Am I the only one who actually uses caps-lock for its intended purpose on a regular basis? I use it pretty much any time I have to type more than two capital letters in a row, which is frequently when I'm programming.
Do you program in SQL? (I've just pressed Shift and released it after I typed SQL, hey)
Using Caps Lock for its intended purpose means that it's another mode that you need mental resources to keep track of.
Historical aside that's not related to your comment: early Soviet computers modeled after IBM PC had Latin key, that basically worked like Shift, but it changed layout from Cyrillic to Latin and vice versa. This idea died after MS Windows, that didn't (and still doesn't? I don't know) have this option, took over the market.
There is an option in pgAdmin to automatically capitalize keywords. Last I checked though it capitalizes them only in pgAdmin - the actual .sql file is lowercase.
When I do SQL, it's usually SQL over psql over SSH-to-database-server. And it's uncommon enough to not warrant any time investment into how to get psql syntax-highlighted.
I use caps lock for exactly what its intended purpose is: I use it as a control key, just like it was on the original IBM PC keyboard.
Just remap ctrl to caps lock and you're set.
As for switching languages, Apple puts that in a fine place by default. It's open-apple and spacebar. Just enough effort to remind you what you're doing with no awkward carpal tunnel key combinations.
I mean, if you want to get historical, the position currently occupied by the Caps Lock was Shift Lock on typewriters, which did the same thing as Caps lock currently does except it affected all keys, not just letters.
I've run into a few other people who do so, but I find that I type few enough capital letters that attempting to use an alternate, modal means of doing so (that behaves similar to the shift key but without affecting symbols) just slows me down, even when I want to write a CONSTANT_LIKE_THIS. I find it easy to type a long string of text with the shift key held down.
Consider that typing the above constant with caps-lock would still involve pressing and releasing the shift key twice to type the underscores. I'm sure I could teach my fingers to type it that way automatically, but I find it much easier to have a single way of typing a capital letter rather than two.
I use the caps lock key as an easier-to-hit Super key, which makes it easier to use all the window manager shortcuts that use the Super modifier.
I have also mapped the capslock key to super, but FWIW I've had a lot less trouble hitting the actual super key ever since I started using my ring finger for it (I used to use, and see most people using either pinky or palm, both of which require moving the hand quite a bit).
Like many others I didn't originally learn typing in a structured manner. It used to be that I only ever used the left shift key. This works adequately, but means that when holding shift the finger positions for the left hand change. In short, it's a bad habit that hampers accuracy and speed, and may increase the risk of RSI.
A couple of years back I made a concerted effort to learn the dvorak layout and have since become a fairly proficient touch-typist. Consequently, when I use a shift key I always use the hand on the opposite side to the one hitting the letter. My coordination is now good enough that I can type a sequence of capitals quickly and accurately using just the shift keys -- alternating to each side as required -- but that would be silly. I don't even think about using Caps Lock, now, it's just part of my muscle memory for when I type a sequence of capitals.
I suspect that most people who don't see the use of Caps Lock always use just one of the shift keys and hold it down when typing a sequence of capitals.
I know some people who use capslock instead of shift for producing even isolated capital letters, the idea being that hitting two keys in rapid succession, even if it means one more keystroke, could be easier than timing the hold and release of the shift key. The world's fastest typist apparently also uses the same technique:
I have a (journalist) friend who did this, but only because they didn't properly understand the shift key - she thought it only was used to access the alternate symbols on the number keys.
My wife does this and it drove me insane when I first noticed. I think she avoids typing in front of me now :)
The toggle-vs-coordination of keystrokes actually makes a fair bit of sense though; its not like we type that many capital letters in an average sentence. For a password which might have a handful of caps, though, it slows you down.
Using Caps Lock for its intended purpose means that it's another mode that you need mental resources to keep track of.
Historical aside that's not related to your comment: early Soviet computers modeled after IBM PC had Latin key, that basically worked like Shift, but it changed layout from Cyrillic to Latin and vice versa. This idea died after MS Windows, that didn't (and still doesn't? I don't know) have this option, took over the market.