Ask HN: What was your experience with alternate keyboard layouts such as dvorak? - earenndil
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limeblack
I use Dvorak simplified with a couple modifications for coding and typing on a
regular basis. I have kept []-="/ in the same location as qwerty because I
have found keeping these keys in the same locations keeps my mind from getting
to confused when I do switch back to qwerty for temporary usage(also they are
easier to type in the qwerty location IMO).

If you look at the Dvorak keyboard here[1] leaving []-="/ in the same
locations moves the z key off the keyboard. I then put the z key next to the
left shift and the ; key next to tab.

If you read my Q&A here
[http://superuser.com/q/598405](http://superuser.com/q/598405) it demonstrates
that switching to other keyboard layouts aren't difficult, but can be quit
different depending on OS/system. Linux has the most variations of switching
between different keyboard layouts.

If you type on your own laptop/desktop mainly then I would recommend it.
Dvorak is pre-installed on all modern OSs, so it very easy to enable. I have
notice minor speed improvements.

If you use Windows(like me) using an autohotkey script that you can use to
enable/disable Dvorak makes it easy enough for you to use other computers and
for others to use your own computer.

[1]: [https://roostersrail.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/dvorak-
simp...](https://roostersrail.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/dvorak-simplified-
keyboard.png?w=780)

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narimiran
Started using Colemak few months ago.

It was a very slow and frustrating start, but I gave myself one week to do
deliberate practice every day for at least 15 minutes and then to see if I'll
go back to qwerty.

I forced myself to use Colemak even when replying to instant messages, which
raised couple of reactions when there was "X is typing..." for several minutes
just to see a short reply :)

I also found a Colemak keyboard for my phone, so I had Colemak on all my
devices. I found this to be really helpful.

\----

That one week has passed, my speed and accuracy got better. I started to
appreciate the layout more and more.

Now I have the same speed I had with qwerty, and I like typing with less
movement of my hands. Many typical shortcuts stayed in the same place (not
Vim's HJKL, unfortunately), which is a plus.

Cons of using Colemak? Now I can't type on other people's qwertys ;)

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hakanderyal
I'm a happy user of Programmer Dvorak for 8 years.

Initial learning curve was harsh, but I had time on my hands to practice.

What matters to me most is the comfort, I don't care much about typing faster.
It feels very natural to type in Dvorak.

Programmer Dvorak moves the commonly used keys in programming other than
letters to convenient locations in the spirit of dvorak layout, which makes it
even more comfortable to code.

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thexa4
Started learning colemak a while back and reached 5wpm blind. Stopped once I
noticed I didn't actually know my passwords in text form but always typed them
using muscle memory.

All in all it was cool to learn but made it much harder for other people to
use my machine.

