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Cyrusm

Member

From: Bozeman, MT

Registered: 2007-11-15

Posts: 1,053

alternative keyboard layouts

Hey everyone,

So I was considering making the move from QWERTY to a keyboard layout that's a little more efficient, so I thought I'd take a poll to see
who is using what kind of keyboard layout and why.  I'm curious about Dvorak, programmer's Dvorak, and colemak, and have been researching each of their individual pros and cons. I'm thinking Dvorak sounds like the best out of all of the above, but colemak sounds relatively intregueing as well.  so what's your opinion?

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Dusty

Schwag Merchant

From: Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Registered: 2004-01-18

Posts: 5,986

Website

Re: alternative keyboard layouts

Been typing dvorak since around the time I started using Arch (complete coincidence). I can't say anything about the other options, but its improved my typing speed from about 80 to 100 wpm and my RSI issues are gone.

I don't know what programmer's dovark is but my guess is that it makes some of the braces and brackets more accessible. By using my Kinesis advantage pro (I got one long before codemac ;-)), these keys are relatively easy to type as well.

The first month was hell, but after that every character I type makes it more worth it. I suspect any of the options you've chosen would do well; I would guess the performance difference between them is not nearly as big as between any one of them and qwerty.

Dusty

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spoik

Member

From: Minneapolis Minnesota

Registered: 2008-09-15

Posts: 5

Re: alternative keyboard layouts

I've been kind of interested in switching to dvorak or an derivative as well.

Dusty -  if you get stuck having to use a qwerty keyboard at a random point in time, are you able to flip back in to qwerty typing mode? Or is it cumbersome and aukward?

fflarex

Member

Registered: 2007-09-15

Posts: 466

Re: alternative keyboard layouts

I switched to a dvorak layout about a year ago, and I also have to say that the first month was hell. Then I got up to my normal typing speed and just kept getting faster. Eventually I found I couldn't use qwerty any more, so I switched back. Took another long month to re-learn qwerty. Rinse, repeat. I can now switch between the layouts fairly easily, but you will NOT be able to do it at first.

linuxguy0481

Member

Registered: 2009-06-12

Posts: 10

Re: alternative keyboard layouts

Just to let everybody know I am now 28 years old. I first learned how to type in typing class in junior high. I was using the Qwerty layout. The only nice thing I can say about the Qwerty layout is that it's available at any computer you want to use without any configuration.

Then I looked online for a better way to type and more efficient. That's when I learned about Dvorak keyboard layout. This was about four years ago. I stuck with it for about two years. I felt my right hand was doing a lot more typing than my left hand. It felt too lopsided for me. But that's just my opinion. I went on the hunt for something better than Dvorak and I found the glorious Colemak keyboard layout.

I have been typing with it ever since. My hands are a lot more comfortable and I can type faster now. It took me a month to actually get comfortable with the keyboard layout. If you actually go to this Java applet on Colemak's website.
www.colemak.com/Compare

You can just copy and paste a body of text and click on Calculate it will analyze the typing and compare the three different keyboard layouts. I just hope it becomes an ANSI standard like Dvorak has. I hope that happens in the future.

I just want everybody to know there is a third option out there and its great. If ever Colemak goes away I will be going back to Dvorak. I will never learn the Qwerty keyboard layout ever again.

Just wanted to give my two cents worth.

Cows

Member

From: Brooklyn, NY

Registered: 2007-05-20

Posts: 101

Re: alternative keyboard layouts

I've also learned the Colemak layout. In the beginning I was researching all three layouts, and logically speaking Colemak just hit the spot. I then started thinking "why is Colemak better than Dvorak, is there any reason?" Long behold, the FAQ at the Colemak.com website had it.

4 Things hit me:
UNIX commands are harder to type in Dvorak,
Pinky stretches sometimes to hard to reach places,
Right hand does more work,
and it's harder to code with Dvorak because of curly braces.

As for learning it, in 1-3 days I memorized the layout, and every other day, week, month was just getting faster and more accurate. Pretty quickly I reached 51 WPM average with peaks at around 75 I believe. Soon I will be typing faster then what I was on QWERTY (80-100 WPM with 2-4 fingers.. I didn't learn QWERTY from classes.. just hunt and peck).

Last edited by Cows (2010-08-23 02:24:54)

Inxsible

Forum Fellow

From: Chicago

Registered: 2008-06-09

Posts: 9,183

Re: alternative keyboard layouts

Cows, please have a look at the date of the last post in the thread. This thread is more than a year old. If you want to put forth the good things about the Colmak layout, the wiki would be a good place perhaps.

Closing...

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