I adapted to the dvorak layout without too much trouble... but I often have to type on other people's keyboards which was quite difficult to manage cognitively... so I had to revert. Good luck though, hope you find some relief.
Don't learn Dvorak
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Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#62Forgive 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 outrun their inner voice? When I'm typing up emails or narrative reports for work, I regularly stop and consider what I'm going to write, with frequent revisions. Typing papers is just as start/stop, if not worse. I can think at a certain speed, but having my hands go much faster than that seems like wasted effort. What am I missing? Is it simply a RSI (repetitive strain injury; had to look it up) thing? I can see the obvious benefit if you do a lot of transcribing, but beyond that...I'm not entirely sure. Might someone help me out?
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#63We found NitroType a great way to teach kids to type. Maybe adults too?
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#64Switched to Dvorak last Christmas, over the break from work. The bad: - I’m still not as accurate with non-Python punctuation as I was on QWERTY. - no support on iOS - people need to change my layout if typing on my machine The good: - noticeably more comfortable typing - can be faster for some things - I have been forced to touch type as I don’t use any Dvorak printed keyboards, this has contributed to me typing fas…
> no support on iOS
Are there no Dvorak keyboard apps?
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#65I switched to Dvorak about 15 years ago. I agree with others here: I switched from being a Qwerty typist with poor form, to a "correct" Dvorak typist. In the end I'm a pretty speedy typist (~130 wpm), but I can still Qwerty well enough that it isn't painful. However, I think the speed-up can mostly be attributed to forcing me to have a clean slate and learn to type correctly, rather than any intrinsic advantage of Dv…
There’s something too this, though I also think dvorak has some real RSI related benefits.
Case in point, my handwork is a mess of barely legible chicken scratches in English and whatever other latin character using language I might dabble in.
By contrast I took Russian in college (i.e. later in life than gradeschool English) and learned cursive script. My handwriting in Russian won't win any calligraphy awards, but it's pretty good.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#66On 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?
It's a lot of fun, when someone tries to write a note on my IDE ( WebStorm ) where I'm using vim mode. Most of them give up and open Notes app. Joke aside. I don't think that pleasing other potential users of your computer should be a motive to not make it productive for you.
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Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#67I did not foresee that my QWERTY muscle memory would be replaced by Dvorak, making it frustrating to use other people’s computers — I had to search for keys and type with two fingers at an annoyingly slow pace. This made me aware of how often you use other people’s computers.
This also happens when someone else needs to use your computer, which involves a mandatory explanation of why you are using a different layout and switching it for every time the typist changes (which is frequent when collaborating on one computer).
This is the reason why i don't over-configure my vim or anything else. If you do so you can get lost on not your own machines easily. Also coming to someone's computer which has some weird configs(vim remapping of esc and caps lock anyone?) is extremely annoying.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#68I adapted to the dvorak layout without too much trouble... but I often have to type on other people's keyboards which was quite difficult to manage cognitively... so I had to revert. Good luck though, hope you find some relief.
Me too, it became a show stopper when teaching and later at the job. You won't always only use your own computer. Maintaining two muscle memories is much harder. Anyways, typing speed is not the limiting factor in most cases. And you can always make what you have to type fewer key Stokes.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#69But Dvorak is one of my favorite composers...
Wait, that's Dvořák.
Re: Don't learn Dvorak
#70What's the effect of using Dvorak or Colemak on things like vim? The hjkl for example get topsy-turvied.