I switched to emacs after two decades of vi. It drove me crazy, and I had to switch back - maybe it’s true what they say about old dogs and new tricks.
Don't learn Dvorak
111–120 of 149 posts
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Doing daily exercises for the hands and wrist solved my issues.
Which ones specifically, out of curiosity?
Squeeze therapeutic putty 30s per hand, wrist curl underhand and overhand 10x3, rotate hammer from left to right 10x3. Nothing too fancy but it's the routine an occupational therapist gave me and it worked.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#113Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same here. Colmak allows me to to type at higher speeds for longer without pain. I carry a mechanical keyboard with dipswitches that allow me to use colmak on other people's machines without much trouble (as a bonus, mechanical keyboard generally nicer than their keyboard too).
Which keyboard out of curiosity?
Vortex Pok3r. It's a 60% keyboard which is a nice compromise for travel IMO. You still have programmable layers, but don't have to reach for them when doing basic programming tasks. 4 dipswitches at the bottom allow you to switch to colmak or dvorak in hardware, so no messing up the host system settings.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same here. Colmak allows me to to type at higher speeds for longer without pain. I carry a mechanical keyboard with dipswitches that allow me to use colmak on other people's machines without much trouble (as a bonus, mechanical keyboard generally nicer than their keyboard too).
Which keyboard out of curiosity?
Some off the shelf 60% keyboards have this, the one I remember is Poker 2/Pok3r Keyboards.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#115Forgive any ignorance on my part; I'm not a dev, just a lurker with a moderately above average familiarity with tech. I mostly type with 6 - 8 fingers, with my attention split 50/50 between the keyboard and the screen. I can type around 50 wpm, more or less, though I probably average around 30. While I'll concede that typing faster would be a boon, how much faster can one realistically type before they start to outru…
When I'm troubleshooting/explaining something over an IM chat, I'd estimate my inner voice is doing at least 200wpm. The faster I can type, then, the better. (Since I highly doubt I'll ever make it to 200wpm.)
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#116Before I switched to Dvorak, I had RSI problems. I still have RSI problems, but they are much less severe and much less frequent. The difference is stark. It makes a huge difference in quality of life for me. I have also tried alternative keyboards, like the Kinesis and the Ergodox, but switching to Dvorak seems to have had the largest impact. > Learning a new layout is one of the most frustrating experiences that I’…
What's your take on the Kinesis Advantage vs Ergodox EZ? I'm currently debating between the two.
Never heard of the Ergodox EZ. Looks great. Neat that you can replace entire switches with no soldering.
Most of my typing is done with my Kinesis keyboard on my lap. Doesn't look like the Ergodox can go on your lap, which is a dealbreaker for me.
Also, I mounted a trackpad|touchpad in the center of the Kinesis (with tape), and it's wonderful. Again, doesn't look like you can do that with the Ergodox.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#117Colemak is where it's at because cut/copy/paste and the punctuation is all still in the same place as QWERTY but on Dvorak that's all fucked which makes it an impractical nightmare.
I still use qwerty on my keyboard but I started learning both to try them out. I accidentally left my phone's keyboard layout in colemak and didn't realize until months later when a friend tried to use it. It's kinda funny how your brain just adjusts.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which keyboard out of curiosity?
Vortex Pok3r. It's a 60% keyboard which is a nice compromise for travel IMO. You still have programmable layers, but don't have to reach for them when doing basic programming tasks. 4 dipswitches at the bottom allow you to switch to colmak or dvorak in hardware, so no messing up the host system settings.
Cool, I almost got the same one but went with a leopold 660m, also 60%. I just have caps lock mapped to backspace and use vim for everything I can (checkout cVim for chrome) tried colmak out today but will stick with qwerty since I'm 100% at 100 wpm touch typing.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#119If you're considering learning Dvorak, I'd strongly recommend considering Colemak instead. I tried Dvorak with the hope that it would mitigate RSI, but it spreads the work among fingers pretty unevenly -- I really ended up just moving the problem rather than fixing it (mostly to my right pinky). Colemak is (relatively) easy to learn if you know QWERTY, and it's been life-changing for me: I can work for more hours of…
What is your experience when you have to use the QWERTY layout? Is it a frustrating experience or can you use it just fine given that Colemak is more similar to it than Dvorak?
I think it probably depends on if you have a separate keyboard or not. I have an ergodox on my home pc and work laptop, but my laptop is qwerty. I don't even notice moving between keyboards, I guess because they are so different.
Having an external keyboard also means that other people can still use my work laptop when needed (pairing etc)
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which ones specifically, out of curiosity?
Squeeze therapeutic putty 30s per hand, wrist curl underhand and overhand 10x3, rotate hammer from left to right 10x3. Nothing too fancy but it's the routine an occupational therapist gave me and it worked.
Is there a video/article you could share describing how to do these with good form?
I am now about 7 years into an RSI issue that nothing seems to work on, but I haven't committed to any training routine for more than a couple of weeks (with no effect).