Lunduke
News • Science & Tech
The History of Ctrl-Alt-Delete
How the "Three Fingered Salute" came to be.
May 05, 2024
post photo preview

Ctrl-Alt-Del — sometimes known as “The Three Fingered Salute” — is among the most recognizable keyboard commands in the entire computer world. Restarting, or logging into, countless computers since the 1980s.

But... what a peculiar combination of keys!  How, exactly, did it come to be?

Let’s take a tour through the history of this beloved / hated / mocked key combination.

Not the first multi-key reset

Control-Alt-Delete may be the most famous “reset this computer” key combination… but it wasn’t the first.

That honor goes to the Exidy Sorcerer in 1978. A Z-80 powered home computer that never saw the commercial success of its rivals.

The Exidy Sorcerer

Note the two “Reset” keys in the top right of the keyboard.

Ok, that simply is too small to make out.

ENHANCE!

RESET!  RESET!

Much better.

Here we see the two “Reset” keys.

How do you hard reset an Exidy Sorcerer? You guessed it -- press both of these keys at the same time.

In theory this was to make it harder to accidentally reset a machine... having a single "Reset" key would simply be too easy to tap without intending to.  But they put the two keys immediately next to each other.  And right next to "RETURN" -- which you would always be reaching for with a pinky.  Strange keyboard layout choice, right?

It's like putting a "Nuclear Self Destruct" button right next to the "Make a Cup of Coffee" button.

Regardless, the Sorcerer still wins the title of “first computer with a multi-key reset”. So it’s got that going for it.

The IBM 5150

Flash forward to 1981, in Boca Raton, Florida. A team of engineers was about to release the IBM 5150 (aka “The IBM Personal Computer”).

(Yes. The IBM PC was crated in Florida. That random little tidbit doesn’t get talked about much.)

The IBM 5150 Personal Computer

One of the engineers working on the BIOS of the 5150, David Bradley, implemented a three-key reset for the team within IBM (and partners such as Microsoft) to use during development.

A convenience feature that was never intended to see the light of day. Three keys that would quickly reset the entire machine without needing to do a hard “Power off and Power back on”.

That three-key combination?

ControlAltEscape.

“Sorry, Lunduke. You wrote that wrong. It’s Control-Alt-Delete. Not Escape.”

Not at first. In those early days, the key combination was “Ctrl-Alt-Esc”. That’s how the IBM 5150 was originally reset.

That, right there, is a good looking keyboard.

However, all three of those keys being on the left hand side of the keyboard made it too easy to accidentally bump.  You might as well have two "RESET" keys right next to each other (how crazy would that be?).

So the lead programmer of the project, Mel Hallerman, suggested changing “Escape” to “Delete” (which was on the complete other side of the keyboard). Thus making it much harder to accidentally hit.

And, just like that, Control-Alt-Delete was born.

It was not supposed to ship

Considering how instantly recognizable the "Three Fingered Salute" is nowadays, it seems wild to think that it was never intended for the public to even know about -- it was strictly for internal development purposes.

In fact, it barely received any development time at all according to the man who developed it.

“It was five minutes, 10 minutes of activity, and then I moved on to the next of the 100 things that needed to get done.” - David Bradley

David Bradley, the father of Ctrl-Alt-Del.  Photo credit: AP

All that changed when someone included the details of “Ctrl-Alt-Del” in the technical manuals for the IBM Personal Computer.

Here you can see it documented in the “IBM 5150 Guide to Operations” (where it is detailed not once… but three times):

Source: IBM 5150 Guide

At which point… the cat was out of the bag. Ctrl-Alt-Delete was documented and publicly known (and used) by a commercially successful computer.

There was no turning back now. It was a standard. Even if it was never intended to see the light of day.

And, to think, we were this close to having Ctrl-Alt-Escape instead. (Let’s just thank heavens we didn’t get stuck with the double RESET keys…)

community logo
Join the Lunduke Community
To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today
3
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
Rust Changes from "Master" to "Main"

Two weeks ago, The Lunduke Journal pointed out how many Leftist Open Source organizations (Rust, NixOS, Linux Kernel, etc.) still used the "Master" branch naming (against their "inclusive naming" rules). Yesterday, Rust changed to "Main".

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:05:11
October 17, 2025
GNOME Foundation Discusses Refusing Funds from Framework Computer

Framework Computer is offering monthly financial support to the GNOME Foundation. Framework also supports Omarchy Linux & Hyprland, which GNOME activists call "Fascist", so GNOME may refuse those funds.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:09:00
October 17, 2025
The Confidential Communication from UK's Ofcom to 4Chan

The lawyer representing 4chan has provided documents sent by the UK's Office of Communications (marked CONFIDENTIAL). And they are absolutely wild.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:19:31
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044
October 15, 2025
post photo preview
The Unpublished Anti-Lunduke Hit-Piece
A Tech Journalist interviewed me for a hit-piece article. But the questions made them look bad, and they shelved the story. So I'm publishing their hit-piece for them.

Back in September, shortly after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I was contacted by a Tech Journalist writing for FossForce.com (a smaller, Open Source focused publication) who was working on an article around Open Source, Antifa, and the Lunduke Journal’s coverage of those topics.

This particular outlet had, several months prior, run an “anti-Lunduke” hit piece without first reaching out for comment — which resulted in their most popular article (at least on social media) in quite some time.

With that in mind, it seemed reasonable that they’d want to repeat that success with another “anti-Lunduke” story.

This time they were doing the responsible thing. They reached out to the subject of the hit-piece article with questions. I like encouraging Tech Journalists when they do actual journalism, so I answered each and every query with easy-to-quote responses.

But, it would appear that the answers they received were not conducive to creating the hit-piece they were hoping for — my guess is they realized their questions made them look like the villain in the story. The villain they, clearly, hoped to portray me as.

They opted to not publish the piece.

So I’m publishing their hit-piece for them.

Below is every question — and every answer (with no edits) — which I was asked, on September 19th, by a Tech Journalist by the name of Christine Hall, writing for FossForce.

Fair warning: This is very, very politically charged.

Enjoy.


September 19th

Hall:

The last time I mentioned you in an article, you castigated me for not reaching out to you beforehand. Well, I’m reaching out now. We’ll see what comes of this.

You do recognize that the vast majority of organizations using the term antifa as a descriptor are not in the least bit terrorist and pose no threat to society -- and indeed, the only threats they might pose to fascist groups are not physical or life-harming?

Lunduke:

Hello Christine! Nice to hear from you!

Many, if not most, of those proclaiming support for Antifa (within Open Source) have also made statements encouraging or supporting violence and discrimination.

Regardless of that fact -- which I have documented extensively in Lunduke Journal coverage -- when violent acts are committed (such as murder, riots, and lynchings) in the name of “Antifa”, to turn around and immediately declare yourself to be “Antifa” is a clear declaration of support of that violence.

Hall:

And why did you feel it necessary to call out Danielle Foré’s [the founder of the elementary OS Linux Distribution] trans status in such an ugly manner?

Lunduke:

There is a noteworthy overlap between “Trans activism” and support for political violence -- including in the recent murder of Charlie Kirk (the murderer’s boyfriend was “Trans”).

In the case of Daniel Fore, he, a leader of an Open Source project, regularly calls for discrimination (and violence) against people he disagrees with -- often in conjunction with his self-declaration as “Trans”.

Thus, his declaration of being “Trans” becomes a part of the overall story.

It is worth noting here that The Lunduke Journal has never -- and would never -- call for discrimination or violence against someone because of how they identify or who they may (or may not) vote for.

This is in stark contrast those, such as Mr. Fore, who consider themselves “Trans” or “Antifa” -- who actively advocate for both discrimination and violence.

Hall:

Mentioning a person’s trans status in ways that are pertinent to your argument necessates rudeness such as calling her a “dude who likes to wear dresses”?

Lunduke:

Dan Fore is, in fact, a dude who likes to wear dresses.

The only reason to view that as a negative is if you view dudes wearing dresses as a negative.

Hall:

I’ll quote you on that, which I’m pretty sure won’t bother you in the least.

Lunduke:

Absolutely! Quote anything I say here. In fact, I suggest quoting absolutely everything I’ve written to you here, today.

Hall:

You also understand, don’t you, that voicing disagreement with an assessment made by POTUS is not only legal but a healthy part of the national dialog.

Lunduke:

Absolutely! Did I say somewhere that it was illegal to disagree with a politician? It seems unlikely that I have ever said that.

Hall:

Also, how would you reply to this:

There have been very few murders linked to individuals associated with Antifa, some incidents of rioting attributed to Antifa supporters, and no credible evidence of lynchings conducted in the name of Antifa. Compared to far-right groups, violence attributed to Antifa is much less frequent and lethal, with only one suspected kill—Aaron Danielson in Portland, by an anti-fascist activist—officially confirmed in recent U.S. history.

Lunduke:

Murder is bad. I am opposed to all murder.

In the context of these discussions, bearing in mind the Kirk murder is important (as many statements were made in response to it). The murderer of Kirk appears to have been pro-Trans and pro-Antifa (based on all available information).

Hall:

Is there any evidence that the suspect was part of an antifa group? I haven’t seen any.

Lunduke:

I have seen some reporting to this effect (including statements from family and messages he wrote).

But, far more important to this story, is the response to the murder among Antifa supporters (including those within Open Source). A large portion of Antifa supporters have celebrated the murder as justified because it killed someone they considered to be a “fascist”.

Hall:

Also, no group should be held responsible for what some deranged person who identifies with the group has done.

Lunduke:

I agree that a broader group should not be held responsible for the actions of a small number of individuals.

However, and this is critically important, it is entirely appropriate to hold people responsible for their own statements and actions.

With that in mind: The overall messaging of Antifa (and Antifa supporters) tends heavily towards violence. Punching, killing, molotov cocktails, etc. are all common messaging used by Antifa (including by those I quote within the Open Source world -- many of whom have advocated violence against myself).

Advocating for violence, then celebrating when violence is committed, are not good things.

Yet we see a great deal of that among Open Source supporters of Antifa.

Read full Article
October 13, 2025
Sale ends in a few hours, Lifetime Subs set up.

Holy moly, you guys are amazing.

A few days ago I published a “50% off” sale for Lunduke Journal subscriptions… and all of you showed up. In a big way.

To everyone who grabbed a Lifetime Subscription over the last few days: All of you are set to full Lifetime access. You should have a confirmation email in your inbox. If not, email me and I’ll make sure you’re setup properly.

That “50% off” sale ends tonight at midnight. So you have a few hours to snag a discounted subscription, if you haven’t already.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this work. Couldn’t do it without you.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
October 12, 2025
50% Off Lunduke Journal Extended Through Monday (Oct 13th)

Just a quick heads up:

The “50% off every kind of Subscription to The Lunduke Journal” sale has been extended through Monday (October 13th).

So. You know. Grab one at 50% off between now and end of the day on Monday.

To all of you amazing nerds who have picked up a Lifetime Subscription already this weekend: You are awesome. You’ll be receiving a confirmation email, with all of the Lifetime Subscription details, by tomorrow (if you haven’t already).

Oh, and remember how we hit 11 Million views last month? Yeah. We’re well on our way to blowing past those numbers in October.

Wild.

See you all on Monday!

-Lunduke

Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals