Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Poll: What keyboard layout do you use?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 42 posts

Re: Poll: What keyboard layout do you use?

#11

Post by stevenashley »

slowpoison wrote: post #4

If it weren't for vim, I would have definitely considered switching. I know you can map keys and all, but, it just doesn't make sense going through all the hassle. Are there any bi-layouters out there?

Qwerty and Colemak. I sometimes use Qwerty when I am chatting while gaming or when on someone else's computer - though about 2/3 as fast.

I find that I don't have to actively think about what layout I am typing in, it just flows. I imagine bilinguists have a similar experience.

I chose Colemak primarily because it doesn't mess with common shortcuts (Bottom-left keys "qwarzxcvbm" remain the the same positions).

Re: Poll: What keyboard layout do you use?

#12

Post by Dobbs »

QWERTY with caps as control.

Ctrl+[ is considered escape on older keyboards so vi style software includes emulation/acceptance of this behaviour.

Lets you hit escape easily, one finger on each hand, while still having easy access to other ctrl modified behavior (page up, page down).

Re: Poll: What keyboard layout do you use?

#14

Post by kbd »

There's a lot of "I type fast on qwerty so why would I bother switching?" Speed isn't even the main reason I use dvorak. The primary reason is that it's more comfortable to type in.

In addition, as a programmer, a lot of the characters actually happen to be in more useful positions than in qwerty, even though that's not what the keyboard was designed for. '-_' especially is in a better place (home row, right pinky). Brackets are next to parens. '=' is slightly more convenient. Even in VI I find I like a lot of the key positions better.

Re: Poll: What keyboard layout do you use?

#15

Post by tchvil »

alx wrote: post #9

qwerty with spanish layout, because I'm french and really need all the accent chars (spanish qwerty is a perfect mix).

I found as well the Spanish QWERTY to be the best designed keyboard if you type in English, French and Spanish.

The French AZERTY is so poor, it is strange it is still the default keyboard for French speaking regions.

Re: Poll: What keyboard layout do you use?

#16

Post by cytzol »

I use UK Dvorak, which is similar to Dvorak, except the @ and the " symbols are switched around. I haven't yet encountered an OS that offers this as a default layout, so whenever I'm away from home, I get those symbols wrong. The cost of typing comfort...

Re: Poll: What keyboard layout do you use?

#17

Post by cryptoz »

younata wrote: post #13

Dvorak user. I also use vim heavily (I switched to dvorak before I started using vim, so I've always been used to having h,j,k, and l being separated.

But doesn't that destroy some of the main good points about vim? Like keeping your fingers on the same spots on the keyboard? You could re-map hjkl to whatever the dvorak equivalents and then you'd probably have an easier time navigating around.

Re: Poll: What keyboard layout do you use?

#18

Post by RKearney »

QWERTY, but only because I haven't yet had the time to purchase stickers or a Dvorak keyboard so I can learn Dvorak.

It also doesn't help at all that the iPhone doesn't have a software Dvorak keyboard layout (jailbreaking is not an option).

Re: Poll: What keyboard layout do you use?

#20

Post by holyjaw »

I started using Dvorak in November. At work we have shared computers, so I don't get to be exclusively QWERTY or Dvorak. In a way it's like becoming bilingual, what with all the mental code-switching.

It's extremely frustrating, but once the initial 3-day hump is past, the learning curve smooths out. I have no reason for learning Dvorak other than the sake of learning itself. If you aren't pushing yourself and destroying your comfort boundaries, what ARE you doing?

Post reply on HN