Dvorak keyboard layout
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Switching to dvorak is the most important improvement I ever made as a hacker. If the keyboard is the primary tool you use to interface with your professional world, any improvements you make should pay you back exponentially. It is hands-down (oh.. my) a superior layout and I have been using it full time for about 15 years now. I can switch back and forth between the two layouts mid-sentence if needed (using other people's computers), although it took a while to acquire that flip-flop fluency. I don't remember how long it took to become comfortable with it, but I do remember it being a struggle. I don't know if I would do it again today since it would slow me down considerably at work in the meantime, and honestly it's hard to suggest it to full-time computer professionals for that reason. When I learned it, though, I was younger and playing a lot of interactive fiction, so I had plenty of opportunity to ease into it without any stress or urgency. Still, if you fancy a challenge that in the long run could improve your efficiency, and in the short term at least be an exciting attempt at something new, you should give it a go. I have never even considered switching back to qwerty. Dvorak, at least in my opinion, is far superior, although, sadly, qwerty is an excellent example of market penetration and momentum of an inferior technology that will probably never be usurped.
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Switching to dvorak is the most important improvement I ever made as a hacker. If the keyboard is the primary tool you use to interface with your professional world, any improvements you make should pay you back exponentially. It is hands-down (oh.. my) a superior layout and I have been using it full time for about 15 years now. I can switch back and forth between the two layouts mid-sentence if needed (using other people's computers), although it took a while to acquire that flip-flop fluency. I don't remember how long it took to become comfortable with it, but I do remember it being a struggle. I don't know if I would do it again today since it would slow me down considerably at work in the meantime, and honestly it's hard to suggest it to full-time computer professionals for that reason. When I learned it, though, I was younger and playing a lot of interactive fiction, so I had plenty of opportunity to ease into it without any stress or urgency. Still, if you fancy a challenge that in the long run could improve your efficiency, and in the short term at least be an exciting attempt at something new, you should give it a go. I have never even considered switching back to qwerty. Dvorak, at least in my opinion, is far superior, although, sadly, qwerty is an excellent example of market penetration and momentum of an inferior technology that will probably never be usurped.
Very interesting! I can do about 100+ WPM on QWERTY, and if I've to go by your opinions, I think learning DVORAK can help me type even faster and with less strain (what wikipedia says). Thanks for posting. :)
"Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.
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Have any of you used this keyboard layout long enough to say that it's better than qwerty? I've heard all the hype but wondered if it was really all that great. How hard is it to learn if you are using multiple computers (obviously some that can't be changed). My keyboard now has all the keys the same size so it would be easy to change over, but a real PITA to learn to type all over again. Although, with as many spelling mistakes that I make, it probably wouldn't be that much slower. For those of you who have tried it, how long did it take to get comfortable with it? Is it hard to switch between the two keyboards? For those of you who switched back to qwerty, why?
Brad If you think you can, you will. If you think you can't, you won't. Either way, you're right.
I will stick with the old style, I hate all this Chopin and changing.
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live
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Very interesting! I can do about 100+ WPM on QWERTY, and if I've to go by your opinions, I think learning DVORAK can help me type even faster and with less strain (what wikipedia says). Thanks for posting. :)
"Real men drive manual transmission" - Rajesh.
Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:
and with less strain
There's an article from today's Insider[^] that agrees with that (Just past the football player picture).
Henry Minute Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.” I wouldn't let CG touch my Abacus! When you're wrestling a gorilla, you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is. Cogito ergo thumb - Sucking my thumb helps me to think.
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Switching to dvorak is the most important improvement I ever made as a hacker. If the keyboard is the primary tool you use to interface with your professional world, any improvements you make should pay you back exponentially. It is hands-down (oh.. my) a superior layout and I have been using it full time for about 15 years now. I can switch back and forth between the two layouts mid-sentence if needed (using other people's computers), although it took a while to acquire that flip-flop fluency. I don't remember how long it took to become comfortable with it, but I do remember it being a struggle. I don't know if I would do it again today since it would slow me down considerably at work in the meantime, and honestly it's hard to suggest it to full-time computer professionals for that reason. When I learned it, though, I was younger and playing a lot of interactive fiction, so I had plenty of opportunity to ease into it without any stress or urgency. Still, if you fancy a challenge that in the long run could improve your efficiency, and in the short term at least be an exciting attempt at something new, you should give it a go. I have never even considered switching back to qwerty. Dvorak, at least in my opinion, is far superior, although, sadly, qwerty is an excellent example of market penetration and momentum of an inferior technology that will probably never be usurped.
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Have any of you used this keyboard layout long enough to say that it's better than qwerty? I've heard all the hype but wondered if it was really all that great. How hard is it to learn if you are using multiple computers (obviously some that can't be changed). My keyboard now has all the keys the same size so it would be easy to change over, but a real PITA to learn to type all over again. Although, with as many spelling mistakes that I make, it probably wouldn't be that much slower. For those of you who have tried it, how long did it take to get comfortable with it? Is it hard to switch between the two keyboards? For those of you who switched back to qwerty, why?
Brad If you think you can, you will. If you think you can't, you won't. Either way, you're right.
Contrary to popular belief Qwerty was a well researched layout--an early example of usability research. Experiments have not found Dvorak to be superior. Familiarity and practice are the most important factor in typing speed. In the end, some people like it, some don't. I never saw the point of learning since most people know qwerty and that's what keyboards they have.
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Have any of you used this keyboard layout long enough to say that it's better than qwerty? I've heard all the hype but wondered if it was really all that great. How hard is it to learn if you are using multiple computers (obviously some that can't be changed). My keyboard now has all the keys the same size so it would be easy to change over, but a real PITA to learn to type all over again. Although, with as many spelling mistakes that I make, it probably wouldn't be that much slower. For those of you who have tried it, how long did it take to get comfortable with it? Is it hard to switch between the two keyboards? For those of you who switched back to qwerty, why?
Brad If you think you can, you will. If you think you can't, you won't. Either way, you're right.
I can type fast enough on Qwerty for everything I do, and especially when coding, accuracy is much more important than raw speed. I'm already typing in two (human) languages, I'm not going to try getting used to another layout as well!
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I will stick with the old style, I hate all this Chopin and changing.
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live
Otherwise you might find yourself Liszting repeatedly between the two standards!
Sort of a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Dilbert.[^]
-Or-
A Dead ringer for Kate Winslett[^] -
Contrary to popular belief Qwerty was a well researched layout--an early example of usability research. Experiments have not found Dvorak to be superior. Familiarity and practice are the most important factor in typing speed. In the end, some people like it, some don't. I never saw the point of learning since most people know qwerty and that's what keyboards they have.
Qqwerty was actually made to slow typists down as they typed so fast the old keys would get jammed together.
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live
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Qqwerty was actually made to slow typists down as they typed so fast the old keys would get jammed together.
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live
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Have any of you used this keyboard layout long enough to say that it's better than qwerty? I've heard all the hype but wondered if it was really all that great. How hard is it to learn if you are using multiple computers (obviously some that can't be changed). My keyboard now has all the keys the same size so it would be easy to change over, but a real PITA to learn to type all over again. Although, with as many spelling mistakes that I make, it probably wouldn't be that much slower. For those of you who have tried it, how long did it take to get comfortable with it? Is it hard to switch between the two keyboards? For those of you who switched back to qwerty, why?
Brad If you think you can, you will. If you think you can't, you won't. Either way, you're right.
To be honest the layout doesn't matter to me greatly, I have fingers like plump polish sausages when it comes to typing. The one thing I will say is that, if you get used to Dvorak, you'll get irked by QWERTY whenever you come across it, and most machines do. I now this is the case from a phone I had that had an alphabetically-arranged keyboard.
Sort of a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Dilbert.[^]
-Or-
A Dead ringer for Kate Winslett[^] -
Otherwise you might find yourself Liszting repeatedly between the two standards!
Sort of a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Dilbert.[^]
-Or-
A Dead ringer for Kate Winslett[^]I would not like to Bach up the wrong tree.
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live
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Opens card... LIE!
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.
Saint Stephen of Fry said it was so, so it must be true! Edit: St Wiki of Pedia says elsewise[^]
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live
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Jason Hooper wrote:
I can switch back and forth between the two layouts mid-sentence if needed
Yeah, I can do that ohiohfui buiwebdfqi ubiqq
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Chris Meech I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar] In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra] posting about Crystal Reports here is like discussing gay marriage on a catholic church’s website.[Nishant Sivakumar]
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To be honest the layout doesn't matter to me greatly, I have fingers like plump polish sausages when it comes to typing. The one thing I will say is that, if you get used to Dvorak, you'll get irked by QWERTY whenever you come across it, and most machines do. I now this is the case from a phone I had that had an alphabetically-arranged keyboard.
Sort of a cross between Lawrence of Arabia and Dilbert.[^]
-Or-
A Dead ringer for Kate Winslett[^]Even Qwerty annoys when you switch to Colonial versions. I was in the US and kept having to swap out the # for the £ etc.
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live
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Saint Stephen of Fry said it was so, so it must be true! Edit: St Wiki of Pedia says elsewise[^]
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live
I thought QI had finally got round to saying it wasn't true that QWERTY slowed down typists. It actually sped them up by reducing jams at higher speeds of typing. I seem to remember watching that, but I'm getting old so am often confused.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.
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I thought QI had finally got round to saying it wasn't true that QWERTY slowed down typists. It actually sped them up by reducing jams at higher speeds of typing. I seem to remember watching that, but I'm getting old so am often confused.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends.
Have they served the tea yet?
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live
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Have they served the tea yet?
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live
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Rajesh R Subramanian wrote:
and with less strain
There's an article from today's Insider[^] that agrees with that (Just past the football player picture).
Henry Minute Girl: (staring) "Why do you need an icy cucumber?" “I want to report a fraud. The government is lying to us all.” I wouldn't let CG touch my Abacus! When you're wrestling a gorilla, you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is. Cogito ergo thumb - Sucking my thumb helps me to think.
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I would not like to Bach up the wrong tree.
--------------------------------- I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] English League Tables - Live