Anyone use Dvorak?

[Dimwhit]

I'm referring to the alternate keyboard layout developed many years ago. I started fiddling with it about five days ago, and two days ago I decided to use it exclusively. I'm still pretty slow with it (about 30WPM), but I'll eventually get back to my 70WPM days.

So has anyone tried it? I've found it to be much easier on the wrists, and I know it will eventually be much quicker to type with it. I found a lot of interesting information out there. Like did you know that the QWERTY layout (the one we've all been using) was originally designed to be difficult to use so the first typewriters wouldn't jam up? That's just...weird.

 

[HellHound]

I never got into it, and a few friends of mine who did have finally given up because of the lack of support for the keyboards in general.

One carried around a CD-ROM with a proggie that switched qwerty boards to dvorak, and he would touch-type and never look at the (now very confusing) keyboard.

Then he started workign on Macs also... and started carrying 2 CDs.

Then his school -AND- work made it so you couldn't install software on their systems, so he had to use their Qwerty keyboards at work & school, and his Dvorak at home. This made his typing with both suffer, so he finally gave up the battle.

 

[reanjr]

I'm referring to the alternate keyboard layout developed many years ago. I started fiddling with it about five days ago, and two days ago I decided to use it exclusively. I'm still pretty slow with it (about 30WPM), but I'll eventually get back to my 70WPM days.

So has anyone tried it? I've found it to be much easier on the wrists, and I know it will eventually be much quicker to type with it. I found a lot of interesting information out there. Like did you know that the QWERTY layout (the one we've all been using) was originally designed to be difficult to use so the first typewriters wouldn't jam up? That's just...weird.

I've tried using it before by switching my keyboard driver, but my keyboard's keycaps were angled wrong and it became annoying, so I gave up.

I don't think Qwerty was really designed to slow things down so much as space things out. letters that commonly go together are placed on opposite sides of the keyboard if possible and if not at least placed a few keys apart. This stopped the arms from hitting one another on the back stroke as an adjacent key was coming forward. Now this does slow things down a bit, because you are forced to move your fingers from bottom to top to left to right a lot.

And anyway, with 7h3 l33t w4y w33 t1pe |\|o\/\/, it doesn't make much difference. I, for one, do a lot of programming and find that the semicolon belongs on the home row no matter what people try to tell me.

 

[Desdichado]

D'oh! I thought this was just a mispelled Dvorzak you were referring to.

I listen to Dvorzak, but I don't use him...

But no; I'm a QWERTY guy. After years and years of using it; why would I change now?

 

[reanjr]

I never got into it, and a few friends of mine who did have finally given up because of the lack of support for the keyboards in general.

One carried around a CD-ROM with a proggie that switched qwerty boards to dvorak, and he would touch-type and never look at the (now very confusing) keyboard.

Then he started workign on Macs also... and started carrying 2 CDs.

Then his school -AND- work made it so you couldn't install software on their systems, so he had to use their Qwerty keyboards at work & school, and his Dvorak at home. This made his typing with both suffer, so he finally gave up the battle.

Windows, at least since Win2K has supported it natively. There is no need for a program to carry around. I do not recall exactly how to do it in Win2K, but in XP you go to Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Languages -> Text Services and Languages -> Details -> Installed Services -> Add -> Input Languages -> Keyboard Layout/IME.

Really, it's a lot simpler than I just made it sound.

[edit] Addendum: Oh, alternatively, you can purchase a dvorak keyboard. Then it'll work on anything.

 

[Dimwhit]

You're right, reanjr, Dvorak is supported natively in both Windows and Mac. It's very easy to toggle back and forth.

But yes, QWERTY really was developed to be difficult. When the first typewriters were created, the hammers would jam and get stuck. At the time, the keyboard was laid out alphabetically. So the created the QWERTY layout, which was intended to slow typists down to prevent the problem. A few years later, typewriters didn't have that problem, but by then, they felt it was too late to change the layout.

 

[Mercule]

I've been using Dvorak keyboard for several years (seven or eight). I like it a lot. I'm a much faster typist than I ever was with the qwerty keyboard. The only really annoying thing is that the cut/copy/paste quick keys aren't anywhere near each other.

I was a marginal touch typist on qwerty (about 60 wpm) when I switched. It took me a couple of weeks before I really felt like I was feeling reasonable with Dvorak. Within a month, I was easily as fast on Dvorak as on qwerty. Now, I probably can type 100-120 wpm on a Dvorak, maybe more, if my thoughts on in order (that's the real problem). To help me learn, I found and printed a diagram of the Dvorak layout and taped it just under the screen of my monitor.

My reason for changing was half to just play with something new and half because I was already starting to get wrist pains in my late 20s -- as a programmer, that last bothered me. I have to say that Dvorak is much more comfortable and ergonomic.

I can't speak for support on Macs, but it's a breeze on Win XP. When you set it up in the Control Panel, you can also activated both a quick-key switch (I use Ctrl-Shift) and turn on the Language Bar on the taskbar. Either one of these let you quickly and easily override the default key layout on a per-application, per use basis. My wife used qwerty and we have no problems flipping back and forth. Oh, and, since almost all keyboards are labelled for qwerty, you're guaranteed to become a touch typist.

 

[Dimwhit]

Dang, 100-120 WPM? Here's to hoping... I was up to 72 WPM on QWERTY, so you have given me much confidence.

 

[Mercule]

I know one guy who uses Dvorak and claims to type in excess of 200 wpm. I wouldn't bet too much money on that, though.

 

[drothgery]

You're right, reanjr, Dvorak is supported natively in both Windows and Mac. It's very easy to toggle back and forth.

But yes, QWERTY really was developed to be difficult. When the first typewriters were created, the hammers would jam and get stuck. At the time, the keyboard was laid out alphabetically. So the created the QWERTY layout, which was intended to slow typists down to prevent the problem. A few years later, typewriters didn't have that problem, but by then, they felt it was too late to change the layout.

This is an urban legend; the history of typewriter layouts is a bit confusing, but the QWERTY layout was not designed to slow typists down, and it actually became popular in part because people were winning speed-typing contests with QWERTY typewriters.

Also, FWIW, it's very, very rare for anyone to be a faster typist on Dvorak than on QWERTY, given a pre-existing state where almost all Latin-language keyboards are QWERTY. You have to unlearn whan you knew, and then learn to be good typist again. IIRC, most studies have shown that equally skilled typists are rarely more than slightly faster on Dvorak vs. QWERTY, so while some individuals may be much faster with an alternative layout, you definitely shouldn't expect a major improvement in typing speed.