I've started learning the Dvorak keyboard layout. For a long explanation, read this webcomic. Basically it's a keyboard layout that is designed to be more comfortable than the traditional QWERTY layout. (After all, QWERTY was designed to slow typists down.) I don't have a Dvorak keyboard, so I read this and found that all the major operating systems have a Dvorak setting. So now I am learning how to type using this new layout. Do any of you use the Dvorak layout?

QWERTZ

I use Dvorak. I started learning in September, and caught up to my QWERTY speed in November. Here's a graph I recorded for science:


(Green is Dvorak, red is QWERTY, as I'm sure you guessed. Also 69 days lulz.)

As you can see, it didn't entirely kill my QWERTY speed*. As of now I average around 65 WPM and can max out in the mid-70's. Here's a few reasons why I chose to learn Dvorak:

1) I heard it was easier on the fingers and wrists (less movement, more natural feel).
2) I wanted to properly learn how to touch-type.
3) My QWERTY speed is pretty slow for someone who spends all his time on the computer.

If you're like me, you learned how to type by playing games (Battle.net was my typing tutor), and you probably just learned something that worked for you. Well, this worked fine for me, but if there was an easier way to do something, I would be eager to learn. Unfortunately, the way I learned QWERTY was burned into my muscle memory, so when I had typing classes in high school, I would only type something like 20 WPM if I tried to type properly, versus 60-70 WPM if I just did my own thing.

I did try to touch-type; it was uncomfortable and felt sluggish. Whenever I needed to actually type something, I would switch to my informal typing format instead of using the home row, because it was much faster. So this was the problem I had with QWERTY: I became too used to the way I typed with it that I couldn't learn how to type properly with it.

So I picked up Dvorak. The first week was really hard; do you have any idea how slow 10 WPM is? Ugh. And I switched cold-turkey, too (since that's the fastest way to learn). I'm a programmer, so I'm on a computer pretty much all day, and it felt almost embarrassing when typing super slow around others. Of course, since I'm in the tech industry, my coworkers were understanding when I told them about it, and my supervisor didn't have an issue with me learning it on-site as long as it didn't impede my work. I made sure to learn it properly, too, using the home row and touch-typing; if I'm going to start from scratch, I'm going to do it right.

The only time I used QWERTY was once every day to measure my typing speed (for the graph above). Surprisingly, it didn't impact my typing as much as I thought it would*. It took me about four months (basically almost up to now) to not have to think about typing in Dvorak, and now it flows naturally like I've been typing in it my whole life (muscle memory is pretty amazing).

If you're looking for a new keyboard, I would recommend you check out the keyboards from this page. The keyboards from that site are buckle-spring (like the oldschool IBM keyboards) and feel absolutely amazing. I had a Das Keyboard with cherry browns prior to my Black/Black UltraClassic 104, and I feel like I've made a huge upgrade (even though it miraculously costs less). You can customize it to be in several different layouts, but I'd recommend the blank keyboard just because it looks awesome and will prevent you from looking at the keys and "cheating" as you learn Dvorak. The blank keyboard I have at home is in the QWERTY layout (because I want to be able to switch back to QWERTY for games that won't customize keys), but I plan on getting another for work in the Dvorak layout (right now I'm using a QWERTY keyboard and telling the OS to convert the layout to Dvorak, which sucks because you have to set it up for any VMs as well, and anyone proxying/VPNing into my box will be subjugated to Dvorak as well, which pisses off the service department ). You can email them with questions and/or additional customizations (I'm going to when I request a blank keyboard in Dvorak). It's a really nice keyboard, and I recommend it to you (and anyone else, even if you aren't learning a new layout).

Another keyboard option is the Kinesis. A coworker of mine exclusively learned Dvorak on this keyboard, so when he has a standard keyboard, he can easily switch to QWERTY because of the physical layout change. These keyboards are super expensive, though, but I like the idea of having a different physical layout to help trigger your mind to use a different key layout as well.

The MAJOR issue with Dvorak (aside from the F key being in a less-than-optimal location) is that program and system shortcuts/hotkeys are all designed for a QWERTY layout, and so some of them (like CTRL+F or CTRL+C) are more difficult to execute in Dvorak. There's a layout called Colemak which has remarkably similar improvements to the QWERTY layout as Dvorak does, while still keeping a lot of QWERTY keys (and therefore shortcuts) in the same place. I haven't tried it because I've been happy with Dvorak, though.

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* I cannot type in QWERTY without looking at my keyboard anymore. After I got my blank keyboard, my QWERTY WPM went to 12. When I can't see the keys, my muscle memory defaults to Dvorak.

Post has been edited 6 time(s), last time on Jan 1 2013, 11:07 pm by Roy.

I use QWERTY. I learned how to type with some program that all the kids had to use in elementary school called Type to Learn, which actually helped a lot. When I was in fifth grade, I played Runescape all day (lul runescape), and I typed a lot on that, so that helped me. I've stuck with QWERTY since then, as my typing speed and mechanics are too good with this layout for me to switch to another one.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jan 2 2013, 2:17 am by Dem0n.

The initial Dvorak studies are biased, and its results have not been reproduced. Subsequent studies have shown there is little to no advantage.

I have not yet read any studies showing dvorak users suffer lower typing related repetitive stress injuries than qwerty users. This is because I've yet to find any. So I am inclined to say any claims about repetitive stress injuries are unfounded and unproven.

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Do consider that even if you're not alternating hands, you are alternating fingers. The website mentions starwars.com as only switching hands three times on qwerty. Which is true, but misleading. You alternate fingers just as many times as you would on a dvorak. This considered, the differences are quite small.

An advantage to knowing multiple keyboard layouts is that you can type a series of words for one layout on another layout for a pretty strong and easy-to-remember password.

For example, typing what would be "starcraftmapmaking" in QWERTY becomes "oyapjpauymalmatcbi" in Dvorak.

Yeah, if you're really good with one layout already, there's no real point in learning another.

I've learned how to type without looking, using muscle memory on the QWERTY keyboard. I mainly use my index finger, though to speed up typing I use my middle and ring as well. I don't understand what all this crap is about DVORAK having a more natural feel or being able to type with muscle memory. I learned by playing online games like Starcraft which required you to type, without being able to divert your attention by looking at the keyboard. As for the reduced wrist strain, I don't experience it on QWERTY anyways because I don't even bend my wrist as I simply hover over the keyboard and move at the elbows. I typed at a rate of about 70* WPM (corrected) back in gigh school, and 80 WMP is plenty for me, considering I'm a chemistry and math major. For these reasins I don't see any benefit in taking the time to relearn a keyboard layout. This entire paragraph has been typed without looking at the keyboard or hitting the backspace..and not using the "normal" method ov relying on the home row.

So, a few spelling issues aside, my point stands. I use QWERTY because changing to DVORAK seems to be a hassle with not much benefit.

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*Typo: this should read 80, not 70.

Quote from rayNimagi

(After all, QWERTY was designed to slow typists down.)

Seriously dude? How can you even spout something so blatantly false? Who would they slow down? It was made before it was public...

EDIT: Thanks, Roy http://www.dvzine.org/zine/03.jpg

How much of a hassle, really? I picked it up pretty quickly, and considering I've been typing in QWERTY for 15 years and my Dvorak speed caught up in three months, it might very well have some significant benefit. I guess it's a bit early to tell for me, but it could be the best typing decision I made for typing in my whole life! (Mainly because how often do you make typing-related decisions?)

Uh, you're welcome?

QWERTY was designed to solve a problem that doesn't exist anymore, whereas Dvorak, Colemak, and other modern layouts were designed for optimal use on a keyboard (as opposed to a typewriter). It's rather dubious to claim that QWERTY cannot be improved upon when you consider its origins. As far as the early studies on Dvorak, those were all done by the inventor of the layout, so they're very biased in actual "improvements." The mathematical aspects (shown in the Java application on this page), however, certainly demonstrate that using QWERTY requires more movement of the fingers (or in your case, elbows) than the other two layouts by a significant margin. Copy/paste your post into that application and see how much effort you could have saved!

There are very few people that have tried to learn an alternate keyboard layout that would say they regret the decision (I assume there's at least one person; I haven't actually heard of anyone wishing they hadn't tried it). And hey, a lot of people decide they like QWERTY more; it's a personal preference, but you won't know yours until you try it. Unfortunately, the most resistance against alternate layouts are from those that have only used one layout and make excuses for not learning another ("I don't have X/Y/Z problems with QWERTY so there's no benefit for changing," "I type at X speed on QWERTY, which is definitely probably faster than I'll ever type on another layout," etc.). I probably would have said the same things as Demon, Sacrieur, and poison (all of whom I assume haven't spent much time at learning an alternate layout) about a year ago. I'm not saying they're speaking from ignorance (Sacrieur's actually been looking up studies, after all), but since I view keyboard layouts to also be a personal preference, I'd say you couldn't make a definitive decision for yourself without giving it a chance.

I might actually relearn QWERTY properly in the future.

I'd imagine there would be some speed advantage. By nature of its design, there are words that can be typed more quickly than on a QWERTY (although I imagine for the bulk amount of words it remains relatively the same). It comes down to finger alteration, and which fingers are being alternated.

Consider the word jump. It has two finger alternations on QWERTY and four on DVORAK. Jum-p vs j-u-m-p. So I would say a person equally skilled on DVORAK and QWERTY should be able to perform the combination faster on the former. Theoretically.

All of these studies and all of this analysis still runs on the assumption that our fingers are operating at peak speed. That is to say, they're the limiting factor. However, I am not so certain. Perhaps it is our brains that are the limiting factor, and our fingers are capable of moving much faster than our brain is capable of processing. And this is why it is all theoretical and highly questionable.

Also, on the subject of hand alternation: While hand alternation is great for speed when you have two hands on the keyboard, hand alternation is not so great if you just need to type out a few words while keeping your other hand on the mouse.

The word sex, for instance, can be typed on only the left hand.

I use dvorak. But I mainly just switched because I hate it when people use my computer. As far as fatigue or pain, I didn't have/get any before, and I don't have/get any now.

Ah, but then there are one-handed keyboard layouts as well. Dvorak has one two of these layouts, but I've never tried them because I have two hands.

A blank keyboard would have the same effect on most people (but a blank Dvorak keyboard would be an even more amazing feat).

I've also never had an issue with fatigue before and after switching; I imagine only writers (or a similar profession) would notice a need for this.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Jan 4 2013, 5:28 am by Roy.

I think hand alterations can't be the only consideration, because finger alterations should also be a thing ... I can tap two of my fingers on the same hand as fast as I can tap the same fingers on different hands (referring to some panel somewhere in that 'zine').

And the only problem I can see with dvorak is my typing right now is very left-handed, and it seems like dvorak favors the right hand (not to mention I find home row uncomfortable )... But that might just because I've never used home row.

Check!