Why is Everyone Still Stuck in QWERTY? 255
theWrkncacnter asks: "I was recently giving some instructions over IRC to a long time QWERTY keyboard user who wanted to switch to the Dvorak layout, mostly because a good majority of the people in channel had made the switch and were all talking it up, myself included, about how our speeds had increased and how its much more comfortable. This made me think, why don't more people use the Dvorak layout? Searching around I found an older topic on the subject, but that didn't answer too many questions, as most people in the comment section seemed to think that Dvorak vs. QWERTY was a hardware issue, when it is really a matter simply changing the layout on your particular OS. I took the time to pry off and remap my powerbook keyboard's keys but I have no problem typing in Dvorak on a physically QWERTY mapped keyboard, and I know many others who don't have a problem doing so either. So given all of this, why don't more people switch? Is it that most people just can't be bothered to make the change, even when its more efficient and more comfortable?" Is it mostly due to the fact that most people learn to type first on QWERTY due to its popularity, and hence don't bother to learn anything else?
Two reasons (Score:5, Insightful)
You are more likely to find a QWERTY attached to any particular PC or terminal than anything else. Switching back and forth is a pain.
Thirdly, unlike you, it seems, not everyone is a touch typist.
Re:Two reasons (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Two reasons (Score:3, Interesting)
I'll age myself here and point out that I first tried to learn to type on a manual typewriter.
Later, the computer keyboard was invented.
Now I 'touch type' but not in the historical sense. I can type very fast, but only because I can hit the backspace key quickly. Only my fingers know the location of the specific keys. I could not draw you a keyboard layout from memory, except for parts like 'QWERTY'.
Changing the keyboard layout would cause my f
Re:Two reasons (Score:2)
I tought my self how to touch type... so I never did learn to type 'right'. I think for the most part I only type with just... 6 fingers? Something like that. 3 fingers and a thumb on one hand two fingers on the other... LOL (With a pinky from either hand now and then for caps) Considering this, I still ty
I tried to switch.... (Score:5, Funny)
~foooo
Who needs Dvorak? (Score:4, Interesting)
Changing keyboard layouts would reduce my typing speed with no benefit. The fact is that most people can't think faster than they can type, and only a fractiion of the population need to type very fast and would benefit from a change to Dvorak.
Re:Who needs Dvorak? (Score:2)
The only benefit I see is with the comfort level, typing 10 hours a day can hurt...
Simple: (Score:3, Insightful)
2. Users don't like having to learn new input methods (partly the reason why soft (ie software) keyboards on PDAs are in the QWERTY layout, despite the fact that the skills related to tapping the keyboard with a stylus are completely different to those found in touch typing.)
Re:Simple: (Score:2, Informative)
The current most theoretically efficient method discovered is what's known as the "Metropolis II" layout after the algorithm used to design it (I'd offer you a link to it, but you need to be an ACM subscriber to get at the paper, and as far as I know tyhe keyboard layout
Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Beyond Dvorak (Score:2)
This is somewhat off-topic, but am I the only one who hates the fact that slashdot appears to be completely unaware of "year" as a unit of time? The article you referenced is identified this way:
Posted by timothy on Saturday July 06, @09:33AM
What the...?
QWERTY works good enough... (Score:2)
Guess I know a different crowd. I don't know anyone who wants take the time to rearrange their keyboard.
Is it mostly due to the fact that most people learn to type first on QWERTY due to its popularity, and hence don't bother to learn anything else?
Yes.
QWERTY works good enough, and most people ar
Obvious answers? (Score:5, Insightful)
Then there's the fact that most apps come with keyboard layouts configured for QWERTY keyboards.
Dull answers to your question, but were you expecting anything else? People aren't going to inconvenience themselves unless the benefits FAR outweigh the problems. I'm sure it's the same reason why many people don't use Linux.
Re:Obvious answers? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Obvious answers? (Score:3, Funny)
Bf yd.
Re:Obvious answers? (Score:3, Informative)
I could type in QWERTY at adequate speeds, and I didn't feel I needed to be any faster.
The main drive for me to switch, was that I wanted to learn how to touch type. I'd tried to learn to touch type a few times, but it was always so easy to cheat and go back to typing with the incorrect fingures, as I was too used to typing in my own way.
I switched to DVORAK at work, and used QWERTY at home. For a n
price and availability (Score:2, Insightful)
Also, how many readers are concerned with WPM ? The quality of my code tends to take a sharp nosedive when I type quickly. Lots of thinking, slow typing, a good editor with syntax highlighting that notices when I don't have enough close braces, etc. Why don't more people use smart editors ?
Re:price and availability (Score:2, Insightful)
walk into a cafe.. (Score:2)
it's not evil like ms and it's 'standard'
seriously though would i be able to type with one hand at the same speed i type now with two hands? because that would be enough reason to switch but otherwise i type fast enough with qwerty for my brains to spill out useful information to type.
Re:walk into a cafe.. (Score:2)
You could try learning one of the One-handed Dvorak layouts [aboutonehandtyping.com]. Motivated users can reach very high speeds with sufficient practice.
Re:walk into a cafe.. (Score:3, Funny)
Keyboard layouts designed for one-handed use! Brilliant! You can write code with your [less 'favorite'] hand, while that pr0n video clip in the lower corner of the screen has your other hand
Well, you get the idea.
Redux (Score:5, Funny)
<voice style="serling">
Limekiller. Reader of Slashdot and sometimes typist. He thinks he's seen every rant devised by man. He also believes that he has come to grips with the Slashdot editor's penchant for beating the proverbial dead horse. It is with this jaded approach that he will begin his evening routine with a bookmark. A bookmark that leads
</voice>
Dear sweet Christ would you let the qwerty debate die! Hath you no shame!?
From the IDGFF Department (Score:5, Insightful)
It's because nobody cares. It creates more problems than it solves. Do you really want to retrain your fingers just so you can type a little faster? Is your keyboard really your bottleneck? (Linux masochists excluded from that question.) Do you really want to move your keyboard shortcuts around? Do you really want to use a non-standard keyboard? What do you tell friends that come over and use your computer?
There may be benefits to it, but we're not excatly talking about a live issue here. I mean if we're going to discuss this, why don't we discuss why people should use Procomm instead of Telemate for visiting BBS's.
Re:From the IDGFF Department (Score:2)
Re:From the IDGFF Department (Score:2)
Heh I have an OT question for ya. How old do ya think I am based on my Telemate comment? Just curious because I find myself assuming people are a certain age just because they remember using software from a particular era.
(Before ya mod me down, at least consider that I'm trying to be interesting!)
Re:From the IDGFF Department (Score:2)
Okay, lets throw some random figures in the air. I'm 34
Re:From the IDGFF Department (Score:2)
Disclaimer: I'm 20. 21 at the end of this month. I was a Telemate user, though SALT scripts were so much more powerful (and less buggy. Telemate's scripting was so annoying. Ugh. Oh look, I've been running for a while. Crap, I've run out of memory because I have memory glitches and half my commands don't work.)
But otherwise, telemate 4 life!!
Re:From the IDGFF Department (Score:2)
Seriously, who gives a damn? (Or a FF for that matter?
If we had story moderation I'd mod this a Troll.
Re:From the IDGFF Department (Score:2)
Well, that would be silly... because everyone knows the best comm program is Qmodem!
I use too many devices to switch... (Score:2)
After growing up with a TRS-80, it took me years to forget thay Shift 2 doesen't give me a quote anymore.
And unless you're writing a novel - a good programer types suprisingly little to worry about.
Same as the Windows question: (Score:2)
because... (Score:5, Insightful)
The data entry industry did their own studies, which do not support the claimed efficiency boost of the Dvorak keyboard. Since they make more money if their data entry personnel type faster, they had every reason to conduct a fair and honest study of the two formats. They stuck with QWERTY.
B) QWERTY is actually pretty damned good. The common urban legend about QWERTY being designed to slow typists down is just that, an urban legend. It is true that QWERTY was designed to reduce jamming on mechanical typewriters, but it did not do this by intentionally slowing typists down, as the legend claims.
Instead, it does this by ensuring that commonly-pressed pairs of keys are not next to one another (and in the days of mechanical hammers, this would also mean that the hammers were not next to one another). Conveniently, this means that successive keystrokes are likely to be pressed by alternate hands, which actually makes typing faster instead of slower.
C) Your own anecdotal stories are, I'm sorry to say, worthless.
This is for two reasons: first, you probably didn't do a formal study of your typing speed before and after the test, and you also didn't have a control group of people who remained with the QWERTY layout but put an equal amount of effort into attempting to improve their speed.
Second, even if it is true that you really do type faster with Dvorak, that's not conclusive. Some people can do math faster with an abacus than they can with a calculator, but that doesn't conclusively prove that the abacus is a better tool. It just proves that there are some people for whom the abacus is a better tool. Unless you do a large-scale test and find both the positive cases (you) as well as the negatives (people who tried the Dvorak layout and don't like it), you really have no clue which is better.
Again, these sorts of studies have been done. Every one I am familiar with concluded that the benefits of the Dvorak layout were minimal at best.
Re:because... (Score:2)
Re:because... (Score:2)
Re:because... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:because... (Score:5, Insightful)
As I pointed out [slashdot.org] when the topic came up last year, Leibowitz and Margolis are economists, and while their discussion of market externalities was correct, they don't quite represent the cognitive research on the Dvorak vs. Sholes (QWERTY) issue very accurately, or fairly.
A) Actual research does not support the efficiency gains of the Dvorak layout. The most-commonly-cited study in favor of the Dvorak layout was published by
The data entry industry did their own studies, which do not support the claimed efficiency boost of the Dvorak keyboard. Since they make more money if their data entry personnel type faster, they had every reason to conduct a fair and honest study of the two formats. They stuck with QWERTY.
Actually, the half-dozen or so well constructed lab tests comparing Dvorak to Sholes consistently show a 5-10% advantage for Dvorak (even Leibowitz and Margolis admit that Dvorak is somewhat faster). For a good overview of the research conducted on text entry, check out Jim Lewis's chapter "Keys and Keyboards" in the Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction [amazon.com].
The "data entry industry" study you're referring to is probably the Navy study mentioned in The Fable (and Lewis's chapter). Leibowitz and Margolis don't really describe the study correctly. This is in part due to the strange way it was conducted -- I'm away from my copy of it so I can't give a good description.
(On an unrelated note, it is pretty irritating to read Leibowitz and Margolis's character assassination of Dvorak. I once asked a well known economist about Stan Leibowitz and was told that his research seems to be too motivated by his political beliefs. I have no idea if that's true, and I would never use that as an argument to refute him in a peer reviewed article. Likewise, I think that the aspersions cast on Dvorak's reputation are a bit disingenuous and out of line for a scientific article.)
B) QWERTY is actually pretty damned good. The common urban legend about QWERTY being designed to slow typists down is just that, an urban legend. It is true that QWERTY was designed to reduce jamming on mechanical typewriters, but it did not do this by intentionally slowing typists down, as the legend claims.
Instead, it does this by ensuring that commonly-pressed pairs of keys are not next to one another (and in the days of mechanical hammers, this would also mean that the hammers were not next to one another). Conveniently, this means that successive keystrokes are likely to be pressed by alternate hands, which actually makes typing faster instead of slower.
Sort of right. Analyses of cross-hand keying do indicate that QWERTY is pretty good, but Dvorak is still better.
C) Your own anecdotal stories are, I'm sorry to say, worthless.
Actually, this is sort of true, sort of false, but these days probably irrelevant.
True: Only well designed scientific studies (or simulations) of human performance using various layouts can tell us which layouts are most efficient in which contexts.
False: Your anecdotal evidence is actually worth a lot -- to you. If you typed at 40 WPM using one layout and now type at 60 WPM using another layout, good for you. It doesn't mean anything for anyone else, but something about the switch (the new layout, the practice you had to engage in, your desire to prove that your layout is superior) helped you.
Irrelevant: Unless you are a transcriptionist (in which case, you probably should be using a specialized tra
Re:because... (Score:2)
Perhaps you feel differently, in which case you are certainly welcome to switch. I don't think the data supports anything approaching an industry-wide switch, however.
Re:because... (Score:2, Interesting)
Consider as such:
Person A types 8 hours a day.
In these 8 hours, (s)he averages about 70wpm (while typing). 70wpm * 4 chars (4 chars/wd + 1 space) = 350 keystrokes/min.
In those 8 hours, assuming 1 hr break (30 min lunch, 15 min * 2 breaks, legal minimum, YMMV) this means 7hrs*60min/hr*350cpm = 147000 chars (/5cpw) = 29,400 words typed in a day.
This is, of course, theoretical.
In any case, a 5% increas in speed now puts you at 30,870 wpd. This is over 1000 word
Re:because... (Score:2, Informative)
I don't know what kind of dream world you live in, but I have never in my life met a coder who could compose code faster than they could type it.
As someone who codes for a living, I'm not afraid to admit that I have often spent hours tracking down a bug which ends up being fixed with a one-line change. Typing speed isn't all that important unless you spend most of your day typing, and I've never met a coder who does.
Of course, I'm writing this comment on a Palm Tungsten C, which is pretty i
Re:because... (Score:3, Interesting)
This paper basically attempts to prove that QWERTY vs. Dvorak was not an example of market failure -- in other words, that the best keyboard really did win and it wasn't because QWERTY was an entrenched standard that nobody was brave enough to challenge (which is the typical argument that the losers in any such fight give).
Re:because... (Score:2)
Re:because... (Score:2)
First, the paper itself cites numerous studies and other papers, so it's not as if it exists in an isolated sea of nothingness. Second, I never said that it was the only such paper I have read -- just that it seemed to be the best.
Re:because... (Score:2)
only an article). I'll come back with an article that slightly less biased than
yours (only slightly). One that is in fact, written as a point for point
counter to the article you cite. It can be found Here [mwbrooks.com].
Your up.
Re:because... (Score:3, Insightful)
My primary reference on this subject is The Fable of the Keys [utdallas.edu], which seems to be a pretty comprehensive look at the entire debate. I have read other papers regarding the sub
Re:because... (Score:4, Insightful)
Uhhh, error rates, finger fatigue, increased or decreased risk of RSI, retraining costs, application changes, documentation changes... these are ALL statistics worth debating.
Re:because... (Score:2, Informative)
Life's so unfair... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Life's so unfair... (Score:3, Informative)
An Average Geek (Score:4, Insightful)
Game, set, match... QWERTY.
Vi, public computers, bad typing habits.. (Score:3, Interesting)
1. public computers: internet cafes, computer labs, libraries, or even helping my girlfriend out with her computer required me to un-wire and switch back to qwerty for a while.
2. Vi: Vi was made for the qwerty layout, with the home row movement keys (hjkl). Remapping the keyboard is possible, but not without breaking all of the memnomics (sp?) that I had previously had. i.e., that row becomes "dhtn", 3 of which have other (non-movement) meanings (d = delete, t = to, n = next). What now becomes my delete/to/next keys? And what are the memnomics?
3. I was never taught to type correctly. My hands are not on the home row, my fingers are extended, and my form is a mess.. I basicly use like 3 fingers on each hand to type, moving my hands a lot. I get decent speed doing this (~60 wpm, I would guess), but it isn't accurate and doesn't translate to dvorak. When I learned dvorak, I realized it was designed for touch typists with the standard home row configuration. To this day, whenever I use dvorak, I change to the home-row stance. I am not as comfortable or as confident in this position and it makes my typing slow.
So, I found myself constantly switching back and forth between qwerty and dvorak.. my bad typing habits were created for qwerty.. and after months on dvorak, I still found qwety to be faster. That is why i reverted to qwerty. I wish I was better at dvorak, i really do, but damnit, i want Vim to work the way it should.
-molo
Re:Vi, public computers, bad typing habits.. (Score:2)
Re:Vi, public computers, bad typing habits.. (Score:3, Funny)
Last I checked people who DO need that sort of thing use emacs right? Those of us who just need our text editor to send plagues, turn cities to salt, and part the red sea stick with vi
Because it's barely worth the effort (Score:3, Interesting)
Nowadays my desktop machines have IBM keyboards with removable keycaps, so they're all physically Dvorak - on the other hand, my laptop is both physically and logically QWERTY because other people want to use it occasionally. Switching takes a few seconds, but isn't a major problem.
A question for those who have switched... (Score:5, Interesting)
How hard is it to jump between QWERTY and Dvorak layouts? I've thought many times about switching to Dvorak, and I'm pretty certain that I could be back up to speed in only a few months, but there's no way that I can be restricted to using *only* the Dvorak layout, so the ability to remain moderately productive on a QWERTY keyboard is a prerequisite.
So, how hard is it to jump back and forth? Is it like having two separate modes, each equally capable, or do the two sets of muscle memories stomp on each other? I've known people who spend enough time on telephone and adding machine keypads to develop excellent "touch-typing" skills on both, and they could bounce between them flawlessly, never missing a single stroke even at high speed, in spite of the different layouts. OTOH, there are fewer keys and more "environmental" clues to distinguish between them.
I notice that (spoken) languages often seem to create the same sort of "modality", whereby a person fluent in two languages can trivially jump between the two with little risk of accidentally mixing them. OTOH, I find that I have a strong tendency to mix keywords and syntax across multiple programming languages, particularly if I'm not using different development environments (my theory is that the different IDEs provide some context that helps).
So, how does it work?
Re:A question for those who have switched... (Score:5, Informative)
And no, I'm not saying this because I'm some some raving Dvorak promoter -- as people have pointed out, it isn't that much faster, and there is always the inconvenience for other people who want to use my computer (It's very simple to remap the keys back & forth with an international layout tool, but some people still can't get over the fact that all the keycaps have been swapped around). Dvorak just has that same geek fun factor that Linux does -- I like using something different from "everyone else" -- because I can -- even if it's only marginally better.
Re:A question for those who have switched... (Score:2, Interesting)
but as a critical note: my mind operates contextually, and so i mentally adjust for tasks based on my situation. so, i can operate one peice of software with its custom keyboard shortcuts, and then switch to another similar application and be able to use its shortcuts without a second thought. a friend of mine, however, has a great deal of trouble doing that. he can use one application and then gets stuck
Re:A question for those who have switched... (Score:2)
Re:A question for those who have switched... (Score:2)
Re:A question for those who have switched... (Score:2)
It's Hell. Trust me, you do not want to go there.
Could you expand on what exactly is difficult, what problems arise, etc.?
(Though it's not as hard as learining it at first, but then again, not much is.)
Maybe your experience won't apply to me, because I found that I could get around reasonably well with a Dvorak keyboard after only a few hours, and that even without physically reorganizing the keys. I was slow, and typing required significantly more concentration, but it wasn't too bad.
don't mess with QWERTY (Score:2)
Re:don't mess with QWERTY (Score:2)
why switch? (Score:2)
this seems like an argument from the camp of people who want everyone, including their elderly grandmother, to use linux because "it's right," with no regard for the user's preference.
Re:why switch? (Score:2)
much difference? (Score:2)
Re:much difference? (Score:2)
when they test for the records, do they test with reading? I'm a little slower with that, but I bet it's still decent.
I used Dvorak for a while... (Score:2, Insightful)
I
Re:I used Dvorak for a while... (Score:2)
duh (Score:2)
It's like me in Descent 2. I learned to play Descent 2 with a keyboard. I was pretty damn good. People told me that if i got a joystick, I could be better. So I got one. I became very frustrated and never spent the time to learn how to use it in Descent 2.
Re:duh (Score:2)
I used to use Dvorak (Score:2)
Re:I used to use Dvorak (Score:2)
As to the keycaps being different, if you learn it correctly you don't have to look at the keys, and then it doesn't matter.
Really was a hardware/software issue (Score:3, Informative)
The problem is that some programs used command-keys that were based on keyboard position, and some were based on actual letter (so command-o on the dvorak layout might be either command-o, because they were using the letter, or command-s, because that is the key in the same space on the qwerty layout). So I never knew from program to program which keyboard shortcut I'd be using.
It might not be as much of an issue now, with a more modern OS. On the other hand, now I really don't care.
=Brian
---
Re:Really was a hardware/software issue (Score:3, Interesting)
If it weren't QWERTY it wouldn't be easy to type (Score:2, Funny)
Same old story... (Score:2, Interesting)
One more time, based on my own research,
Dvorak - about 70% of all keys you will ever press are on the home row.
Qwerty - About 35% of all keys you will press are on the home row.
Conclusion,
You won't be moving as much. It is so much more comfortable for me to use Dvorak. The only way I can describe it, it feels like your fingers are flowing over the keys. It looks strange to
Re:Same old story... (Score:2)
My Hands Dont Hurt Anymore (Score:3, Informative)
Let me preface this with a disclaimer, though I have read pro-Qwerty and pro-Dvorak papers, I am not arguing on research. I am telling my story. If you want to go read the papers, and the modern ones, they are out there.
I've been using a keyboard for so long, I've lost my introduction to them somewhere between learning to walk and reading See Dick Run books. I was probably about 5, maybe 4. But touch typing never stuck, and though a proficient computer user, I was a Claw Typist (the next evolution in the series: Hunt-and-Peck, Two-Finger, Claw). I took typing at two different highschools, and one middle school, and stayed a Claw typist. I was just so much faster than I was with the time investment I'd put into Touch, that I never used Touch.
It finnally occured to me that I might want to try programming when I was already in my second year of college. I'm not sure why it didn't come up sooner, I'd had programming classes all the way back to LOGO in 4th grade, but I'd NEVER done anything outside of what I was assigned with them. It turns out I'm pretty damn good at it, and this irks me, as I was bored for that first 20 years.
Leaving college without a degree after 5 years (two wasted doing Biology before the switch) and just shy of my bachelors, I went to work as a programmer. I put in 60 - 80 hour weeks, and I hacked kernel code at home.
After a year of this, the regular time-to-stop-hacking signal that I'd use to decide to go home (my hands going numb) started to really bug me, and started to HURT. I decided to become a Touch Typist.
As an aside, I use Bash and Vim, and I USE them, meaning that I've really learned my movement, search, and manipualtion keys. Typing hurts, do as little of it as possible.
My first few weeks of trying to be GOOD (not look down at the keys) didn't work out, so I spray-painted my work and home keyboards black. That was a bad week, vim in command mode without being SURE what key you are hitting is not a forgiving instructor. But I've not looked down since. {You can buy keyboards with blank keys for teaching typing; it just seems that most schools don't bother.}
I was a Touch Typist! Yay!
My hands still hurt. Suck.
Since I already had a good chair, I began the fetish-like search for a more comefortable keyboard, one REALLY designed for hackers. Escape and Control need to be in the Right Place, to reduce stress on that pinki. If you don't use Bash, Vim, Vi, or Emacs, you probably don't know where the Right Place is. I went through an IBM PS/2 mini (a great, nigh idestructable keyboard) and finally bought a Happy Hacking Keyboard Lite off of a workmate with a greater keyboard fetish than me, that had moved on to a full Sun keyboard with a ps2 connector. {The HH is a great keyboard, I've been very happy with it. It's bubble switched, but it clicks enough to give you the tacktile feedback you need for real speed.}
After the keyboard search, my hands still hurt after a long day of typing. Not as bad, but I was at the penacle of what Qwerty could give me: Full Touch-Typing, A Good Chair, A Good Keyboard, and Knowledge of my Shortcuts (which in Vim and Bash are powerful indeed).
I decided that I would try Dvorak. I had put it off in the past, looking for a hardware solution, but when I decided to try it, I found how ubiquitous software remap was in different OSes. I switched the software map to Dvorak, and presto.
I could not type. (The keyboard was black, you see). After a week I was at 20% of Qwerty Touch. After a month I was at 80%. After 3 I was faster. And my hands don't hurt.
Let me repeat that: MY HANDS DONT HURT.
Vim and Bash may have been laid out for QWERTY, but they are just as usable in Dvorak. So what if JKHL aren't in a line, your mind learns and applies a pattern, and it just works.
It does take time to switch, the research sug
Re:My Hands Dont Hurt Anymore (Score:2)
Re:My Hands Dont Hurt Anymore (Score:3, Informative)
I'm only 27, so the fact that my wrists were hurting at the end of the day, every day, really worried me. Especially since I don't even have my degree yet (I graduate in December). I'm sure I'll be typing a lot more when I get a real job. With RSI at 27, what would my wrists h
Because it would mess up my skills in FPSs (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Because it would mess up my skills in FPSs (Score:2)
Reason I didn't switch (Score:2)
;
Not worth it (Score:2)
But as a left handed person, my reasons for not switching to Dvorak are pretty specific: one of
tried, failed (Score:5, Interesting)
We never pulled it off.
We got all our X11 keyboards remapped. We changed the keycaps on my PS/2. We downloaded some tutor apps from the net. We even spent quite a bit of time actually practicing. Results were promising... But then reality kicked in.
At university labs, I was routinely using about 5 different keyboards a day, some X, some tty. Remapping all of them wasn't an option, so I was trying to learn Dvorak while still blasting out assignments in Qwerty. Then there's situations during the transition from Qwerty to Dvorak where there's no feedback... Trying to enter a password on a keyboard with Dvorak keycaps but a Qwerty layout is, uh, hard.
What killed the whole thing, however, is that I'm a vi user. vi at the best of times can be a disaster for bad typists. Just trying to navigate via ijkl in vi on Dvorak is futile, much less handling complex ingrained key patterns like df' or 'ay}. After years of vi use, I've got these patterns burned into my fingers. Learning a new keyboard without learning a new editor at the same time won't happen.
Yet another problem is that too much emphasis is placed on the letters. C/C++ programmers need a good symbol layout too and we make at least as much use of the symbols as the letters. Dvorak is, I found, a bit weaker in the symbol layout than Qwerty. {}[];()= are, I think, the most commonly used C symbols... This choice of symbols and the convenient placement on Qwerty is probably not accidental.
c.
Re:tried, failed (Score:2)
Okay, hjkl. I said "burned into my fingers", not my brain.
c.
AZERTY (Score:2)
bad arguements! (Score:2)
The majority of computer users use windows, does that make us Linux guys stupid bacause we are non-conformist!?
At the very least... (Score:2)
Why do you care? (Score:2)
Who cares what the world uses anymore? The whole QWERTY/Dvorak debate made some sense back in the days of typewriters, or even in the days of hardcoded keymaps. What everyone used, everyone had to use. Everyone used QWERTY, so there was no room for anything else, because all the typewriters and computers used it.
But now, everything is remappable. If you're on a Windows or OS X machine, it takes about two seconds to switch to Dvorak, and about two more to switch back
Not everyone is (Score:2)
I switched to dvorak after I injured my neck (possibly due in part to RSI from over-using QWERTY layouts, but that's another story). so I swapped caps lock for control and spent a few out-of-work weeks learning dvorak.
(These are a few concrete issues that are incredibly annoying, but since I've only used software to re-map keys, some of these issues will not impact folks that buy a bona fide dvorak keyboard.)
- since I was learning from scr
My Experience (Score:2)
It wasn't worth it.
Let me back up... in many aspects, learning Dvorak is not a huge deal: you just force yourself to use it exclusively and... 4 weeks later, you've got the hang of it. The first two weeks are really frustrating, as it takes you forever to type out the simplest messages. I suspect that *nix users who know a lot of keystrokes by heart would find this an extremely frustrating (and dangerous) time period. But you get
Believe it or not: Game's Hotkeys (Score:2)
Upping my words per min is NOT going to make me more effective/productive. I'm a programmer - the problems are logical and logistical. I'm "hampered" by brain speed, not input speed.
On Windows 2000 (Score:2)
I just switched a few minutes ago on my Windows 2000 box:
start->settings->control panel->regional options.
Go to "input locals tab" and hit ADD. Now add US Dvorak (or whatever other type of keyboard you want)
At the bottom, you'll see the key combination to toggle between QWERTY and Dvorak--*left alt+shift*.
I can type using one, hit *left alt+shift*, and then the keyboard switches to the other. When I have problems figuring out the keyboard, I si
Why is Everyone Still Stuck in Incandescent? (Score:2)
What about the alphaboard? (Score:2)
According to their site, it can help you finish that hollywood screenplay you've wanted to write, but put off because of bad keyboard layouts. Yeah, that's what was stopping me.
Why do you care? (Score:2)
Why do geeks want to turn everything into Planet Purple?
Re:So.. (Score:2)
Re:Why so much anger? (Score:2)
Re:Same reason as (Score:2)
Re:dvorak is highly overrated (Score:3, Informative)