Multilingual and multidirectional

ANT KATZ

While attending the first ever Jewish Media Summit in Jerusalem last month, editors and publishers of diaspora Jewish publications were amazed to find the computers at the media centre were a real indication of the innovation nation’s innovative skills.

Media centres are provided for the use of journalists at most major conference venues.

RIGHT: An English/Hebrew keyboard

 And, to assist international journos, it is nothing unusual to find foreign language computers such as Russian and even Chinese.

But the media centre at the Jerusalem Ramada Hotel and Conference Centre goes one better – all of the computers and keyboards include a Hebrew option and the ability to switch not just the dual-language keyboards, but also to switch all documents from left-to-right, to right-to-left.

The notable exception being the Hebrew/Arabic computers and keyboards which only work left-to-right.

Despite the fact that the Hebrew lettering is slightly smaller and pale yellow (as against white), the keyboards are quite confusing to us.