Emacs on Mac OS X Leopard key bindings

Question

I'm a Mac user and I've decided to learn Emacs. I've read that to reduce hand strain and improve accuracy the CTRL and CAPS LOCK keys should be swapped. How do I do this in Leopard?

Also, in Terminal I have to use the ESC key to invoke meta. Is there any way to get the alt/option key to invoke meta instead?

update: While the control key is much easier to hit now, the meta key is also used often enough that its position on my MacBook and Apple Keyboard also deserves attention. In fact, I find that the control key is actually easier to hit, so I've remapped my control key to act as a meta key. Does anyone have a better/more standard solution?

Answer 1

Swapping CTRL and CAPS LOCK

1. Go into System Preferences
2. Enter the Keyboard & Mouse preference pane
3. In the Keyboard tab, click Modifier Keys...
4. Swap the actions for Caps Lock and Control.

Using ALT/OPTION as META

1. In the menu bar, click Terminal
2. Click Preferences...
3. Under the Settings tab, go to the Keyboard tab
4. Check the box labeled Use option as meta key

That's it! You should be well on your way to becoming an Emacs master!