Alternate keyboard layouts?

[Deleted member 11889]

Has anyone here tried any alternatives to the QWERTY layout? Been trying to teach myself to type in Dvorak lately.

 

[Solparvus]

I use Dvorak. I like it much better than QWERTY for typing, but use QWERTY for keyboard shortcuts. Dvorak feels easier on hand, and I believe you can reach higher typing speeds.

 

[RobertPGH1981]

Yikes, I wouldn't think about training on a new keyboard style. I always used QWERTY. I was curious and just jumped on a website and tested my typing speed. It said it was 60wpm. I guess for me I don't need to type faster than that... I usually only write blog posts, emails, papers for classes and work. Its not speed typing that I need since the type of writing on my side needs to be more thoughtful.

 

[Edward]

I understand that if you install a Russian keyboard on your computer that the Russian hackers will leave you alone - they don't want to risk hacking a Russian machine and run afoul of Russian criminal law. So they check for installed keyboard before uploading malware. So удачи.

 

[Deleted member 11889]

I understand that if you install a Russian keyboard on your computer that the Russian hackers will leave you alone - they don't want to risk hacking a Russian machine and run afoul of Russian criminal law. So they check for installed keyboard before uploading malware. So удачи.

LOL!!!

 

[hammondjones]

I dont know how hard that would be for me at this point, I think it's pretty much baked in at this point. The only time I considered that was when we were supposedly going to a "hot desking" environment at work where we were all going to share terminals, and I thought if I had an alternative keyboard installed I could keep the same seat everyday. So, pretty much due to spite and selfishness, which is about par for the course, on balance. But, we never implemented that, so I remain a qwertyman today.

 

[hLuke]

I tried the AZERTY layout when I was learning French last year. It felt as if I were writing with my opposite hand.

 

[therussellhome]

My vocation requires me to type a lot so I taught myself to use Dvorak almost 20 years ago. I cannot say if it has helped stave off wrist and elbow issues but I can happily report I don't have any. My wife, who does have both due to being a musician learned Dvorak too and it helps her.

Learning the new layout was not too bad, just be patient. I have found since that, without much effort, I can still touch type on Qwerty. I had all my kids learn on Dvorak as it is easier to pick up Qwerty later given that all the keys are backed for it.

A fun side note, no one asks to borrow my computer more than once after they try typing and get gibberish.

 

[Deleted member 11889]

@therussellhome, you hit on one of my reasons for learning - to keep people off of my workstations.

Right now I'm at ~25wpm on Dvorak. When I need to do fast or extensive typing I switch back to QWERTY but I'm slowly getting more comfortable with Dvorak. What I do notice is that the division of letters between the hands is "blockier" - In other words, there's less back and forth and more 4-6 letter strings that are taken entirely with one hand.

 

[Solparvus]

@therussellhome, you hit on one of my reasons for learning - to keep people off of my workstations.

Right now I'm at ~25wpm on Dvorak. When I need to do fast or extensive typing I switch back to QWERTY but I'm slowly getting more comfortable with Dvorak. What I do notice is that the division of letters between the hands is "blockier" - In other words, there's less back and forth and more 4-6 letter strings that are taken entirely with one hand.

Qwerty is intentionally so. Once upon a time typewriters had a habit of locking up, probably as a result of certain combinations, maybe even typing too fast (have to look up). Qwerty was developed as a solution to that.

 

[Deleted member 11889]

Qwerty is intentionally so. Once upon a time typewriters had a habit of locking up, probably as a result of certain combinations, maybe even typing too fast (have to look up). Qwerty was developed as a solution to that.

Yes, it was designed to alternate hands more to prevent the locking up that could occur from rapid pressing of keys in close proximity. It was also intended to slow down the typist, but studies have shown that this part of the design did not really succeed, and the evidence is mixed on whether Dvorak actually increases typing speed. But some (as already noted above) do say it helps with tension, although I've read other studies showing that it simply relocates the tension to different areas of the hand.

 

[Logan]

I researched Dvorak for a while but ended up deciding that a) if you compare experts in either layout, there's not really a distinct difference in speed, and b) like it or not, the world is qwerty so I'd rather be able to sit down anywhere and have my brain already trained for what is in all honesty, the universal English layout.

For the record, I regularly type at above 100 wpm and can hit 120 wpm on a good stretch on a qwerty, so I'm not sure what I'd gain on a Dvorak.

Strain might be a consideration but I don't know of any studies that definitively prove Dvorak is better in that regard either. I think we humans are just always on a perpetual quest to find "the best" thing, and if everybody switched to Dvorak, someone would "discover" that qwerty is better and the new cool thing would be to go to qwerty