I was reading up on a story the other day and I saw this comment or something like it: “I want to try the Dvorak Keyboard, but…”. I thought what the heck is the “Dvorak Keyboard?
For those that don’t know, the traditional keyboard layout that we use is called QWERTY. The whole idea of this layout had nothing to do with ease of use. It had to do with typewriters. Originally typewriters had hammers which were prone to jamming at the best of times. So the QWERTY layout was designed so that successive keystrokes had less of a chance of jamming by alternating from one side to the other. It has been suggested that the design was also used to slow typing speeds. So the damn thing is not designed for ease of use in any way (no kidding). With the dawn of the computer age the design became irrelevant.
The Dvorak Simplified Keyboard was patented in 1936 by Dr August Dvorak. He studied letter frequencies and physiology and came up with a set of design principles upon which the Dvorak layout is based. So basically he created a keyboard that is easier to use. In addition he also designed keyboards that are designed for use with one hand. They come in a right and left handed version.
Looking at it, I am not that sure just how much easier it would be to adapt to. Especially considering the length of time I have used a QWERTY. But if you were new to computers or blogging or were willing to stick at it, there might be the chance that it is better and easier to use.
For more Information:
- Dvorak Simplified Keyboard on Wikipedia
- Introducing the Dvorak Keyboard (lots of links to chase)
- Dvorak Simplified Keyboard – How to use it by someone who doe, wiki style page
- The DVzine – A site that uses Comics to promote the Dvorak Layout)
March 16, 2007 at 12:28 am
I looked into this and all the alternative keyboards long ago… nothing was compelling enough to make me switch from the standard, ubiquitous qwerty keyboard. Some of the erg keyboards use gestures and gesture combinations (see http://www.tifaq.com/keyboards.html) that were intriguing, but…
(How much does it suck to help someone with their computer when their shortcuts or browser defaults are different than yours — let alone a completely different keyboard?!?!)
Let me know if you find a keyboard that is specifically designed for coders… My pinkies are getting tired of all the $, [], {}, , and () that I have to type (not to mention #*% etc., ctrl-shft-b, etc. depending on the language or IDE…)
March 16, 2007 at 10:31 am
Something to keep in mind:
QWERTY keyboards were designed ON PURPOSE to be slower so that typewritter ribbons didn’t jam from keys being hit too fast.
August 20, 2007 at 7:42 pm
I switched. I can’t feel the pain in my wrists any more.
Comfort has increased manifold. You won’t even know that you’re typing — so light on your digits…
http://maravind.blogspot.com/2007/05/dvorak-layout-my-current-obsession.html