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Don't learn Dvorak
41–50 of 149 posts
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#42If 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 the day, and I suspect more years of my life with Colemak.
Interestingly, I tried configuring my phone for Colemak a while ago and had to switch it back. The relatively small movements you make with Colemak meant that the swipe typing thing was just about useless -- it just couldn't discriminate between words.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#43Learn Colemak instead IMO - I've been using it for about 7-8 years. Here are my remarks to address your gripes from a long time alt-layout typist.
FWIW your ability to type on QWERTY returns after a while - you just need to keep using both. It's like a switch changes although it helps to have visual queues to get back into gear with qwerty I find. Otherwise my keyboards are all blank now including a blank kinesis advantage. If I use qwerty I need to look at the keys to start typing usually.
And my typing speed is probably slower than it was when I was using qwerty. I was reaching 120wpm peak on qwerty, maybe could do 100wpm with colemak (haven't checked) but I type much better as I learned the new layout with discipline - eg no cheating with wrong finger on keys - and I move my hands much less so my RSI is better. You can visibly see wear on my home row - a sheen that's on those keys from pressing them more than the other keys. My co-worker says it looks like I'm hacking on the matrix because my fingers don't appear to move when I'm typing.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#44I switched to Dvorak years ago and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. It has downsides (awkwardness when typing on others' machines, difficulty typing with one hand while on the phone), but the lack of pain in my hands/wrists is worth it many times over.
I had pain using non-split/ergo QWERTY keyboard layouts and going ergo solved it for me. Sounds easier than switching to Dvorak.
Same. I've use a Mac for 18 years but I've also use a Microsoft Egro keyboard for almost as long.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
This matches my experience. I automatically switch to QWERTY when I use someone else's computer, to the point where I get confused when I use the computer of one of my colleagues that also uses Dvorak. If you set up some shortcuts to switch between layouts then other people using your computer is not a problem either.
It takes me about a minute to switch gears, then I’m fine. I started using Dvorak full time over 20 years ago.
The hardest I find is when i use the keyboard of someone else I know who happens to use Dvorak, there is about a minute of wtf dude... sometimes even if I know they use Dvorak!!
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#46On the subject of using other people's computers: How do people who use a heavily customised environment -- like Emacs with modifications (like caps-lock key for CONTROL) -- cope with this?
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Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#47QWERTY is just bad design -- it's not something you'd ever design today. You'd never put ";" right under your finger, and relegate "e" from the home row.
I switched to Dvorak in graduate school and it was super-worth it. It took less than 2 months to get comfortable (and I can still switch between the two layouts in 15-ish seconds of conscious attention).
Here's a nice way to think of it -- will you be alive for longer than 5 more years? If so, you should switch to Dvorak.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#48I believe the whole statement saying that QWERTY layout is designed to slow typing down is probably a myth as I find the letters that stand right near each other in a word being neighbors on the keyboard just so often.
If there is some truth to the idea that QWERTY was designed to slow you by separating commonly paired keys, it might actually be advantageous in the world of touchscreen keyboards. Separating frequently paired keys would presumably make autocorrect better at guessing what you meant to say than if common letters were clustered in the same area of the keyboard.
Dvorak is absolutely horrible on touchscreens.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#49Keyboard layout doesn't matter for typing speed . There are endless videos on YouTube of people typing 90+ WPM with two fingers . I use Dvorak at home because it's more comfortable and I hope will prevent RSI in the future. I keep my work laptop in Qwerty because sometimes other people have to type on it. I switch between both layouts with ease. My Qwerty typing speed is slightly slower, but that has not had material…
Using an ergonomic split keyboard will do far more to reduce RSI than any particular keyboard layout.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#50On the subject of using other people's computers: How do people who use a heavily customised environment -- like Emacs with modifications (like caps-lock key for CONTROL) -- cope with this?
I think this is why I don't heavily customize my environment. I started my career doing desktop IT and sysadmining, where I had to use other computers all the time (either the customer's or some server that I had to log into to diagnose). Because of that, my custom setups were never available, so I just kinda stopped doing it.
Despite the fact that I haven't had to do that for many years, I still don't spend a lot of time customizing. Old habits are hard to break.