I have an HP USB keyboard attached to my machine.  When I first log in, 
before starting X, the key labeled backspace is sending ^H, which is 
not my 'erase' character.  I have 

	xterm*ttyModes: erase ^h

in my .xrdb file, so everything behaves the way I want.  The odd thing, 
though, is that if I use cntl+alt+F2, for example, that key *is* 
character erase, but on ttyE0 it isn't.  Why should the key behave 
differently on different virtual consoles?  (Aside: the only situation 
in which I spend much time not in X is when I'm in single user mode 
tinkering with they system -- this machine runs -current.  The 
situation I'm reporting is on a kernel built yesterday.)

Also, this keyboard has half a dozen extra fucntion keys labeled K1-K6.
In Windows, they do what the glyphs suggest: fire up a browser, open 
email, etc.  I don't seem to see them in X (I run xorg); xev, for 
example, does not show any events when I click them.  Here's what shows 
up in dmesg when I connect the keyboard:

uhidev1 at uhub1 port 2 configuration 1 interface 0
uhidev1: Hewlett Packard product 0x0a24, rev 2.00/1.34, addr 3, iclass 3/1
ukbd0 at uhidev1
wskbd1 at ukbd0 mux 1
wskbd1: connecting to wsdisplay0
uhidev2 at uhub1 port 2 configuration 1 interface 1
uhidev2: Hewlett Packard product 0x0a24, rev 2.00/1.34, addr 3, iclass 3/0
uhidev2: 2 report ids
uhid0 at uhidev2 reportid 1: input=2, output=0, feature=0
uhid1 at uhidev2 reportid 2: input=2, output=0, feature=1

I believe it reports as two devices because it has a separate, 
detachable numeric pad.

		--Steven M. Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb