TIGSource Forums

Anyone using the Dvorak keyboard layout, what do you guys and gals think about it? I am trying to learn now.

Yes. I'm a big fan of Dvorak. I applaud you for giving it a try and recommend you keep at it. Good luck.

I was always a rather subpar QWERTY typist and decided that I needed to make the change not just to improve my touch typing but to kill some of the bad habits that I picked up with QWERTY. Stupid things such as looking at the keys even though I knew what they were.

It took me about a month to completely convert over. It was painful for the first few weeks but well worth it. I've been happily using it for roughly two years now. Before using Dvorak I would occasionally get sore wrists. I bought an ergonomic keyboard and started learning Dvorak, since then I haven't had sore wrists at all.

It's worth noting that there is a layout often called Dvorak QWERTY which is Dvorak with the QWERTY keyboard shortcuts. I know this layout exists on OSX and I'd imagine there would be an equivalent for Windows and Linux. Unfortunately I only found out about this months after using Dvorak and couldn't go back to using the old shortcuts.

Some people recommend altering the keys on your keyboard or using stickers. I advise against doing this. The point is that you shouldn't be looking at the keys at all.

GNU Typist also has lessons for learning Dvorak. Well worth a look.

Honestly, I don't see the problem with QWERTY. Why use a keyboard layout that's going to make lots of games not control properly and change every keyboard shortcut ever? Then again, I haven't got sore wrists or anything from using QWERTY and I've never tried Dvorak so I don't know if it's more efficient or not.

I couldn't imagine switching. Just like typing properly. I never learned, so I just peck now. It's probably a lot slower than typing how you're meant to type, but I can type relatively fast (I can clock 100 wpm), so it doesn't bother me. I've tried learning, but damn, it's difficult.

I've been using it for about two years now, and I absolutely LOVE it. Can't say it's really boosted my typing speed that much, but the ergonomics are well worth it. It makes typing feel comfortable and under control, whereas with QWERTY it feels like my fingers are just going all over the place.

Other than that, my story's pretty much the same as HyperNexus, except that I went and switched the keys around so it feels more legitimate.

There's no possible way you can clock 100 wpm by pecking.

80WPM, 90WPM, close enough on a QWERTY keyboard.

I already type at a rate faster than I can stream my thoughts, so I'd only benefit from increasing my wpm if I were transcribing something from handwritten to digital.

What rob said. Also I've never had any problems with comfort issues or anything. I make typos pretty often but then I just backspace them and it gives my brain a chance to catch up with my fingers.

Scary, learning to type again on a different keyboard.
It feels like trying to learn to talk again.
I applaude everyone who succeeds, you must have a very fresh brain.

relearned from freeform sighted qwerty to touch typing Dvorak three years ago with Verseq (http://verseq.com/) (free seven-day demo should be enough to get you started), feels much more comfortable

you gotta hear this on vinyl man, it sounds so much warmer

no man, i can't stand that surface noise

I use a UNICOMP Customizer keyboard (modern factory runs of the Model M using the original patent) with qwerty and I get around 100wpm give or take some when I'm transcribing. I've heard good things about Dvorak, but I imagine it would be a pain in the ass to forget how to type well on qwerty then have to use a qwerty keyboard on another computer. Qwerty is just too ubiquitous and it works well enough.

Thanks for the replies! I shall continue learning. I have heard the reason its better than qwerty is because qwerty is designed for type-writers and deliberately makes you slower so you don't make mistakes. But Dvorak is designed for keyboards which require far greater speed and accuracy.

@DareM It's not a scary as it sounds. It's much easier to learn Dvorak then it is to learn QWERTY. Once you've mastered one row of keys, you can type a lot of words already.

The biggest reason to switch at leasts in my mind is comfort. Theoretically you should be able to type faster but as most people have noted, beyond a certain point any increase in WPM is not that useful.

it's actually to keep the bars from jamming, but it is definitely a holdover from the mechanical typewriter days

How about going back and forth between the two keyboards?

Once you get used to Dvorak, are you able to switch to Qwerty quickly it there is a need?
Don't want to look like I've never used computer before if I have to use somebody else's machine :)

I guess it depends on how you set things up. Right now, I use Dvorak with my desktop, and QWERTY with my laptop. I use them both quite frequently and have no problems (though I tend to occasionally flub the most-used shortcuts). After a while, your brain mentally links the feel of each keyboard to the input needed to use it, and typing both becomes second nature.

And it's not too difficult to re-learn! Assuming you can touch-type QWERTY right now, it might take you a month of practice to become fluent with Dvorak, and then a week to re-learn QWERTY, and then you're set for life. You're now able to switch between both with ease, as the need arises.

I think this is what it feels like to be bilingual, except nerdier and more useless...

I used to use dvorak, but the rest of the world uses qwerty, so when I need to type on a university computer knowing dvorak was less than useful. I gave up on it and just learnt qwerty properly.

Sounds like working on Apple, Windows and Linux machines and remembering the different shortcuts, only more so.

I would totally learn this, but I can't find a keyboard and I don't want to stick a bunch of stickers on my keyboard.

i use a german QWERTZ keyboard (the möst metäl keyböärd läyöut)  :handmetalL::wizard::handmetalR:

There isn't really a correct way to type, just as there isn't really a correct way to use chopsticks.

Some methods are more popular than others, and some methods can earn you certificates, but that doesn't make them more correct than alternative methods.

Just use what works for you. :)

Just purchased a Unicomp Spacesaver (sawed-off Customizer) as a replacement. I touch type at 90 WPM and it would be a real pain to switch, though I've heard of the benefits. The problem being that any other computer besides mine would give me a brain short-circuit, not to mention my laptop.  :wtf:

I want to be different too.

Use Colemak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout#Colemak)

buy an ipod

a white one

I got a Christmas gift which is a conversion kit for my old (functional) Remington typewriter to allow it to plug into the computer as a USB keyboard.

i use a grand piano with a custom made usb pickup for typing