Mac 101: Using your Windows keyboard

This summer I bought my parents an apple macbook with the spanish keyboard. They do not know how to write the "@" sign. Can anyone tell me what keystrokes to use? They are in their 80's and I help them with their problems taking over their PC with ichat but this one I help them with because I use a US keyboard. Please, they are driving me nuts!

Someone can help me?

I've just bought a Macbook with spanish keyboard (I live in Argentina, it was hard to find an english keyboard Macbook, and I didn't found).
Ok, now I've configured it in english, because I always used english keyboard, as programmer it's helpful than spanish one. Because combinations and quick symbol access.

But I also need to add special characters like accents and ñ, and now using US Extended keyboard layout, the only way to add accents is: Option + e and the vowel I want to accent. And for the ñ: Option + n and then the n again.
That's very confuse, specially for the vowels, because I need to press a vowel before the vowel I want to use. Imagine writing faster your brain automatically draws the keyboard in your mind and writing another vowel when you need other it's confuse.

In english keyboards I was used to just: ' + vowel.
That was fantastic.

Anyone knows if there's a way to use this kind of layout? Or a better method?

I think it no matters that my keyboard is in spanish, but the accents combination is ugly in that layout: US Extended.

I go the other way, I'm used to a Mac keyboard on my desktop but I have an external Windows keyboard for my laptop. I have to go in and swap the Windows and Alt keys so they act like Option and Cmd, respectively... otherwise my muscles get really confused on which modifier key to push.

If you're using a UK Windows keyboard (I don't know about other nationalities) then you've only solved half the problem. Some characters, such as " and @ are in different places on UK Windows and Mac keyboards. I'm amazed Apple has never released anything to get round this in all the years it's been an issue.

If it's driving you nuts, I have a couple of solutions on my site: http://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2005/11/20/using_a_british.php

i use an external windows keyboard with my macbook when i'm at home, but not when i'm on the go. is there a way to have my mac *automatically* detect the external keyboard and swap the windows/alt keys? it's pretty annoying to have to do it manually...

Best bit: make the caps lock key do F-ALL!!!

Who uses it anyway?

This sounds great. And I did it myself when I first switched to a Mac. But it doesn't work consistently. And the docs for everything give you the wrong keystrokes. It's much more trouble then just switching between keyboards. You're eventually going to put it back the way it belongs so you might as well save yourself the trouble and not bother.

I've been trying to use the mac keyboard on my PC but I found no convienient way to rearrange/reassaign the CRTL - Windows - ALT keys. I kept hitting Windows-TAB insteat of ALT-Tab to switch between apps in Windows. Does anyone have an idea how to change these keys?