I'd love to see a rigorous analysis of whether this type of keyboard layout really reduces repetitive stress injuries. The metrics presented are interesting, but the reduced finger movement could be a bug rather than a feature. Small micro-stretching by having to reach for keys could actually be beneficial.
Workman Keyboard Layout (2010)
11–20 of 233 posts
Re: Workman Keyboard Layout (2010)
#12First you have to get rid of the absurd Euro/ISO keyboard layout. http://i.stack.imgur.com/j4xYE.jpg
Only then can we talk about moving the vowel keys.
Re: Workman Keyboard Layout (2010)
#13An oversight in the layout, in my mind—the human hand is better at typing in certain directions… the hands very naturally roll towards the center, but it is less natural to rotate away from the center. This is… somewhat covered in the article under SHU…
> It is much more efficient to ride the momentum of a single arm or wrist stroke and type a combo rather than just one key.
Try ASDF versus FDSA on a QWERTY layout. ASDF feels much more natural, doesn't it?
So, I’m concerned about the sequences like TH in the Workman layout. It looks like Workman is optimized more for minimum distance, and less for other factors. I think this is what happens when you optimize for the metrics that are easiest to measure! The thing about Dvorak is not just which keys press the fingers, but how you alternate.
So if you write THE on Dvorak, your right hand naturally rolls TH using strong fingers, and then you type E using the left. On Workman, you are rolling away from center, which is less natural.
Some clumsier words in Dvorak: SPHINX. PIX are all left 2nd digit, but they alternate with the right hand, to give the 2nd digit on the left time to move.
I may be biased. I switched to Dvorak in high school and it fixed my RSI. Dvorak is also available everywhere. I can sit down at an unfamiliar computer and change it to Dvorak within a minute. The alternation, to me, means that my fingers have more time to move and can move more slowly and gently at the same typing speed.
As a technical note—you should not be changing capslock in your layout like this on Linux. The option to choose a keyboard layout like US QWERTY or US Dvorak is a separate choice from the choice to map capslock to something else, and they shouldn't be combined.
I’m also a bit surprised that the bottom row is ZXMCV. This is so close to ZXCV… why not just use ZXCV?
Re: Workman Keyboard Layout (2010)
#14For people looking to try a new layout, I recommend a Carpalx optimized layout. They have very detailed analysis on the layout:
http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/?full_optimization
I've been using it on my Kinesis for a while, and it's totally worth it:
https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/blob/master/keyboards/ki...
Re: Workman Keyboard Layout (2010)
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not all keyboard layouts use arrows. Long time ago keyboards did not have arrows. Nowadays, some keyboards use function key to switch some keys to their alternative function, including arrows. This is true especially with 40% keyboards where there is just no real estate for arrows and to some extent with 60% keyboards.
Vi was made for a keyboard without arrows, which is why it has hjkl instead.
Actually, vi was made for a keyboard with arrow keys - the arrow keys were non-dedicated and used the HJKL keys.
Re: Workman Keyboard Layout (2010)
#16I'm using a similar layout (Norman) that was derived from the Workman analysis. https://normanlayout.info/about.html It was a bit easier to learn because most of the keys are on the same finger as on qwerty, but with the rows swapped. For me the biggest problem with using an alternate layout is that the hjkl vim movement keys are scattered.
I consider my .vimrc-fu as only beginner, but can't you remap the keys so NIOH act as HJKL?
Re: Workman Keyboard Layout (2010)
#17> Try typing “The” with the T capitalized on Colemak and hopefully you’ll see what I mean. Try typing “The” with the T capitalized on Colemak and hopefully you’ll see what I mean
Why is he shifting with his right hand instead of his left? It seems obvious, but maybe isn't: you should shift/ctrl with the opposite hand that is going to type the letter.
Re: Workman Keyboard Layout (2010)
#18An oversight in the layout, in my mind—the human hand is better at typing in certain directions… the hands very naturally roll towards the center, but it is less natural to rotate away from the center. This is… somewhat covered in the article under SHU… > It is much more efficient to ride the momentum of a single arm or wrist stroke and type a combo rather than just one key. Try ASDF versus FDSA on a QWERTY layout. A…
> Try ASDF versus FDSA on a QWERTY layout. ASDF feels much more natural, doesn't it?
It doesn't for me. Is it significantly more difficult/awkward? Maybe I'm used to it from playing scales on piano?
Re: Workman Keyboard Layout (2010)
#19This is dope, I love how the author took a rigorous approach towards analyzing how much effort could be saved through this keyboard
Well, you are going to spend all the saved effort in ensuring you have the layout working everywhere. I am contractor, most of the time working on corporate PC. I use dvorak and it is already a huge PITA to explain to yet another corporate drone I need to be able to set up my own keyboard layout. Windows does not have Dvorak layout with polish accents so I have to either use my own driver or, more likely, write witho…
I can just type both Dvorak or Qwerty, it hasn't been much of a problem switching between the two. But in general, I use a keyboard that has an embedded layout, so I just bring my keyboard with me and all my bindings, macros, etc are with me. Very nice!
Re: Workman Keyboard Layout (2010)
#20An oversight in the layout, in my mind—the human hand is better at typing in certain directions… the hands very naturally roll towards the center, but it is less natural to rotate away from the center. This is… somewhat covered in the article under SHU… > It is much more efficient to ride the momentum of a single arm or wrist stroke and type a combo rather than just one key. Try ASDF versus FDSA on a QWERTY layout. A…
You had me with the FDSA example, but I wonder if that's because I'm also already biased towards Dvorak. Been typing with it since 2016 and loving it so far. Even "ls -l" doesn't bother me anymore - makes me wonder if QWERTY typists have under-developed pinky coordination.