Dvorak Keyboards
-
I have been thinking about switching to a Dvorak keyboard to increase my typing speed, but have a few questions for those that use or have used the Dvorak layout. -Is the Dvorak layout actually faster? -Do you have trouble switching back to a standard Qwerty layout? -About how long did it take you to switch to Dvorak? Thanks
-
I have been thinking about switching to a Dvorak keyboard to increase my typing speed, but have a few questions for those that use or have used the Dvorak layout. -Is the Dvorak layout actually faster? -Do you have trouble switching back to a standard Qwerty layout? -About how long did it take you to switch to Dvorak? Thanks
So your typing speed is your bottle neck? :laugh:
Wout
-
I have been thinking about switching to a Dvorak keyboard to increase my typing speed, but have a few questions for those that use or have used the Dvorak layout. -Is the Dvorak layout actually faster? -Do you have trouble switching back to a standard Qwerty layout? -About how long did it take you to switch to Dvorak? Thanks
Whatever you're curently doing is fastest.
-
I have been thinking about switching to a Dvorak keyboard to increase my typing speed, but have a few questions for those that use or have used the Dvorak layout. -Is the Dvorak layout actually faster? -Do you have trouble switching back to a standard Qwerty layout? -About how long did it take you to switch to Dvorak? Thanks
I have known a few people who use Dvorak, but no programmers. No keyboard is made for symbol typing, and even the most text oriented of languages use symbols more often than average text. Symbols are considered punctuation in sentences and used sparingly. If you are looking for a solution for "text" and large portions of it, then Dvorak may help you. However, you can beat the speed of a Dvorak with a voice recognition system. :) my comments go 10x faster than my code typing, almost negligible effort at that speed.
_________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb) John Andrew Holmes "It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others."
-
I have been thinking about switching to a Dvorak keyboard to increase my typing speed, but have a few questions for those that use or have used the Dvorak layout. -Is the Dvorak layout actually faster? -Do you have trouble switching back to a standard Qwerty layout? -About how long did it take you to switch to Dvorak? Thanks
Dvorak has been shown to be faster once you learn to use it (the "standard" keyboard was designed to slow you down). For most people typing is done at a "muscle memory" level, so having to think about it will slow you down until you adapt. You might compare it to using a calculator and a phone keypad; they have different layouts, but once you have adapted through training/usage it does not really slow you down when you switch. So if you already know how to type on a standard keyboard, there will be a relearning period and there may be a problem switching back and forth. PS: If you want so fun, rearrange the keys on the phone to match a calculator. Most people can't make a call and can't figure out what is wrong because the keys look "OK".
-
I have been thinking about switching to a Dvorak keyboard to increase my typing speed, but have a few questions for those that use or have used the Dvorak layout. -Is the Dvorak layout actually faster? -Do you have trouble switching back to a standard Qwerty layout? -About how long did it take you to switch to Dvorak? Thanks
I've been typing using the Dvorak layout for the past 8+ years. I don't think that I'm any faster now that I use this layout, but I did notice an immediate difference in the pain that QWERTY was causing in my forearms. I haven't timed myself but if I had to quess I would think I'm typing somewhere around 90wpm which was about the same as I was typing in QWERTY before I swithed over. It took one month for me to make the change typing all day in nothing but DVORAK. It was about two weeks of making tons of errors and then another 2 weeks of typing correctly and slowly increasing the speed back to normal. It isn't as programmer friendly, but it didn't take long to adapt to where the symbols moved to. The semi-colon ; is no longer on the home row and the curly braces {} are moved a little further away, but I don't have any trouble using them and I code almost exclusively in C#. There is an added bonus when you use Dvorak which is great for evil control freaks like myself. It has completely eliminated any co-worker pranks on my work machine and it's a great source of amusement when another control freak is watching me work over my shoulder and insist that they be allowed to type. That's especially true with IT support folks. I find them waiting for me after they tried to slip in and run an update while I was out. I'm not all evil. I did leave a Dvorak keyboard layout posted next to the computer in case they really needed to get in while I was away.
Fuzzy Llama Creative Solutions, Inc. Wordles LLC Pachuko Boy
-
I have been thinking about switching to a Dvorak keyboard to increase my typing speed, but have a few questions for those that use or have used the Dvorak layout. -Is the Dvorak layout actually faster? -Do you have trouble switching back to a standard Qwerty layout? -About how long did it take you to switch to Dvorak? Thanks
Several controlled studies have found that Dvorak isn't faster across the sampling pool. They've also found that switching styles had a very measurable impact. (On the other hand, I knew a programmer who used a Dvorak mainly to prevent other people from using his computer.) (Interestingly, several studies have found that a keyboard arranged alphabetically causes very slow typing even after training and practice.) PS. The notion that Sholes designed the Qwerty layout to reduce typing speed is a myth. Quite the opposite, he was striving for faster typing and also wanted to reduce the bars from clashing. Though it turns out if bar clash were the sole goal, there are better layouts, but those layouts aren't as optimal. (The point is that the Qwerty layout is an example of very good engineering on Sholes part. He struggled with a compromise of reliability and functionality and came up with a solution that is unbeatable in any consistent way.) PPS. I have a vague memory of a very good article by an IBM engineer on this subject, but can't remember the reference. PPPS. Yes, I did a very extensive overview study of this in college for a psychology paper. I got a little carried away.
Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
-
I have been thinking about switching to a Dvorak keyboard to increase my typing speed, but have a few questions for those that use or have used the Dvorak layout. -Is the Dvorak layout actually faster? -Do you have trouble switching back to a standard Qwerty layout? -About how long did it take you to switch to Dvorak? Thanks
Bob X wrote:
-Do you have trouble switching back to a standard Qwerty layout?
both people I knew who did dvorak switched back to qwerty for this reason.
Today's lesson is brought to you by the word "niggardly". Remember kids, don't attribute to racism what can be explained by Scandinavian language roots. -- Robert Royall