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09/17/2006

A Look Back: The Origins of Ctrl + Alt + Del

Most PC users are all too familiar with Ctrl + Alt + Del, but how many of us know the origins of this button combination? Find out after the jump.
[David] Bradley originally designed Control-Alt-Escape to trigger a soft reboot, but he found it was too easy to bump the left side of the keyboard and reboot the computer accidentally. He switched the key combination to Control-Alt-Delete, a combination impossible to press with just one hand
[via Wikipedia - Helldesk]

This entry was posted on 09/17/2006 04:51am and is filed under Computers, Video, Weird .
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There are 29 comments about this post (2 pages).

1
Posted at 09/17/2006 10:16am by Mr.Wednesday
Looks like Bill didnt enjoy the joke... Too bad, cause its true!
2
Posted at 09/17/2006 10:22am by ryan
I can hit control;-alt-delete with one hand....
3
Posted at 09/17/2006 11:49am by Alex
its not impossible to press "ctrl+alt+delete" with just one hand just use the right hand side of the keys...
4
Posted at 09/17/2006 11:54am by Gabriel
Hahaha this is priceless :D
5
Posted at 09/17/2006 2:10pm by Mizan
man i am pissed off with all this hating on microsoft and ipod, why do people always hate success, anyday, anytime, anywere people would rahter have a windows over a shitty mac and tht is the fact. the gelosy in this world
6
Posted at 09/17/2006 3:33pm by aerin
bill gates needs to losen up.. it was a valid joke hah
7
Posted at 09/17/2006 4:06pm by Emory
I can hit ctrl+alt+del with one hand. I just have really big hands. And you know what they say about people with big hands... that's right, really big gloves. Ug. I really had to work hard to throw that one in. I'm ashamed. I apologize to everyone that read that ::hangs head in shame::
8
Posted at 09/17/2006 4:53pm by Gavin
I do the one-hander all the time. Right hand of keyboard. Index=Alt Thumb=Ctrl Pinkie=Delete
9
Posted at 09/17/2006 5:46pm by Dan
Oh snap son! Gates just got served! Funny stuff.
10
Posted at 09/17/2006 9:51pm by 2dayBlog - Technology Journal, New Gadget everyday! » Blog Archive » Hands-On - Digital Cube T43
[...] [via Techeblog] [...]
11
Posted at 09/18/2006 01:40am by Free4youhosting
LOL, I recently switched to a Mac and havent done ctrl-alt-del since I switched. I cant say I miss the good ol days!
12
Posted at 09/18/2006 01:55am by Jimbo
Those who are saying that they can press ctrl-alt-del with one hand obviously haven't seen the keyboards it was initially designed for. They had only one ctrl and alt key each, both on the left. Delete was where the right ctrl key is now.
13
Posted at 09/18/2006 02:01am by William Hook
@ Mizan If you're such a fanboy, why do you put Mac's down? I run a forum on Windows Vista, and yet I still WOULD buy a Mac if I could afford it.
14
Posted at 09/18/2006 02:03am by Bill Gates
Screw you guys
15
Posted at 09/18/2006 02:28am by A Look Back: The Origins of Ctrl + Alt + Del « Digged Stories
[...] read more | digg story [...]
16
Posted at 09/18/2006 02:37am by avi
it indeed WAS impossible to be done one-handedly, since Alt and Ctrl keys were only found on the left side of those days' keyboards.
17
Posted at 09/18/2006 03:23am by JCurtis
Actually, it is possible to press Ctrl+Alt+Del with one hand.
18
Posted at 09/18/2006 07:34am by Kevin
Please stop boasting of your ability to press a few buttons with one hand.
19
Posted at 09/18/2006 08:26am by Gringo
peopleee, don't u understand that on the OLD keyboards u couldn't press ctrl+alt+del with one hand?! dumbasses who hates ipod?
20
Posted at 09/18/2006 10:00am by ig33k
This story caught my eye because Dave Bradley is a good friend of my dads. He taught my dad at NCSU and then went on to work with him at IBM. It's kinda funny because my dad then became his boss... I have met Dave several times and hes a really funny guy.
21
Posted at 09/18/2006 11:24am by Georgia 4-H Technology » Blog Archive » A Look Back: The Origins of Ctrl + Alt + Del
[...] Most PC users are all too familiar with Ctrl + Alt + Del, but how many of us know the origins of this button combination? read more | digg story [...]
22
Posted at 09/18/2006 11:25am by gil
woo... imagine the stuff you can findon the internet. i didnt know that!
23
Posted at 09/18/2006 3:34pm by Josh
But you can do it with one hand using the Ctrl and Alt on the right side of the keyboard.
24
Posted at 09/18/2006 6:16pm by » A Look Back: The Origins of Ctrl + Alt + Del - Haiku Headlines | Headlines of Today. In 17 syllables. What more do you need?
[...] Three finger salute Requiring of two hands The combo was bornread more | digg story Related Posts A Look Back At Firefox (Phoenix) 0.1Del.icio.us Traffic PlummetsThe End of L.A. Car ChasesTR35 Innovator of the Year: Joshua SchachterAMD drops desktop processor prices by 47% « Computer Randomly Plays Classical Music Nano’s Got a Secret » [...]
25
Posted at 10/04/2006 08:12am by EveryDigg » Blog Archive » A Look Back: The Origins of Ctrl + Alt + Del
[...] Most PC users are all too familiar with Ctrl + Alt + Del, but how many of us know the origins of this button combination? Find out after the jump.read more | digg story [...]
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