At startup, the Linux kernel sets the repeat rate to its maximal value. For most keyboards this is reasonable, but for some it means that you can hardly touch a key without getting three copies of the corresponding symbol. Use the program kbdrate(8) to change the repeat rate, or, if that doesn't help, edit or remove the section
! set the keyboard repeat rate to the max
mov ax,#0x0305
xor bx,bx ! clear bx
int 0x16
/usr/src/linux/[arch/i386/]boot/setup.S.
Scott Johnston (sj@zule.com) reports: `To program the
repeat rate of a Gateway AnyKey keyboard all one has to do
is press the "Repeat Rate" key, then a function key
F1-F8, then "Repeat Rate" again. F1 is the slowest possible repeat rate,
and F8 is really fast. If you somehow manage to mess up your AnyKey
keyboard doing this, simply press Ctrl-Alt-SuspndMacro to reset
your keyboard to factory default settings.'