The Dvorak Keyboard

When I took my very first typing class, I remember learning that the standard QWERTY keyboard was designed to slow typists down. On the original typewriters, if keys were struck in close succession, it would jam. So they designed a keyboard that made typing as difficult as possible, ie. The most frequently used keys were placed further apart and not under the “home row”.

At the same time I learned about an alternate keyboard called the Dvorak keyboard that arranged the keys in a very logical pattern. The keyboard arranges the keys so that vowels are all on one side, mostly under the home row. It also tries to have your fingers roll in, since that is more natural for most people. Some people report that after using it they experience an increase in writing speed. It is estimated that the average person’s fingers travel 16-20 miles on a QWERTY keyboard per day, while they would only travel 1 mile on the Dvorak. This means that someone is less likely to have injuries related to repetitive motion on the Dvorak keyboard.

As some of you may have guessed, I have decided to see if I can make myself learn the Dvorak keyboard. Actually this entire message has been typed with it. What’s cool is that I didn’t have to go and buy a new keyboard to do it. Windows allows me to switch the key mapping in one of the property settings, and then it put a little keyboard icon on my task bar so that I can quickly switch back and forth between the two keyboard mappings.

I am typing at a speed of about 10-20 wpm right now, and my normal speed is around 77. It is hard but actually pretty rewarding. Let me know if any of decide to try learning the Dvorak keyboard.