|
I've always held some level of pride the fact that I could type fast. My other friend at school had put me to considering switching to Dvorak*, along with him. After a bit of research, I learned it doesn't take very long to regain past speed using Dvorak (~1 month of exclusive use). The main issue is that they say you shouldn't use QWERTY at all during that time period, and it is probably very difficult, if not impossible to maintain muscle memory for both keyboards.
Now my question is, have any of you made the switch from QWERTY to Dvorak, or tried, or have any advice for it?
The main concerns going through my mind are that it would be slower at first, so in case I had to type anything, then I'd have to stop using it, or simply not be able to type at all. I countered this thought by doing it over summer vacation, when I'd have the free time.
Secondly, I realized, not all computers give you the access to remap the keyboards to the desired layout. Meaning if I were to type at school, then I'd either have to type significantly slower, or I'd have to bring my own keyboard. Bringing my own keyboard to school everyday would be... undesirable to say the least.
*Note: Dvorak is often referred to as the keyboard designed for speed. QWERTY was originally designed to intentionally slow people down because typing too fast on type writers would jam them.
EDIT: I read intrigue's blog, didn't really notice any sign of success by anyone. Also, I am planning on remapping keys for game purposes, the main issue would be SC. Otherwise, WASD aren't actually WASD but rather up, down, left and right, so it won't be an issue.
EDIT2: Any suggestions on buying a keyboard? Preferably one with Dvorak key layouts available.
|
I'm trying to learn dvorak at the moment. i really dig the benefits.
|
Just buy and old keyboard and switch out the keys yourself.
|
I used to type Dvorak and it didn't take long to switch to it.
However, I switched back due to the fact that some programs (like Photoshop) weren't compatible with it and still used the Qwerty layout despite me changing to Dvorak.
So my advice is to not change the physical layout of the keys, that is to still have a qwerty-keyboard but to change the settings so that you type Dvorak on a Qwerty layout. It's also better to learn it that way since you are forced to learn to type without looking at the keys, which further improves your speed.
Also, if you come to a new computer, you can just change the settings and not have to bother about what the layout is.
|
On December 05 2009 05:50 Archaic wrote:
QWERTY was originally designed to intentionally slow people down because typing too fast on type writers would jam them.
Myth. QWERTY was designed to allow people to type faster without jamming the typewriter. Wikipedia it if you need more explanation.
I'm not an expert on Dvorak vs QWERTY but I believe that there is little evidence that Dvorak is actually significantly better. I think the world record for typing speed was indeed set on Dvorak but the average person does not gain much by switching from QWERTY to Dvorak IIRC.
|
And if you type at like 100 wpm, it's good enough. You don't really get that much benefit from typing a few more words per minute anyway.
|
Don't bother--the "best" part is that no one else will be able to type on your keyboard. You'll gain little speed and maybe a little comfort
|
The benefit its repetitive stress injuries.
|
...did he just site wiki? -_-
But ya i tried switching to Dvorak but had the same problem that i was in programming classes in school and would have been to big a hassle.
|
Germany2896 Posts
Some month ago switched from qwertz(german) to qwerty(US), and I still haven't really gotten used to it. Especially the special chars...
No idea how good dvorak is, but qwertz(german) sucks.
And usually you can change to layout on school comps since it doesn't require admin privilegues.
|
On December 05 2009 06:24 Scrixie wrote:
...did he just site wiki? -_-
But ya i tried switching to Dvorak but had the same problem that i was in programming classes in school and would have been to big a hassle.
If you're one of those cool internet guys who thinks Wiki is useless, you could just google QWERTY and find plenty of other sites saying the same thing as Wiki. And I think the word you're looking for is "cite."
|
On December 05 2009 06:46 inkblot wrote:Show nested quote +On December 05 2009 06:24 Scrixie wrote:
...did he just site wiki? -_-
But ya i tried switching to Dvorak but had the same problem that i was in programming classes in school and would have been to big a hassle. If you're one of those cool internet guys who thinks Wiki is useless, you could just google QWERTY and find plenty of other sites saying the same thing as Wiki. And I think the word you're looking for is "cite."
Seriously. If we were talking about a research paper or something, then of course citing Wikipedia isn't such a great idea, but this is an internet forum. We're not exactly going for rigor here.
|
This isnt a thread about Antonín Dvořák? :'(
|
On December 05 2009 06:46 inkblot wrote:Show nested quote +On December 05 2009 06:24 Scrixie wrote:
...did he just site wiki? -_-
But ya i tried switching to Dvorak but had the same problem that i was in programming classes in school and would have been to big a hassle. If you're one of those cool internet guys who thinks Wiki is useless, you could just google QWERTY and find plenty of other sites saying the same thing as Wiki. And I think the word you're looking for is "cite."
lolol gottem
Wiki isn't perfect and people fuck around with it sometimes, but it's not like it's there to purposefully mislead people.
|
On December 05 2009 06:56 synapse wrote:
This isnt a thread about Antonín Dvořák? :'(
Nope. It's about a keyboard layout designed by his cousin!
|
i have a friend with 160 wpm. he can type both dvorak and qwerty with similar speeds.
|
I learned Dvorak a couple years ago, but went back to qwerty cause I could never get used to the punctuation/special chars getting moved around, and hotkeys tend to be designed with qwerty in mind (copy/paste = ctrl-i, ctrl-.). It is more comfortable, but... where's the damned dash again? Over there? Whyyy
|
The only thing that prevents me from using dvorak is that programs design hotkeys with qwerty in mind.
|
United States3824 Posts
Learn one handed Dvorak and pwn at SC 
|
I made the switch over summer. I never used a layout for dvorak, but learned purely off of memory, a very painful experience. I would just do exercise to practice dvorak over and over until I finally got it. The downside is that I practiced with the correct typing position, so I know where everything is in relation to that, rather than the absolute position of the keys, so it's harder to type one-handed, or pinpoint certain letters. Now I frequently switch back and forth, since I use qwerty for almost every game, and dvorak otherwise. Dvorak wasn't made with only typing speed in mind, but also with fatigue. It's pretty noticeable difference. With qwerty keyboards, you see people moving their fingers all around, and it looks impressive, whereas a dvorak user with the same speed would barely be moving their fingers around. I would recommend not using qwerty at all for the first couple months, which makes it quite hard to game.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
