http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard
apparently its 12 - 20 times faster then the traditional QWERTY layout
i just converted mine over, its really annoying to use right now but im getting better:D
There was a debate on here about Dvorak some time ago. Seems it’s great unless you ever have to use someone else’s keyboard (at work school or whatever) that you can’t change from QWERTY, swapping betweent hem must be a nightmare. Having said that, the geek in me is tempted to try, did you just pull the keys off your keyboard and switch them around, then adjust the character map? or buy specific dvorak keyboard and/or software?
Funny I just read the wiki, I always assumed dvorak was the first line of letters, like qwerty, but no it was the guy’s name.
Whether Dvorak is faster or easier for regular typing by regular users is debatable. If you’re a secretary typing up reports all day long I could see there being an advantage. But if you’re a regular Joe I don’t see the advantage.
It’s just not worth swimming against the tide. Everyone else is QWERTY. You’re going to end up using QWERTY when you use other computers. Why fight it.
I spend a lot of time at the computer. I do programming and software testing and such. I don’t see there being an advantage for Dvorak for typing programming source code. The speed you type while programming is slow anyways because you have to think about what you are typing. You’re constantly pausing as you think of what is next. There would be no speed advantage and I don’t see there being an accuracy advantage.
And switching between QWERTY and Dvorak on different computers would be too much of a pain.
So why?
I agree with the previous posts.
I’m really used to QWERTY myself. I never look at the keys and I can type pretty fast and accurate. I considered learning Dvorak once and even downloaded a program for it, but gave up after five minutes. Too much bother for a dubious advantage that’ll also have its downsides. Bugger it.
Don’t say that to the French (AZERTY). I’m sure there are others as well.
Rob
Germans swap the z and y around.
Do they also have special keys for all the funny umlaut type of characters?
Yep, and preusmably the french have the acute, egu and cidilla keys.
yea i was cleaning my keyboard and just switched all the keys around, then adjusted the character map. i wouldnt recommened it to anyone, its pretty annoying, but kinda fun!
also no one else can use your computer!
ive had dvorak for over half a year now and i love it.
i can type really fast so thats pretty good too.
and its really handy that nobody else can use your computer either.
also because school computers are qwerty and i used to do it i can pretty much touch type on a qwerty aswell, but not as fast as i can on the dvorak.
i dont regret changing over, its different and a bit qwirky.
haha especially if you had a password on your account. First they would have to get the password somehow, then it would take them like 3 minutes to type it during which time you would surely discover them.
lol. i forgot about that.
to log into my windows account on my computer i have to type the password in like i would on a qwerty.
so if my password wast hello i wouldnt be able to hit the hello keys on my keyboadr, i’d have to work out where they are on a qwerty keyboard and hit whatever key is on top of that on my board.
that sucks, but it makes sure even more nobody can get on my computer
Why would you have to type it as if it was a QWERTY keyboard?
Does the character map stuff load before windows opens fully or does it use some sort of bios settings up until that point? I have no idea, but if the later were true it would explain it.
i think that the keyboard is set to qwerty until you log into your own account.
but that might be because i have a guest account. if i got rid of the guest account it might set to dvorak first off.
Sounds like a more efficient system. But I already am really good at a QWERTY. I’m not sure why I would want to have to re-learn something I already know how to do pretty well.
I use Dvorak…My mom switched over when she got carpal tunnel syndrome and we only had one computer at that time…so I had to learn to use it. I’ve never really used Qwerty so I can’t really say which is better.
I think QUERTY was the guy’s name who designed it, and he put his name in the keyboard. I heard that somewhere, I’m not entirely sure it’s true…
Well the layout is designed to stop the keys of typewritters jamming so i doubt that’s the case. Infact the guy’s name was Christopher Sholes, so no, it isn’t true.
Some Points
It is actually QWERTY, named after the way that the letters are laid out at the top left row.
If you use Dvorak want to share your computer with someone who is using QWERTY, the best way is to buy a hard-wire keyboard. So far the TypeMatrix is the best for its price and quality (not that it is cheap - $100)
There is a yahoo group that some of us are lurking around: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altkeyboards/
Cheers
Shane