I've found that Yoga is more effective in preventing wrist pain. Also I don't think typing speed is typically the limiting factor in coding speed. Even if it was, maybe switching to a less verbose language would be more useful than switching keyboard layouts, in my opinion.
Ask HN: Using alternative keyboard layouts?
11–20 of 73 posts
Re: Ask HN: Using alternative keyboard layouts?
#12I've been using the Dvorak layout for at least 9 years, and with the right hardware I've been able to get around the weird ZXCV placement. I currently use a 2030 from http://www.typematrix.com . It has function key mappings that place cut, copy, and paste directly below the ZXCV portion.
Also, you may want to try the Capewell-Dvorak layout by Michael Capewell at http://www.geocities.com/smozoma/projects/keyboard/layout_ca... . Mr. Capewell has an evolved layout as mentioned by trickjarrett, but the Capewell-Dvorak layout attempts to be a simple correction to some glaring issues in Dvorak like the inconvenience of the ZXCV placement, typing G and H on the same finger, placing A under the pinky and O under the ring finger, etc. I haven't had the time to spend to learn it, but I think it would be well worth the endeavor for someone just learning their second layout.
Re: Ask HN: Using alternative keyboard layouts?
#13I switched over to the Dvorak layout about 2 months ago and I'm getting pretty good with it, but still am not up to speed mostly because when trying to 'think' type I end up making alot of mistakes. I'll do really well with a little concentration on typing but as I focus on the thinking I tend to make what I'll call mistake streaks where I'll get the same letter wrong 3-5 times before getting it right.
My Qwerty fingers are completely gone and I find it a pain to use since I learned to touch type in the early 90s and now have to lift my hands and look at the keyboard all the time when using that layout on someone elses computer.
Keyboard shortcuts and punctuation have been my least favorite parts of the switch. I still get them wrong all the time and not having the shortcut keys on the left hand is a bit of a pain.
I'm going to stick with Dvorak in the hopes that I things get better as I move forward. I switched mostly as a preventative measure to avoid the RSI issues I see in this industry alot, but I can't yet recommend switching to others.
Re: Ask HN: Using alternative keyboard layouts?
#14They are great if you only use a few systems. However if you are working on other people's systems or some other case where you are not the sole user of the machine, it is difficult to deal with switching between QWERTY and Dvorak; which is the main reason I do not use Dvorak. A friend uses Dvorak exclusively and it works well for him - he only touches his own systems.
Re: Ask HN: Using alternative keyboard layouts?
#15An interesting post comparing piano playing and typing
Re: Ask HN: Using alternative keyboard layouts?
#16I have used Dvorak full-time for 5-6 years now. Back in high school, a friend of mine discovered Dvorak and a few of us switched cold-turkey; everyone else switched back within a week, but I'm still going! It took about two weeks for me to be comfortable with it. If you're like me, it's the punctuation that will screw you up the most when switching. I'm an Emacs user, but I learned Emacs after I learned Dvorak, so I…
Is it wrong that I use the arrow keys in Vim?
Re: Ask HN: Using alternative keyboard layouts?
#17I have used Dvorak full-time for 5-6 years now. Back in high school, a friend of mine discovered Dvorak and a few of us switched cold-turkey; everyone else switched back within a week, but I'm still going! It took about two weeks for me to be comfortable with it. If you're like me, it's the punctuation that will screw you up the most when switching. I'm an Emacs user, but I learned Emacs after I learned Dvorak, so I…
You do get used to the layout in Vim eventually, but I agree it isn't intuitive. I've been tempted to remap HJKL to HTNS (the right hand home keys in Dvorak) in Vim, but haven't done so yet.
The main reason that I haven't tried out Colemak or other more unusual keyboard layouts is that they aren't installed by default on all OSs yet (unlike Dvorak), which makes it more of a hassle to switch layouts when using other people's machines.
Re: Ask HN: Using alternative keyboard layouts?
#18I haven't tried an alternative layout, but I do use a Kinesis countoured keyboard and that has made typing less painful for me. My hands rest very naturally on the keyboard and there's less distance to travel when tapping the keys.
http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/advantage_pro.htm
Re: Ask HN: Using alternative keyboard layouts?
#19I switched over to the Dvorak layout about 2 months ago and I'm getting pretty good with it, but still am not up to speed mostly because when trying to 'think' type I end up making alot of mistakes. I'll do really well with a little concentration on typing but as I focus on the thinking I tend to make what I'll call mistake streaks where I'll get the same letter wrong 3-5 times before getting it right. My Qwerty fing…
I switched just over a year ago - it didn't take me too long to get up to an acceptable speed (45wpm), but it's taken quite a lot longer to get up much higher than that. I'm currently between 60 and 70 wpm, and I still find I need to think about the typing to get up to that type of speed.
The 'mistake streaks' do get better as you go along though - I find that I just switch between thinking about what I'm typing and the keyboard layout when I make a mistake, which helps avoid repeated mistakes. The context switch is annoying though, ideally I'd like to do around 90wpm with 100% accuracy, which is why I've started practicing with a typing program again.
Re: Ask HN: Using alternative keyboard layouts?
#20There is quite a bit of evidence that Dvorak superiority is a myth:
http://www.reason.com/news/show/29944.html http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/221/was-the-qwerty-...