I have to guess where the comma is the @ sign is and various signals now tell what am i doing wrong on the apple usb keyboard

The comma is next to the "m" key, and the @ symbol is accessed by pressing shift+2. This is on a QWERTY usb keyboard.

Hello

This can be verry usefull

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2841?locale=en_US

How to identify keyboard localizations

HTH

Pierre

System Preferences -> Language & Text -> Input Sources. Make sure you have selected the correct keyboard for the region that you're in.