

An anecdote on switching from the QWERTY layout to Dvorak - avar
https://plus.google.com/117604851036691794693/posts/AGTostN6VCF

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codehotter
Check out <http://colemak.com> (Description copied from website)

 _The QWERTY layout was designed in the 19th century to allow typewriter
salesmen to easily type the word "typewriter" and to prevent typebars from
sticking. We've been stuck with QWERTY ever since. Colemak is a modern
alternative to the QWERTY and Dvorak layouts. It is designed for efficient and
ergonomic touch typing in English. Learning Colemak is a one-time investment
that will allow you to enjoy faster and pain-free typing for the rest of your
life. Colemak is now the 3rd most popular keyboard layout for touch typing in
English, after QWERTY and Dvorak._

The promise of typing faster is not true, at least not for me. I type exactly
as fast in colemak as in qwerty (110 wpm). However, colemak does feel more
comfortable. Colemak is much easier to learn than dvorak (I reached the same
typing speed as I have in qwerty in about a month). I stopped using qwerty
that first month to really acquire colemak, but I have since been able to type
in colemak and qwerty interchangeably without any problems.

~~~
mdonahoe
'to allow typewriter salesmen to easily type the word "typewriter" and to
prevent typebars from sticking'

Is that actually true?

~~~
wonderzombie
I was deeply skeptical, too.

Wikipedia calls the "typewriter" unsubstantiated:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTY>. It's repeated a lot, though! There's a
link to a paper which discusses it in more detail:
[http://kanji.zinbun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~yasuoka/publications/PreQ...](http://kanji.zinbun.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~yasuoka/publications/PreQWERTY.html).

Anyway, Wikipedia spends some time discussing jams and so on, so perhaps
that's legit.

------
zanny
Something that gets to me with Dvorak and its kin are how its designed for two
handed typing all the time.

I have three typing use cases: left handed lazy mode, two handed code / essay
mode, and mixed if I'm using a mouse capable text editor or something.

Dvorak / Colemak both take away some of the qwerty advantage of having quite a
large chunk of the words I write on the left side of the keyboard.

That gave me an idea. I wonder if we are evolving modern English to cope with
qwerty? That people favor words they can use off the left hand since the two
modes of typing are either left + mouse or two handed? That would
subconsciously make people favor typing things left handed only, maybe. I have
no idea, I write code, I don't mess with silly brains and neurons. That sounds
hard.

~~~
pkamb
You might be interested in a project of mine. One-handed touch typing using
your _existing_ muscle memory.

If you're using your left hand, every time you want to type "K", type "D"
instead. If you need to type "O", type "W". Type the key on the same row,
using the same finger... just with the other hand. The app then runs
predictive text on this and figures out which word you _meant_ to type. So
"tges" -> "this" as you are typing.

Your muscle memory already _knows_ how to do this due to the ways our brains
are wired. Thus very easy to learn. Use Caps Lock to switch back/forth to
normal keyboard.

Mac Demo: [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/one-hand-keyboard-
practice/id...](http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/one-hand-keyboard-
practice/id501185004?mt=12)

Windows Demo: <http://www.onehandkeyboard.org/download/>

~~~
function_seven
I just downloaded your demo and am very impressed. I forced myself to type
with just one hand and it was much easier than expected (typing this comment
using it now).

Do you plan to have a mechanism for allowing the user to change the auto-
corrected result on the fly? (Other than tapping caps lock to correct then
switching back to 1-hand mode). I did get a bit flustered trying to type
"world" during a test run.

~~~
pkamb
Thanks! It is pretty amazing how easy it is to 'learn'.

If you press tab while in an active prediction you can flip through the
available word options.

The Mac version also has a nice little pop-up window that shows those options
as you are typing. Tab or up/down arrow swaps the word.

------
jcoder
A lot of the comments on the original post suggest that keyboard shortcuts are
an impediment to adoption. I type in Dvorak, use Vim with hjkl (actually,
jkhl, which I find easier because vertical movement is on my left hand and
horizontal on my right), and I make copious use of other shortcuts.

The answer is: you just start using them in their new locations. It doesn't
take long for your muscle memory to adjust, and today (~2 years after
switching) I can't remember the last time I had to think twice about j,k,h,l,
ctl-p, ctl-n, ctl-a, ctl-e, cmd-c, cmd-x, cmd-v, or any other common shortcut.

Don't use a variant that reverts to QWERTY when you hold the command key or
something silly like that---you'll just confuse yourself and slow down your
adoption.

~~~
AngryParsley
A lot of people are annoyed that many one-handed shortcuts become two-handed
on Dvorak. I switched before I knew about OS X's Dvorak-Qwerty ⌘ mode, but I
almost went back to Qwerty because of the shortcuts.

~~~
jcoder
That's interesting. I actually appreciate that certain shortcuts become two-
handed. The proximity (on QWERTY) of X, C, and V to the left ⌘ key promotes a
cramped, claw-like chording that is antithetical to the purpose of Dvorak
(ergonomics). I find myself wishing that the X key were on the right hand for
this reason.

Of course---neither layout dictates a 1 or 2 hand maneuver because there are
two ⌘ keys, but I think it's common for users to want to use one or the other
(for me, the left, unless I'm using it with the + and - keys, for some
reason).

------
twiceaday
I've been typing on QWERTY forever and see no reason to change. It's
infinitely compatible (I don't have to worry about making DVORAK work on my
phone or tablet) and speed is never an issue.

~~~
cytzol
I'm a Dvoraker, and the difference between typing on an actual keyboard and on
a touchscreen is enough that I can happily go between the two.

The issue isn't about speed, it's about comfort. Two years later and I can't
type any faster than I could before, but typing is a lot more comfortable. The
analogy I use is headphones - when you switch from iPod headphones to an
audiophile pair, you notice the difference the most when you switch back. When
I type Qwerty, I can't help but notice "wow, my hands are moving all over the
place".

Edit: I should mention that I accomplish switching by using two-finger hunt-
and-peck with Qwerty and touch-typing on Dvorak, which maybe lessens it a bit.

~~~
jcoder
This:

> The issue isn't about speed, it's about comfort.

That's an important point. Sure, (I think I read somewhere that) the touch-
typing champion uses Dvorak. However, I don't think that I type any faster
after 2 years of Dvorak---I just type more effortlessly. Going back to QWERTY
feels like a game of Twister.

------
quink
I switched many years back now. One good thing is that I never got past hunt-
and-peck with QWERTY, despite being quite fast. As I started learning Dvorak
by doing touch-typing, an inevitability given a physical QWERTY layout, it now
resides in a different area of my brain.

That means that I can touch-type Dvorak, hunt-and-peck QWERTY , and can easily
switch between them at any time.

But it still doesn't mean that typing on QWERTY doesn't feel like someone took
pliers to my hands. Typing on QWERTY feels like I'm purposely trying to hurt
my hands. That keyboard layout should be outlawed or its use at least strongly
discouraged, I'm not kidding, for being:

a) Pointlessly wrong and

b) Doing actual physical damage to its users, more so than any other layout

Sure, it may take some weeks of learning Dvorak to realise how utterly painful
QWERTY can be, but QWERTY is god-awful.

Even Cmd-X/C/V now feel wrong, because you're engaged in a clawing motion that
leaves either one's middle or pointing digit in a very bizarre position. With
Dvorak, the combined movement in the left and right hands is probably about
the same as the movement needed in the left hand alone even in the sub-optimal
Cmd-V or Cmd-Z - with QWERTY Cmd-X/C/V means that the entire left hand has to
move, while with Dvorak the hand can stay mostly on the home row.

------
georgieporgie
I switched to Dvorak about twelve years ago, in an attempt to solve a nasty
bout of RSI (tendinitis in my wrists).

I printed out a copy of the Dvorak keyboard layout and taped it above my
keyboard. From what I recall, it took about a week to be even barely
functional. I was already a very fast QWERTY typist, so it caused anguish to
put up with such slow typing. On the occasion that someone needed something
from me in a reasonable timeframe, I would switch back to QWERTY, finish the
task, then go back to fumbling along in Dvorak. Never switch keyboard layouts
in the middle of a project. :-)

I would say it took about a year to really reach my full Dvorak potential.
Even so, over a decade later, I'm pretty sure that I'm still not as fast as I
was on QWERTY. I just don't think you can match the muscle memory developed
when you're young.

As for the RSI, I would say that you're better served by getting a high-
quality keyboard that suits you than you are by switching keyboard layouts.
Microsoft Natural keyboards are _awful_ (sadly, I didn't know this when I was
young and switched to one, which no doubt greatly exacerbated my pain). Get a
keyboard with nice, light, consistent mechanical switches. An old IBM Model M
will do, or a Das. My favorite is the Kinesis Classic, which takes an extra
few weeks to adapt to, but IMO it's nearly ideal for programmers due to the
excellent arrow key position (also, this help with Vim + Dvorak).

~~~
vl
I had a opposite experience with MS Natural: I used them with great success
for 12 years - I would quickly develop wrist pain on regular keyboard. I only
switched to Kinesis because I decided it doesn't make sense not to use the
best tool available. Kinesis is great too - btw, if you are in the Seattle
area, you can stop by their office and buy directly from them.

------
nirvana
Anyone have suggestions about the best way to learn? I first heard about, and
tried, Dvorak layout about 17 years ago. I've tried it two or three times
since then, but since its so easy to switch the keyboard back, each time I'd
get frustrated (because I needed to get real work done) and decide to do it
later when I didn't need to get real work done.

Nowadays, I think that the solution might be a Dvorak keyboard cover for the
macbook. This way I can hunt and peck in Dvorak while learning, or at least
find the key and not be completely stymied.

Here's the first keyboard cover I found in Dvorak format:
<http://www.kbcovers.com/servlet/Categories?category=Dvorak>

~~~
jcoder
I would strongly advise against hunting and pecking. Print out the Dvorak
layout and place it next to your computer, put your fingers on the home row,
and type. Doesn't matter how slowly---it's important to make the correct
finger press the correct key. Don't switch back and forth between QWERTY and
Dvorak, you'll learn best if you do it in an immersive way.

Personally I think that a print out next to your screen is a better idea than
any cover, because you want to break the habit of looking where you are
typing.

