Goodbye QWERTY, hello "<>PYF

[piecemeal]

Beware of how exciting this post is.

I switched to the Dvorak keyboard layout a while ago and I'm finding it much easier to deal with than traditional English (a.k.a. QWERTY). Anyone have views?

(I warned you to beware)

 

[loliwin]

OH GAWD
Wouldnt it be like weird and awkwardish to make a transition from a QWERTY user to a Dvorak user? ._.

 

[donavannj]

That all depends on how willing one is to switch. Neither is really more effective than the other from what I've seen, though, and it all comes down to a matter of personal preference.

 

[piecemeal]

I agree it depends how willing a person is. I was fed up with qwerty and really wanted something different.

The main thing better about Dvorak IMO is that the home row is designed to contain the letters used most frequently in English. So you have to move your hands less. I always felt qwerty was awkward and never really got the hang of it.

My touch typing has gotten much better because my keyboard at work is a qwerty but I have it mapped to Dvorak so I can't ever look at it or else I get really, really confused. At home I just popped the keys off a qwerty and re-put them on in the Dvorak order. That was an interesting exercise. If you consider the physical design of keyboards interesting. But I guess that + improved touch typing as a solution to a self-imposed challenge isn't really a selling point for the layout, eh?

Nonetheless, I find it easier. It hurts my wrists less, too.

 

[twocows]

I've seen studies that show that the only time DVORAK is a better layout is if you learn it first. Otherwise, you'll always be faster with what you learned first. Makes sense to me.

 

[Archer]

I've seen studies that show that the only time DVORAK is a better layout is if you learn it first. Otherwise, you'll always be faster with what you learned first. Makes sense to me.

I don't know, if you get enough practise up, then it should be fine.

and lol, I actually did the same thing - pulled the keys off a Dell keyboard and moved them to the Dvorak mapping, but I use so many different computers that it's not worth the hassle to change. I currently have 3 active laptops, 2 desktops, and then I use school and work computers extensively.

I'm usually one to avoid following the majority if I can, but this is really just too far out there.

Although wierd, I must admit that it was sort of easier on your hands, even with an hour's practice.

 

[Cherrim]

:( The wrists-hurting-less part intrigues me but I'm such a fast typist with QWERTY that I'm not sure I could ever get used to dvorak. At least, not easily. (Especially with that mindset already there.)

That and I have no dvorak keyboard and would definitely need to look at the keys while learning it... and I'm not rearranging a keyboard to learn. So for the indefinite future, I'll definitely be sticking with QWERTY.

 

[Legobricks]

I still want me an ABCDEF layout...
Games must be annoying though on any non-QWERTY setup, having to remap every control... and there're always some in a sufficiently involving (or just old) game that can't be remapped.

 

[Heart's Soul]

I choose QWERTY because I memorized the whole keyboard! <>PAF might be good, but isn't it hard to play Halo that way?

 

[professor plum]

If I were to do that, I'd probably have to take a Typing thing. I learned to type efficiently on the QWERTY keyboard via this software we had to play in early elementary. It took you step by step. And, when you finished it, you started it over again XD; It started off when the home keys. "F. J. Fjf. Jfj. FFJ. Jff." etc.
I remember being excited when T was introduced into the mix (:

 

[Heart's Soul]

If I were to do that, I'd probably have to take a Typing thing. I learned to type efficiently on the QWERTY keyboard via this software we had to play in early elementary. It took you step by step. And, when you finished it, you started it over again XD; It started off when the home keys. "F. J. Fjf. Jfj. FFJ. Jff." etc.
I remember being excited when T was introduced into the mix (:

We didn't have this kind of stuff. And I always passed it because I became a gamer in 2000.

 

[vinylscratchp0n3]

I can't wait to get a Dvorak-layout keyboard. Wikipedia says that Dvorak is made to be easier, but QWERTY was made to slow people down because the ABCDEF-layout typewriters were jamming up from the typists' speeds.
For some reason QWERTY carried over to computers even though they can't jam up with a keyboard.

 

[DanTheMan12345]

Do you know why QWERTY was invented? Because typewrites typed so fast, the keys stuck to the writer. (That's what I heard.)

 

[Captain Fabio]

I would have to train myself and get out of years of typing before I could attempt to see which is more suited to me.

QWERTY is what I have grown up with, so, naturally, it would be that.

 

[Spinor]

I actually do hold some interest in the Programming subset of Dvorak. I'll probably be needing that for later on next school year.

However, I'm not going to make a full transition. I want to be Ambitypist. I'll have Qwerty and P.Dvorak fully mastered.

 

[Myles]

I can't wait to get a Dvorak-layout keyboard. Wikipedia says that Dvorak is made to be easier, but QWERTY was made to slow people down because the ABCDEF-layout typewriters were jamming up from the typists' speeds.
For some reason QWERTY carried over to computers even though they can't jam up with a keyboard.

Do you know why QWERTY was invented? Because typewrites typed so fast, the keys stuck to the writer. (That's what I heard.)

QWERTY wasn't to slow people down, it was to reduce the occurrence of conflicting keystrokes that would jam it.

I see no advantage in learning to main a dvorak. That way it would just confuse me when trying to use a QWERTY (a.k.a. any keyboard that isn't my own keyboard).

 

[Yuoaman]

I just don't have the dedication to get the QWERTY setup out of my head long enough to learn something different. I also don't find the setup uncomfortable so I'm sticking to what I know.

 

[Brendino]

I've actually tried using both a QWERTY and Dvorak keyboard, and I found the Dvorak layout to be much more efficient. The only problem is that I've gotten used to the QWERTY layout, and I don't want to bother learning to touch-type on a Dvorak, and the fact that almost every other keyboard I use would be in the QWERTY format, so it would probably be too much of a hassle to keep switching back and forth. If I am able to limit myself to one (or two) computers that I use in the future, I might end up switching to the Dvorak layout.