Dvorak Keyboard!
coil
Amateur pirate. Professional monkey. All pance. Join Date: 2002-04-12 Member: 424Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
Amateur pirate. Professional monkey. All pance. Join Date: 2002-04-12 Member: 424Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
<div class="IPBDescription">Where do I start?</div> I'm starting a new topic from the typing thread in case anyone's curious.
This is a Dvorak keyboard:
<img src='http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~dylan/dvorak/dvorakKeymap.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Background:
Look down at your keyboard. If you're English-speaking, chances are you're looking at a QWERTY board (note the letters QWERTY in the top left). Why is it laid out the way it is? Well, when C. L. Sholes was creating the typewriter, he found that two keys close together, when hit in rapid succession, would jam. To avoid this, he did a frequency study of letter pairs in the English language and deliberately spaced letters that frequently occurred near each other (for example, "th" or "ing") far away from one another.
This prevented jams, but with the side effect of slowing down typists by putting the most useful keys frequently farthest from the center (for example: M, S, A, E, O).
The original prototype keyboard was simply the alphabet, in order, in two rows:
ABCDEFGHIJKLM
NOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Remnants of this layout can be seen in the QWERTY keyboard: DFGHJKL right across the middle.
Another story, which I think is probably a myth, notes that the word "TYPEWRITER" can be spelled using letters from just the top row. Even if you can't touch-type, it's very easy to quickly type a word whose letters all exist in a single row. This made it easy for door-to-door salesmen to impress potential customers.
Flaws in the QWERTY board:
1) most of the most common letters in the English language are not directly under your fingertips (E, T, R, etc).
2) Punctuation marks are mostly under the stronger right hand.
3) With vowels under both hands, it's possible to have words like STEWARDESSES and MINIMUM. Try them; I think you'll quickly see why they're a little inconvenient.
The Dvorak keyboard attempts to answer these flaws by rearranging the keys into a more sensible configuration. Features/improvements include:
1) The "home row" directly under your fingers contains the following letters:
A O E U (I D) H T N S
These are some of the most common letters in the English language. Using the 8 keys under your fingertips, one can type approximately 3,000 words. Using the QWERTY home row (which bizarrely includes the character ";" - effectively reducing it to 7 keys), one can type only about 300 words. Not only that, but to type the twelve most common words in the English language, one must move his fingers from the QWERTY home row 17 times, but from the Dvorak home row only 5.5 times (a move of .5 is to either of the two center keys: G and H in QWERTY, I and D in Dvorak).
2) Letters more frequently used are placed under the strongest fingers and in the top two rows: the left middle and index fingers are responsible for E.PUYI, while the right middle and index fingers are used for FDGHCT.
3) All vowels and common punctuation are under the left hand. English words tend to alternate vowels and consonants and end in consonants; with the Dvorak layout, a typist is more likely to alternate left and right hands at every keystroke, resulting in a faster and easier typing flow.
4) The least-used keys are relegated to the bottom corners, as these keys are the least-convenient to hit:
; Q J (K X B M) W V Z
_________
<b>How do I get a Dvorak keyboard?</b>
You don't need a Dvorak keyboard, as Windows and Mac can both turn a QWERTY board into a Dvorak board using software. For Windows, simply access the Keyboard control panel and add an Input Language. You may have to insert your Windows CD so that the proper driver can be installed, but it should be there. I've currently got my computer set up with both Dvorak and QWERTY languages installed. This is useful if you're not the only one who uses the computer; I've got my computer set up to switch between the two languages when I press LeftALT-SHIFT.
<b>My keyboard still looks like a QWERTY though!</b>
There are a few changes for this, some better than others.
1) The best is to get a Dvorak keyboard, or a [url=http://www.dvortyboards.com]Dvorty board[/b] (which is laid out with both QWERTY and Dvorak letters, and has a button at the top corner to switch between the two. They're generally expensive, though.
2) When I first started learning, I popped all my keys off and switched them around. The problem with this is that standard keyboard keys are not all identical; each row has its own shape profile. Moving them from one row to another results in uneven key tops and some of them become a little more difficult to press because the strike angle isn't quite right. It's not terrible, though.
3) My second idea was simpler and more effective. I took a Sharpie marker and wrote all the correct symbols right on the keys. In time, oils from my fingers rubbed the marks off, but by that time I'd learned to touch-type and didn't need to look at my fingers anymore. Alternately, get a bunch of small stickers and write the symbols on those, then affix them to your keyboard. There are some places that make pre-printed key labels.
<b>Ok, so how do I learn?</b>
There are a few commercial typing tutors that include a Dvorak option. There are also several available for free on the 'net; the one I used was a simple HTML page!
<a href='http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Email_Tools/Anti-SPAM_Tools/Instant_Dvorak_Typing_Tutor.html' target='_blank'>http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Email_T...ping_Tutor.html</a>
<a href='http://www.karelia.com/abcd/' target='_blank'>http://www.karelia.com/abcd/</a> <-- this is the one I used. It's simple, but it works!!
<a href='http://www.dvortyboards.com/download.html' target='_blank'>http://www.dvortyboards.com/download.html</a> MasterMind Typing Tutor, from Dvortyboards
<a href='http://typingsoft.com/all_typing_tutors.htm' target='_blank'>http://typingsoft.com/all_typing_tutors.htm</a> <-- huge list!
<b>I already touch-type QWERTY!</b>
It took me about a month to switch from 70wpm QWERTY to 50+ wpm Dvorak. I was active in IRC at the time; the kicker, for me, was that I forced myself to ONLY use Dvorak. No matter how slow I was forced to type, not being able to fall back on QWERTY helped me learn quickly without getting confused. The hardest part was overcoming "built-in" combinations like "tion," "ing," and "gth," but I'm way past that now. I'm actually still fairly capable on a QWERTY keyboard, as well.
<b>Why SHOULDN'T I switch?</b>
You shouldn't switch if you frequently use workstations other than your own. I pretty much only use *my* computer, and very few other people use it (none with any regularity). If you regularly come into contact with QWERTY boards, you probably want to stick with that keyboard layout. If you pretty much only use your own, Dvorak might be good for you. That said, as I mentioned above I'm still fluent in QWERTY, so it's perfectly possible to be bikeyboardal.
<b>Why SHOULD I switch?</b>
Regardless of how fast you type in QWERTy, Dvorak is <i>easier</i> on your hands. Your fingers travel as little as 1/3 of the distance on a Dvorak board as they do on a QWERTY board, reducing finger fatigue and the dangers of repetitive stress injury. If you do a lot of typing, Dvorak may be a good idea. Additionally, I and other converts have found that Dvorak allows for "transparent writing." The keyboard layout is so natural that you don't even have to think about what you're typing -- it becomes an extension of your though process, and therefore it is easier to get thoughts down "on paper" (metaphorically speaking) - less mental fatigue as well as less physical fatigue.
<b>I'm left-handed/German/French, what about me?</b>
There are Dvorak-esque layouts available for a host of "types" of people:
-lefty board (basically a mirror of the righty board)
-foreign languages, based on letter frequency and spelling conventions of that language
-boards specifically designed for one-handed typing - both left- and right-handed.
Well, there you go. (: Hope I interested a few people.
This is a Dvorak keyboard:
<img src='http://www.cse.ogi.edu/~dylan/dvorak/dvorakKeymap.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
Background:
Look down at your keyboard. If you're English-speaking, chances are you're looking at a QWERTY board (note the letters QWERTY in the top left). Why is it laid out the way it is? Well, when C. L. Sholes was creating the typewriter, he found that two keys close together, when hit in rapid succession, would jam. To avoid this, he did a frequency study of letter pairs in the English language and deliberately spaced letters that frequently occurred near each other (for example, "th" or "ing") far away from one another.
This prevented jams, but with the side effect of slowing down typists by putting the most useful keys frequently farthest from the center (for example: M, S, A, E, O).
The original prototype keyboard was simply the alphabet, in order, in two rows:
ABCDEFGHIJKLM
NOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Remnants of this layout can be seen in the QWERTY keyboard: DFGHJKL right across the middle.
Another story, which I think is probably a myth, notes that the word "TYPEWRITER" can be spelled using letters from just the top row. Even if you can't touch-type, it's very easy to quickly type a word whose letters all exist in a single row. This made it easy for door-to-door salesmen to impress potential customers.
Flaws in the QWERTY board:
1) most of the most common letters in the English language are not directly under your fingertips (E, T, R, etc).
2) Punctuation marks are mostly under the stronger right hand.
3) With vowels under both hands, it's possible to have words like STEWARDESSES and MINIMUM. Try them; I think you'll quickly see why they're a little inconvenient.
The Dvorak keyboard attempts to answer these flaws by rearranging the keys into a more sensible configuration. Features/improvements include:
1) The "home row" directly under your fingers contains the following letters:
A O E U (I D) H T N S
These are some of the most common letters in the English language. Using the 8 keys under your fingertips, one can type approximately 3,000 words. Using the QWERTY home row (which bizarrely includes the character ";" - effectively reducing it to 7 keys), one can type only about 300 words. Not only that, but to type the twelve most common words in the English language, one must move his fingers from the QWERTY home row 17 times, but from the Dvorak home row only 5.5 times (a move of .5 is to either of the two center keys: G and H in QWERTY, I and D in Dvorak).
2) Letters more frequently used are placed under the strongest fingers and in the top two rows: the left middle and index fingers are responsible for E.PUYI, while the right middle and index fingers are used for FDGHCT.
3) All vowels and common punctuation are under the left hand. English words tend to alternate vowels and consonants and end in consonants; with the Dvorak layout, a typist is more likely to alternate left and right hands at every keystroke, resulting in a faster and easier typing flow.
4) The least-used keys are relegated to the bottom corners, as these keys are the least-convenient to hit:
; Q J (K X B M) W V Z
_________
<b>How do I get a Dvorak keyboard?</b>
You don't need a Dvorak keyboard, as Windows and Mac can both turn a QWERTY board into a Dvorak board using software. For Windows, simply access the Keyboard control panel and add an Input Language. You may have to insert your Windows CD so that the proper driver can be installed, but it should be there. I've currently got my computer set up with both Dvorak and QWERTY languages installed. This is useful if you're not the only one who uses the computer; I've got my computer set up to switch between the two languages when I press LeftALT-SHIFT.
<b>My keyboard still looks like a QWERTY though!</b>
There are a few changes for this, some better than others.
1) The best is to get a Dvorak keyboard, or a [url=http://www.dvortyboards.com]Dvorty board[/b] (which is laid out with both QWERTY and Dvorak letters, and has a button at the top corner to switch between the two. They're generally expensive, though.
2) When I first started learning, I popped all my keys off and switched them around. The problem with this is that standard keyboard keys are not all identical; each row has its own shape profile. Moving them from one row to another results in uneven key tops and some of them become a little more difficult to press because the strike angle isn't quite right. It's not terrible, though.
3) My second idea was simpler and more effective. I took a Sharpie marker and wrote all the correct symbols right on the keys. In time, oils from my fingers rubbed the marks off, but by that time I'd learned to touch-type and didn't need to look at my fingers anymore. Alternately, get a bunch of small stickers and write the symbols on those, then affix them to your keyboard. There are some places that make pre-printed key labels.
<b>Ok, so how do I learn?</b>
There are a few commercial typing tutors that include a Dvorak option. There are also several available for free on the 'net; the one I used was a simple HTML page!
<a href='http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Email_Tools/Anti-SPAM_Tools/Instant_Dvorak_Typing_Tutor.html' target='_blank'>http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Email_T...ping_Tutor.html</a>
<a href='http://www.karelia.com/abcd/' target='_blank'>http://www.karelia.com/abcd/</a> <-- this is the one I used. It's simple, but it works!!
<a href='http://www.dvortyboards.com/download.html' target='_blank'>http://www.dvortyboards.com/download.html</a> MasterMind Typing Tutor, from Dvortyboards
<a href='http://typingsoft.com/all_typing_tutors.htm' target='_blank'>http://typingsoft.com/all_typing_tutors.htm</a> <-- huge list!
<b>I already touch-type QWERTY!</b>
It took me about a month to switch from 70wpm QWERTY to 50+ wpm Dvorak. I was active in IRC at the time; the kicker, for me, was that I forced myself to ONLY use Dvorak. No matter how slow I was forced to type, not being able to fall back on QWERTY helped me learn quickly without getting confused. The hardest part was overcoming "built-in" combinations like "tion," "ing," and "gth," but I'm way past that now. I'm actually still fairly capable on a QWERTY keyboard, as well.
<b>Why SHOULDN'T I switch?</b>
You shouldn't switch if you frequently use workstations other than your own. I pretty much only use *my* computer, and very few other people use it (none with any regularity). If you regularly come into contact with QWERTY boards, you probably want to stick with that keyboard layout. If you pretty much only use your own, Dvorak might be good for you. That said, as I mentioned above I'm still fluent in QWERTY, so it's perfectly possible to be bikeyboardal.
<b>Why SHOULD I switch?</b>
Regardless of how fast you type in QWERTy, Dvorak is <i>easier</i> on your hands. Your fingers travel as little as 1/3 of the distance on a Dvorak board as they do on a QWERTY board, reducing finger fatigue and the dangers of repetitive stress injury. If you do a lot of typing, Dvorak may be a good idea. Additionally, I and other converts have found that Dvorak allows for "transparent writing." The keyboard layout is so natural that you don't even have to think about what you're typing -- it becomes an extension of your though process, and therefore it is easier to get thoughts down "on paper" (metaphorically speaking) - less mental fatigue as well as less physical fatigue.
<b>I'm left-handed/German/French, what about me?</b>
There are Dvorak-esque layouts available for a host of "types" of people:
-lefty board (basically a mirror of the righty board)
-foreign languages, based on letter frequency and spelling conventions of that language
-boards specifically designed for one-handed typing - both left- and right-handed.
Well, there you go. (: Hope I interested a few people.
Comments
It's not great. However, it's not really a problem.
1) Some games, including Half-life, hard-wire keypresses. When I play HL with my Dvorak board, I hit "E" and it registers as a "D". So I just map my keys using the QWERTY layout and have no problems.
Addendum: NS 3.0's new chat system actually supports Windows keyboard drivers... so while my in-game commands are all QWERTY'd automatically, my chat messages are still in Dvorak. Sex!
2) Some games do not accept special characters and punctuation as valid input characters - for instance, you can't bind "," to a command. This can be troublesome since "," is equivalent to QWERTY's "W".
3) Some games, like Blizzard RTS's, use hotkeys. The hotkeys in Warcraft 3 are intelligently and logically set up near your left hand... on a QWERTY keyboard.
All three of these issues, however, are fixed by having two languages on your machine, as I do. I simply alt-shift to QWERTY when I game. Fewer and fewer games are requiring me to switch, though... and with the growing prevalence of voice communication in gaming, having to type chat messages in QWERTY or Dvorak is becoming less and less of a concern.
Bottom line: Dvorak is designed for typing, not for gaming. It's not *bad* for gaming, but it does have some wrinkles I've encountered. However, they are easily overcome and becoming less and less common.
I do 90 on QWERTY so <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> at your commie keyboard.
I do 90 on QWERTY.
I see no reason to change, except if I want to screw myself next time I want to use a public computer. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
EEK, why not read what I wrote? There's a fun little section conveniently titled "Why SHOULD I switch"?
Clearly, you're a faster typist than I am. Perhaps you'd be even faster with a Dvorak board. The fastest typist on the planet uses a Dvorak keyboard... go fig.
Go read the "why should I switch section." Then read the "Why shouldn't I switch" section, which includes as a reason not to switch "if you frequently use other computers."
Dvorak isn't for everyone; I didn't claim it was. READ THE DAMN POST.
I've been wanting to switch to Dvorak for forever, but I figured sharing my computer with 3 family members would screw me over. No longer! To bad I'll have to give up my incredible WPM on a QWERTY. Hehe. Qwerty. Try typing typewriter. All the letters are up top.
Best of luck to all who try it. If nothing else, you get noticed for standing out.
thanks, but that one doesn't have french letters <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
anyway don't bother, I don't think I'll switch.
WTH is up w/ this left handed computer crap?
I'm left handed. And being left handed, I'm in my right mind (har har).
But that said, people who use the mouse with the left hand... are just.. just... not right. That's just wierd.
Now if you'll excuse me, I must return to shaking my fist at right handed only scissors, which is the primary reason I did so poorly in my early school years.
Yeah I'm weird.
I did get some useful info out of my visit, though.
Remember that "Subservient Chicken" thing everyone was talking about a while back?
It's actually a Burger King marketing ploy. Yeah. Weird.
I did get some useful info out of my visit, though.
Remember that "Subservient Chicken" thing everyone was talking about a while back?
It's actually a Burger King marketing ploy. Yeah. Weird. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Maybe Snopes took it off because it was wrong?
And that Subservient Chicken was SUPPOSED to be a marketing ploy. I think that Burger King was somewhere in the URL. Silly.
<a href='http://www.dvorak-keyboard.com/dvorak2.html' target='_blank'>http://www.dvorak-keyboard.com/dvorak2.html</a>
While Dvorak may not be much faster than QWERTY, two points are still true:
1) the fastest typist in the world *does* use a Dvorak keyboard. She can maintain 150 wpm for 50 minutes and reaches speeds of 170 with a Dvorak keyboard. Her top speed was 211 wpm. She also credits the Dvorak keyboard for her speed.
2) Your fingers move 30% as much when typing with a Dvorak keyboard. Faster or no, 70% less movement means a much smaller chance of developing a repetitive stress injury.
It's actually a Burger King marketing ploy. Yeah. Weird. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
duh..
burger king set the whole thing up..
and at the bottom of the page was a big BK logo...
That might be true in many cases, due to the fact that, as you said, alot of the most common letters are right under your fingers. I can see a problem with this, however, by examining what happens when I type. It seems to me that having the more common letters somewhere else actually makes the QWERTY keyboard a more efficient design; you have to move your fingers to hit those more common letters, but then you come back to the home row. Since letters are placed so that they're in range of the letters they most commonly form digraphs with, this means that you'll often get the letters you need all in one stroke. With the other design, you'd hit the common letter, and then have to move your finger to hit the other part of the digraph, which means you're actually using the finger more. No scientist here, but this is how it happens for me, so that's my two cents.
@Zig: It did? The version I saw didn't have one.
Actually, you're perfectly backwards. (:
1) The QWERTY keyboard is laid out precisely to *separate* digraphs (I assume you mean two-letter combinations like TH or ED). If they were too close together on a mechanical typewriter, hitting the two would jam them.
2) The fastest way to hit two keys is to hit each with a different hand. Second to that is each with a different finger on the same hand, and last is to hit both keys with the same finger. It might feel faster to type "ED" on QWERTY than it would to hit them with two different fingers... but see how quickly you can hit "ED" with your left middle finger only, and then see how quickly you can hit "DH" (which is the QWERTY equivalent of the Dvorak "ED"). Faster, I'll bet.
Note: I may have overestimated the advantage given by a Dvorak keyboard as far as finger movement, but the figure is at least 50% less movement for sure.
WTH is up w/ this left handed computer crap?
I'm left handed. And being left handed, I'm in my right mind (har har).
But that said, people who use the mouse with the left hand... are just.. just... not right. That's just wierd.
Now if you'll excuse me, I must return to shaking my fist at right handed only scissors, which is the primary reason I did so poorly in my early school years. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm right handed and I use the mouse on the left hand side. I seriously think I have the weirdest gaming controls....
uparrow = forward
downarrow = back
left arrow = turn left
right arrow = turn right
, = strafe left
. = strafe right
enter = 2nd fire
mouse1 = fire
mouse2 = jump
space = use
<!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' /><!--endemo--> It hurts my hands playing with them all sprawled out like that, but if I switch to the WASD controls, then I'm afraid all my skill will go kaput. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
(btw: I think Dvorak would cause more frustration than actually being helpful...for me anyways...)
Best. Non-word. Ever.
I think I'm too retrenched in typing with a qwerty keyboard to switch. I DO use other computers occasionally also. I'm pondering sticking a bunch of little stickers on my keyboard and trying it out sometime.
Thanks for the nice post coily!
--Scythe--
...huh?
AFTER
SATED
FATE
FASTER
GRAFT
GRABBER
RAFTER
YUP
YOU
POOL
PILL
MILK
MILLION
The Straight Dope don't "buy into the myth". You obviously only read the top half. I recommend reading all of it, as well as the linked article. <a href='http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_248.html' target='_blank'>http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_248.html</a>
Seriously though, been messing around a bit with the DVORAK layout at my uni terminals (they're all running linux, which btw. is evil and smelly), and I quite like it. Takes time to get used to, but it definitely has some benefits.
Given the fact that this pc is used by more than 1 person, I probably won't change for a while, though.
What I don't like, however, is keyboards that are divided into 2 parts. I almost threw a fit the last time I used one of those.
I may try it later for home. At work I switch between classed and unclassed desktops a lot so it would not be feasable. They glue the USB ports on the classed desktops so I doubt I could convince them to switch to a dvorak standard.
AFTER
SATED
FATE
FASTER
GRAFT
GRABBER
RAFTER
YUP
YOU
POOL
PILL
MILK
MILLION <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ohhhh. You mean "possible with one hand". Hehe. Now I understand <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->