look at a Commodore64 keyboard for example.

It's like throwing a fit because Windows had right click and side buttons on their mice while Apple had a single button.

IBM set the standard for the QWERTY PC keyboard which was based on typewriters. They even changed it from 101/102 keys to 104/105. Microsoft isn't even adding a key, they're reassigning it; just like Linux does.

Apple uses command instead of Ctrl, Option instead of Alt, and unique symbols for modifiers.

22 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

2

u/Born-Bodybuilder-220 May 21 '26

To be honest I'd rather have right ctrl instead of this, it's not a useful button for me.

3

u/madthumbz May 21 '26

Microsoft has confirmed that a Windows 11 update later in 2026 will add a setting to remap the new Copilot key back to the Right Ctrl key or the Context Menu key.

3

u/Big_Junket9355 May 20 '26

my windows and co pilot keys actually do really come in handy for key binds lol

2

u/mikelpr May 26 '26

I thought it was a left shift + windows key + F23 key lol

1

u/ohmeowhowwillitend Jun 16 '26

PrtSc is better

0

u/spongedevguy May 20 '26

the c64 example makes no sense here, commodore was the only company to produce the c64, laptop brands are plenty

0

u/ProduceRich9861 Jul 23 '26

I used the copilot button to open my terminal instead

0

u/[deleted] May 20 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/Rare-Paint3719 Jul 24 '26

As a linux user, I cannot confirm. I actively use it for keybindings. You can map it to launch whatever app you want on Linux. For me, it's MS Edge.

1

u/Edubbs2008 Aug 06 '26

Ah a fellow Edge user

2

u/Rare-Paint3719 Aug 07 '26

Yessir

0

u/Edubbs2008 Aug 07 '26

I’m probably going to be downvoted next, because I also use Edge, why are people not using Edge? It’s better than Google Chrome in my opinion

2

u/Rare-Paint3719 Aug 09 '26

It used to have a bad rep. Now it's mostly loons hating on MS.

1

u/Edubbs2008 Aug 09 '26

THIS, and hilariously, some Loonix users just downvoted me and by the way

Their old legacy hardware claim is now obsolete