The Dvorak keyboard layout

Posted on June 20, 2005 
Filed Under Geeeek Stuff

I’ve been using the Dvorak keyboard layout for quite a while. When people see my keyboard, they typically ask if it’s hard to type on. I explain that it’s not, but, I then explain that I don’t use the normal keyboard layout. This typically makes them tilt their head as they’ve never heard of such a thing. I then go in to my standard story of using the Dvorak layout. Why QWERTY was invented, how much better Dvorak is, etc, etc, etc. Typically they’ll want to know how I had ever heard about Dvorak to begin with, and, how difficult it was to learn to use it. So, the answer to those and some other questions are:

Where did I hear about it?
A guy named George Girton who I worked with at Scan/US was already using it. I heard him typing one day and it sounded like he was typing 200 words a minute. He showed me how to switch my keyboard in Windows and that was that. I was hooked.

Was it hard to learn how to type in Dvorak?
Actually, no. I had never really learned how to touch-type using QWERTY, so there was nothing for me to compare it to. How I learned is actually pretty simple. I found a graphic online that showed the Dvorak keyboard layout. I printed it out and taped it to the bottom of my monitor. I told myself I wouldn’t look down at the keyboard again. Then, I found a list of the 500 most common words. I imported them in to Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing and practiced for 2 hours each night for 1 week. By the end of the week, I was typing at close to 40 words per minute with very few errors.

Can you switch between Dvorake and QWERTY easily?
Me? No. Not at all. I look like an idiot when I try and type on a QWERTY keyboard. But, I had never learned to touch type using QWERTY, so that’s not fair of me to say. I’ve read many places that if you already know QWERTY, it’s fairly easy to switch between the two.

Where can I learn about the Dvorak keyboard layout?
OK, nobody ever asks that question. But, I’m going to answer it anyway…

- dvzine.org - comic book style story of Dvorak
- dvorak-keyboard.com - lots of info about Dvorak
- dvortyboards.com - relatively inexpensive keyboard that switches between QWERTY and Dvorak.

So, get out there and give it a try. If nothing else, it’ll really piss off anybody else who ever tries to work on your computer.

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Comments

2 Responses to “The Dvorak keyboard layout”

  1. George Girton on July 21st, 2005 3:13 pm

    What John says is completely true, other people trying to use your computer will be cheezed off. But they will be creative! I remember coming home one time and finding a “cheat sheet” next to the computer in the kitchen that my wife and child had used to set up a key-to-key equivalency of Dvorak-to-Qwerty so that they could log onto their own accounts that DON’T have Dvorak activated (Dvorak is the default layout outside the accounts because I was the one praying to the Windows2000 shrine one last time. Sorry Guys!)

    The best thing about Dvorak aside from typing 100 gazillion words a minute, plus the lack of fatigue, and, you know, being different is this: How you look. Really! “You know, watching you type, it’s like watching an Octopus mating with the keyboard,” was the comment that Steve Alcorn made when I used to work at Linn Electronics.

    So I say go for it. Dvorak is available by just 1 or 2 menu clicks on both the PC, and on the Mac.

    By the way, Hi, John! This geeek site of yours is really nice looking.

  2. Smith on February 13th, 2007 1:49 am

    What George Girton says is completely true, other people trying to use your computer will be cheezed off.

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