Dvorak or Qwerty?

SorrowLupe — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 05:25:36 +1000

Which keyboard layout will you be using? :) I have a Qwerty netbook; but have stickerd my laptop and can change it to Dvorak for Wri Mo. So which will you use??

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Anfaenger — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 05:30:20 +1000

I will use QWERTY for the first time after having used QWERTZ (German keyboard layout) for most of my life.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Cosmic_lightning — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 03:46:13 +1000

DVORAK all the time. It's so much faster than QWERTY. I switched last year and I'm really glad I did.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Wrazn — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 04:18:49 +1000

Dvorak all the way. And it confuses people who sit down at my computer.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

teh603 — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 06:00:46 +1000

I use a standard keyboard. I'd have considered Dvorak, but the only keyboard I've ever seen that directly supported it was built into an Apple //c and it didn't have any labels for the caps if you wanted to use it in that mode. But that was literally the last one; I've never seen a Dvorak keyboard for sale which makes me think that its a dead standard. Plus I'm around 90 WPM on Qwerty when I get going.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Tigers Eyes — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 07:39:54 +1000

Qwerty- For some reason, Dvorak kind of scares me. I do want to try it out though.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

kookicat — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 08:30:46 +1000

Qwerty for me at the moment. I'm thinking of switching, but we only use qwerty at work and I'm not sure I want to switch back and forth. Plus, I type at ~100wpm on qwerty. :)

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

xoxwhoaxox — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:38:49 +1000

I use QWERTY. My dad's a computer guy, and so because of that I learned to type 'properly' on QWERTY at a really young age. I've typed at around 100 wpm since I was nine, and so not having that speed on DVORAK really frustrates me; I always end up switching back out of frustration when I do try using it. Though it's not a bad system, and I really should learn to use it since I have carpel tunnel, but, you know. Old habits die hard.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

radioactivealchemist — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:42:16 +1000

Dvorak all the way, at least on computers & Alphasmarts. I have yet to acquire a Dvorak-layout typewriter. I switched to Dvorak in the last week of October 2006. Yes, that's right, a mere week before my second time doing NaNo! But I made it anyway, and in the years between I've more than doubled my top QWERTY speed. Plus, I can touch-type in Dvorak.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

radioactivealchemist — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:43:43 +1000

You don't need a special keyboard for Dvorak. Mac and Windows both support the Dvorak layout, and it's really easy to change between them. Besides, I find that not changing the keycaps from QWERTY is better, because it forces you to learn to touch-type.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

ElizaWyatt — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:13:28 +1000

I switched from qwerty to dvorak three years ago... unfortunately, now I hunt and peck at the qwerty keyboard. But it's a huge incentive to keep my family off my machines. :D

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

teh603 — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:21:50 +1000

Guess I'm the only one who learned how to touch-type by just getting out there and typing instead of using the whole "blank caps" method? Then again, I was hunting-and-pecking around 60 WPM, so by the time I started looking away from the keyboard I'd already developed a ton of muscle memory.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Generalist — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:45:02 +1000

QWERTY, since I already know it. When my speed gets to a certain point, I start having problems with the tendons. Typing faster would not help things. Besides, when I'm typing, I'm also editing. That slows things down further, even if I'm typing from hand written notes.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Rickn99 — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:05:08 +1000

QWERTY. I switched to Dvorak three years back for writing and it worked pretty well once I got the hang of it. Every other program, though, was a problem. I have lots of games and other software, so I was either continually switching keyboard layouts in Windows or remapping keys in individual programs. And remembering when I needed to do which. The speed I picked up writing wasn't worth slowing everything else down.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

busy91 — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 01:36:03 +1000

Qwerty I've been typing on Qwerty for 32 years, I'm not about to switch.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Lydia_Ember — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:05:11 +1000

qwerty. I've already tolerated having my OS changed on me (I'm kinda territorial about it). If someone forced me to use Dvorak, Imma hurt someone. idc if it's faster, why should I care if I only do my editing on the computer, anyway?

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

ChampWinters — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:40:10 +1000

QWERTY, all the way. It's what I learned to type with and I just could not write without using it. As a side note, there is a street by my house called Dvorak.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

salambander — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:42:59 +1000

I am considering Dvorak, although at some point I seem to have deleted the language bar, and I can't get it back. So... This will be interesting. :D Maybe I should do some practise sprints to get used to this layout...

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

salambander — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:50:48 +1000

An hour later... I can see how it might help, but since I can already touch-type quite quickly on a Qwerty keyboard and don't want to suffer through any more endless typing drills than I need to, I think I'll pass on the Dvorak, thanks.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

LizStaley — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:15:09 +1000

I went to Dvorak after my first year of NaNo and will never go back. If I could use it at work, I would. I used to have arm pain from my fingertips to my elbows typing in QWERTY. Once I switched, the pain went away and has never come back. Plus I'm faster, and I can actually touch-type with Dvorak!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

cosmam — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 03:57:26 +1000

One of the big benefits to Dvorak, and why I switched, is actually for wrist/finger pain, not speed. Your fingers move around a lot less on Dvorak than they do in Qwerty. For an example, using this analysis tool, I found that, for my 2009 NaNo, my fingers moved 7.85 miles typing in Qwerty, but would have moved only 4.39 miles typing in Dvorak.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Generalist — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 05:26:04 +1000

That might be worth considering. It would take a while to get up to speed though. I'd also have to see how much of the wear and tear is due to keyboard movement and how much is due to how the arms are held.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

rainstorm. — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 12:11:23 +1000

Whoa, I'd never be able to use Dvorak because I've been typing with Qwerty since I've been three or four, and I'm so used to it. Plus I type at a moderate speed despite the fact that I don't touch type... well, I don't look at the keys when I type but I don't put my hands in the same places as you're supposed to when you touch type. But I have Qwerty keyboard burned into my memory. O__o

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

pearannoyed — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:35:17 +1000

For anyone interested, here are links to a couple of blog posts by Holly Lisle. She's a professional, multi-published author who had to switch to Dvorak to save her career. First Post - http://hollylisle.com/with-fingers-struck-dumb/ Second Post - http://hollylisle.com/dvorak-a-me-three-months-later/

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

nikislash — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:12:04 +1000

I use Dvorak personally. When I was first learning I switched the keys around but once I learnt to touch type I didn't need them now my keyboard still physically looks qwerty but types dvorak. I also use my mouse on the left, have the buttons switched and my scroll wheel goes opposite to normal. Basically anyone who sits at my work computer is screwed if they want to do anything. I find Dvorak really nice because it flows nicely. You end up using both hands evenly and you don't have to stretch to reach difficult key combos as much.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Bookety — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:06:36 +1000

I'll stick with QWERTY. I'm a traditionalist, me...

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Mistress Aeryn — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:30:28 +1000

QWERTY here. I'm not entirely sure I want to switch keyboard layouts so close to NaNo.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

radioactivealchemist — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 09:26:07 +1000

I don't know about anyone else here, but I found it the best time. :-D When I made the switch, I did it the last week of October right before starting my second NaNo.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Mellybeans0919 — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:17:25 +1000

I have no idea what dvorak even is! haha

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Leviathan — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:06:54 +1000

I switched to Dvorak very close to the July Camp NaNo this year. Camp NaNo didn't go well for me. I had very little in the way of planning for the month and every time I got an idea and wanted to type it out I was slow and got frustrated. After failing both sessions of NaNo, I can now touch type Dvorak (I couldn't touch type QWERTY when I switched over). I do really like knowing where the keys are by touch alone (I never moved the keys on my keyboards around), and I love that when other people try to use my computers they get hopelessly lost. In conclusion, I love Dvorak and can't wait to type my first NaNo with it.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

theoretical_cat — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:15:36 +1000

Every time I see one of these threads, I consider changing, but since I type ~40 wpm on average with QWERTY (60 wpm when I'm just copying pre-written stuff and don't have to think of what to write next), I just don't see any advantage to changing. Sure, I could type faster, but I already type faster than most people I know IRL (the sole exception is this one guy who was in my keyboarding class in middle school; he was typing around 100 wpm and basically breaking the speed test software that we used in that class--it kept returning negative numbers).

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

SorrowLupe — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:35 +1000

Wow!! So many responses, lol. I'm 93wpm on QWERTY, and 50wpm on DVORAK.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

cosmam — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:53:01 +1000

I don't put my hands in the right place for Qwerty, either. Strangely, it made it easier to switch to Dvorak. I set myself up typing correctly (as in, fingers on the home row and in the right spots) on Dvorak. If I put my fingers in the right spots, my mind goes "Dvorak!", and if I don't, I can still type fairly well in Qwerty.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Bee82 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 01:03:01 +1000

Qwerty for me for this year again. I keep promising I'll look into Dvorak but atm I'm on a shared laptop and I think my father might just kill me if I changed his keyboard layout.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

mbrsart — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:29:43 +1000

I'm one that has to be fluent in both layouts; my work computer is a qwerty, and it's a big hassle to get it changed. With this job, I have to be a fairly quick typist, and I can easily see the superiority of the Dvorak layout. It's a lot more comfy, and a lot more natural than QWERTY. It keeps my tendons feeling nice and had boosted my typing speed by a huge factor.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

zenlc — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:34:05 +1000

I type quite a lot in my job and there is no reason to not switch other than the learning curve scares me. I learned to touch-type QWERTY in junior high, more than 30 years ago. For those of you that have switched and can now touch type Dvorak, how did you learn and how long did it take?

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

cosmam — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:40:27 +1000

I learned where the keys were with a tutorial program on Ubuntu, but there was an internet based one that helped as well (linked here). After I got the basic letter arrangements down, it was all rote practice. I didn't switch as fully as I should have, and let myself back slide into Qwerty too much. It took me a few months of that off-and-on to finally bite the bullet and just SWITCH. I was horribly slow, but I got much faster as time went on. Really, I didn't start learning until after NaNo last year. Even with the off and on, and not trying to learn Dvorak at all for many months, I am as fast now in Dvorak as I was in Qwerty, and it feels SO much better.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

cosmam — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:41:17 +1000

Wow, forgot to fill in the link! This time for real: Dvorak Typing Tutor

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

FairytaleHero — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:42:12 +1000

I've used Qwerty for pretty much my whole life, but I'm considering changing to Dvorak. Maybe I'll try and change now, and I can learn to type in it during NaNo. This could either go very well or very badly...

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

seajewel — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:49:42 +1000

I'm glad the thread reminded me of this. I'm not going to try to switch now, but maybe after NaNo I'll give it a go. I type a lot for work and if it's going to be easier on my fingers/wrist then I'm interested.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Eremancer — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:46:55 +1000

Neither! I use Colemak, having switched in the second week of NaNoWriMo last year (I agree with some comments above -- switching during NaNo really gives you motivation to practice the new layout). For all of you who have never heard of Colemak, it was designed fairly recently to be as efficient or more so as Dvorak without moving as many keys from their Qwerty positions (and thus, it is easier to learn than Dvorak). It doesn't take as long to learn as you would think -- I started at about 90 wpm on Qwerty, and I was back up to 70 or 80 wpm within a week and a half of using Colemak. By now, I average about 105 wpm, and my fingers don't have to move nearly as much as they did on Qwerty. I don't regret switching at all, and highly recommended it to anyone who wants to try. One note: Colemak recommends remapping Caps Lock to Backspace -- I agree that Caps Lock is a useless key, but I suggest remapping it to Control instead.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

dancer_kirsten — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:20:07 +1000

QWERTY. I never learnt how to type properly and I use two fingers only (right hand index and middle finger), but I can type without looking at the keys (someone once referred to my hand as a spider because it just flits across the keys). I'd hate to have to learn it all over again.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

FairytaleHero — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:06:43 +1000

I have just changed my keyboard to Dvorak!! It took me about five minutes to type that sentence but I can already see how in the long run it would be a lot quicker than Qwerty. I think doing NaNo will definitely help me learn how to type faster with it. :-) Yaaaaay.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

hadaad — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:54:29 +1000

So, because I can never leave anything alone, I'm going to learn Dvorak and use it for NaNo. Thanks a lot, guys!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Thriobologist — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:36:04 +1000

I switched to Colemak a few days ago and I'll be using NaNo as the reason to learn to touch type using it. Those first few days are going to be painful, but I'l just keep on typing with my eyes glued to the on screen keyboard.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

radioactivealchemist — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:56:21 +1000

My brother uses Colemak. We are a divided household.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

hadaad — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:29:05 +1000

Sweet Merciful Paisley, what an adjustment! I know where the keys are, after a fashion, and I can touch-type, but it's like when I tried to learn to write with my right hand. Slow and painful! Hopefully by the time November rolls around, I'll be better at this! Mavis Beacon teaches typing.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

TotalNerd — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:45:32 +1000

I'm a Qwerty fan. Just look at a Qwerty keyboard and tell me it isn't beautiful. QWERTYUIOP ASDFGHJKL ZXCVBNM Not to mention all of those gorgeous punctuation marks that form a pretty border around the letters.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Bee82 — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:44:33 +1000

Update: Have now procured a Dvorak keyboard well it was a former Qwerty now rearranged..... I'll give Dvorak a go in December but not got enough of a chance to learn while bouncing between multiple computers.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

zenlc — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 02:51:44 +1000

OK. here is me typing using Dvorak. Ouch!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

FairytaleHero — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:14:27 +1000

I've been using Dvorak for three days now. I did have stickers on the keys but I took them off because I kept looking at the keyboard, and I want to learn to properly touch-type, because I never could with Qwerty. I know where all the keys are now, although I do get confused between some keys sometimes. It's just so slow!! I hope I get a bit faster by NaNo.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

boysloveboys — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 04:43:51 +1000

I would love to switch to Dvorak but I'm just too lazy to try it out! Haha. I also have to use computers outside my own, and I feel like I'd just get utterly confused having to switch back and forth. Definitely not going to do it right before NaNo, but maybe one day I'll give it a go. Especially since I never learned to type properly in QWERTY, and only can max out my WPM at 95 with two-three fingers on each hand.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

boysloveboys — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 04:57:46 +1000

Well, after just giving it a go (with a little help from Mac's keyboard viewer and Dvorak/Qwerty switched in), I feel like a total noob. But I think it's doable. I can't wait to give it a real effort. XD;

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

zenlc — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:43:27 +1000

Another typing tutor I found that I like: http://learn.dvorak.nl/?lesson=1

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

PlanNine — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:01:42 +1000

QWERTY. My speed is good on it already (I doubt I'd accomplish more on Dvorak) and the work computers have QWERTY, so I don't want to go back and forth between two different ones.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Nakor — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:31:28 +1000

I've tried Dvorak, it actually messed up my right ulnar nerve pretty bad. Turns out all the extra usage of the right pinky on the Dvorak layout was not a good thing for me. That said, keep in mind that I'm probably just the exception that proves the rule, lol. Anyway, I'm back to QWERTY, and sometimes dictating if my wrists are off on a given day.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Aeiouna — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 19:20:06 +1000

Using that tool with both my 2009 and 2010 NaNo novels, it said I should be using Colemak. Interesting.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

FairytaleHero — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 21:19:02 +1000

I went back to Qwerty briefly yesterday because I was talking on skype and typing slow was so frustrating when I was trying to talk to someone. But I'm back in Dvorak now. I probably won't type exclusively in Dvorak throughout November because it'll be too slow and I'll get frustrated, but I'll probably use it for a couple of hours a day. I can't wait until I can type fast with Dvorak...

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

deasoline — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:37:54 +1000

I use Qwerty on both my laptop and smartphone c:

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

scaramouche — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 23:31:48 +1000

Dvorak all the time, even at work. It cured my budding RSI some years ago.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

SilveryBeing — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 05:07:13 +1000

Qwerty. I've never used any other layout and I've never had an issue.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Kamitsuki — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 17:48:32 +1000

I'm another one of those who grew up on QWERTY and has no incentive to change. I hear the main reason is to ward off hand and wrist conditions, but I've been typing for twenty years now, daily for at least ten or fifteen, and I feel if there were problems to be had from my technique I'd be seeing evidence of them already. I have had hand and wrist pain related to computer operation, but it's always been incredibly repetitive action causing it - constant pressing of arrow keys or using mouse scroll wheels to go through uni lecture notes and so on - and I feel I could do that overdoing the pressing of keys in any configuration. Loads of my friends have switched from QWERTY though. I'm actually surprised to see so many putting their hand up for both layouts.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

akiwiguy — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:07:29 +1000

Neither. AZERTY FTW. Switched to it about 6 months ago, and I'm faster on it than I have been on QWERTY. The placing of A, Z, Q and W feels more natural, M is in an epic place which is nicer to reach to, and the punctuation placing is freaking epic. And it scares people.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

madenergy — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:11:30 +1000

It was probably a stupid move to transition to Dvorak so close to NaNoWriMo but after reading a bunch of literature after reading this thread last night I went ahead and altered my keyboard. I figure I'll know how to type once it's all over.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

rparker — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:49:25 +1000

I've been using Dvorak for 5 years and I'll NEVER go back. Both Windows and OSX have built-in support for Dvorak and there is absolutely no need to replace/relabel whichever standard QWERTY keyboard you were using previously... if you're a competent typist, you don't need to look at the keys with either QWERTY or Dvorak. The keyboard should be inside your head and you shouldn't be looking at the keys anyway :) (OK, I'll admit that I had a really strict QWERTY typing teacher at a young age...) I was a reasonably fast typist (about 80 wpm) pre-Dvorak. I haven't tested myself recently, but I'm definitely faster with Dvorak.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

fengor — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:51:54 +1000

i'll stick with QWERTY. People have tried to convince me to give DVORAK or NEO2 a try but i am used to QWERTY so i'll stick with it. hey people are confused enough already that i dont use QWERTZ like everyone else around here ;)

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

dorktaped — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:10:06 +1000

I switched a week ago and I'm already back up to 25 WPM. I figured NaNo would help push me along and not give up! I was only typing about 50 WPM on QWERTY anyway.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

MiriStorm — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:01:56 +1000

I was doing the advanced hunt and peck with Qwerty at 40-45 wpm but not actually touch typing faster than 30 wpm. I switched to Dvorak at the end of September and am consistently around 35 now touch typing. I'm hoping to hit 50 by the end of November through sheer typing volume.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

silvercat17 — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:37:24 +1000

Dvorak, but I'm not very fast. I switched about six months ago and haven't kept up on practicing. F, B, K, and G kill my speed. It's bad because I used to be able to hit 70 wpm on Qwerty.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

David John Wellman — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:03:23 +1000

Dvorak, baby!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

hadaad — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:18:07 +1000

So, my first session with Dvorak is done and I am very happy with the results. Sure, Mavis Beacon would probably not approve -- I made a lot of typos -- but I made it through 1535 words in an hour and I didn't have to think too hard about any keys other than j, k, x, and l. It's feeling more and more natural literally each time I sit down to type. Go go, mighty Dvorak!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

mbrsart — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:57:19 +1000

I got my hands on a typing tutor called Stamina. Over Christmas Break one year I decided that I would type only in Dvorak, and I took to it very quickly.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Siffleuse — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 03:13:51 +1000

I feel like weird for not knowing about DVORAK before I landed on this post haha. But... I kept my computer from France, so it will be AZERTY for me. Since a lot of my characters have "é" "ç" "ï", etc, in their names, it will definitely help!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

LadyAmethyst — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 04:26:44 +1000

Dvorak on my laptop, Qwerty anywhere else. I switched a few years ago and I love it!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

QuantumSunshine — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:39:10 +1000

I think I'm just gonna stick with qwerty. Since I started college I regularly have to use 3 different computers. 2 of which are school computers that I can't personalize the keyboard settings on. If I only ever used dvorak computers that would be another story, cause I might actually try it.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

DimiTheDominator — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:24:52 +1000

Qwerty. I just tried dvorak and it was wtf.... but it looked cool!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

fernashes — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:34:44 +1000

QWERTY, though I've always been curious about trying Dvorak.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Nathalia — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:03:55 +1000

QWERTZ, the German version of QWERTY

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Bovver — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:30:28 +1000

My boyfriend and I had a HUGE debate last night. He was watching me type my NaNo and noticed that I'm not much of a touch typist. Sure, my fingers know where to go and if you blindfolded me, I'd know what was up, but he said that most of the time I'm looking at my fingers. He said I should learn how to touch type. I said that what I do works best for me, and that I would probably be more inefficient if I tried to touch type. This sparked the debate of why are we taught to touch type in school, when everyone is so different, and we often end up typing the way that works best for us? In the end, he said that touch typing is taught in order to be the fastest, most effective typist. I counter-argued that in that case, we should all be typing on Dvoraks if this is only about typing faster and more effectively. He then thought that was dumb and no one uses Dvoraks. I then proceeded to argue so vehemently FOR the Dvorak (which, by the way, I have never used before) that I am actually so interested in trying it out! I've done some research on it now, and though I likely won't try a Dvorak during NaNo, I'm definitely up for the challenge in December!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

zenlc — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:34:50 +1000

I did the same thing last week... I'm getting better with Dvorak but still can't use it all day.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

shana — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 05:36:52 +1000

Dvorak. I switched a few years ago. I can still switch back to Qwerty when I need to (when using other people's computers that aren't set up to easily switch to Dvorak), but I use Dvorak for all of my typing on my personal and work computer. I have it set up so that it can easily switch between keyboard languages with a keyboard shortcut because of IT people needing access to my work computer and a husband at home who doesn't want to switch to Dvorak. But it's much, much better on my wrists and causes less pain while I'm on the computer all day.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Espronceda — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:21:58 +1000

Dvorak! I switched last year, and love it. Also, I switched the keys on my keyboard to Dvorak, and seeing people sit down and try to type is hilarious; a lot of my friends can't touch type Qwerty when I switch the keyboard back for them. Luckily all the public computers I use are easily switched to Dvorak. I've never had finger pain, but both my mom and grandma have arthritis issues, so hopefully Dvorak will be semi-preventative.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

AnarchisThinker — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:02:34 +1000

Qwerty, mostly due to convenience. XD

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:45:12 +1000

I did something similar learning QWERTY. You can get stickers to make your keyboard Dvorak.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:46:46 +1000

I'm learning it right now. FML.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:51:48 +1000

same here... I just finished learning Dvorak though. :(

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:01:52 +1000

A keyboard analysis I did said Colemak would be best but I don't want to switch after learning Dvorak!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:10:12 +1000

I just decided to switch today. Super slow but at least I will know it by December! And yes, I might be slightly mental.....

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

jackow — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:45:08 +1000

I just switched to Dvorak today, and I won't pretend it doesn't feel weird. ATM I'm slow as hell, but I'm ahead of the 1667 curve, and I'll use that to my advantage. Ditto what stillalive said.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

hadaad — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 01:12:58 +1000

I'm still keeping up. I got a Dvorak keyboard in the mail yesterday and I'm still kinda geeking out about it. I'm up to about 33 words per minute, which is way slower than I was with QWERTY, but it's getting better.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 07:45:05 +1000

yay! I got to 25k by day 2 so I have time to spare to learn Dvorak, I think. I'm up to 20 words per minute and improving all the time. I was at 13 yesterday.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

jackow — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 07:59:36 +1000

25k in two days? Damn, you're good.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:39:22 +1000

I'm a rebel, so technically I only did 11k in 2 days. ;)

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

zenlc — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:58:07 +1000

I can't switch to Dvorak 100% yet - it's just too much of a speed hit, but I am using it maybe 50% of my work day and I'm getting faster.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Kalokairi — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:04:52 +1000

I've already problems with the QUERTY keyboard on by Dad's notebook (I've been using QUERTZ for more than 10 years and I learned to touch-type in middle school. I used to be the fastest typer in my class and I usually type without looking anywhere near the keyboard), switching to DVORAK sound like a veritable nightmare to me *lol*. When I accidently switch my own keyboard to QUERTY, which happens regularly, it already stresses me out. I suppose though that another problem would be that the DVORAK system was composed with American English in mind. If you're doing most of your writing in German, the layout probably wouldn't be nearly as convenient (I mean, the differences between QUERTY and QUERTZ are there for a reason) and for Romance and Slavonic languages things would have to be different again.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

jackow — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 02:02:39 +1000

Gah, I can't do it. I'll have to learn another time. I'm going back to QWERTY.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 07:20:01 +1000

I'm still frustrated but my typing speed is up to 25 wpm. :) Forcing myself to only use Dvorak has been good for my character or morals or something I'm sure. I hope to be up to 50 wpm by Thanksgiving break so I can write without frustration.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 20:34:15 +1000

I switched again to Colemak today but it's actually going better than I expected. Day one and I'm already up to 20 wpms with it! I keep trying to do Dvorak and QWERTY stuff with it, but at least I can sort of communicate again. I'm also experiencing a lot less pain than I did with either of the other two.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

zenlc — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:09:13 +1000

OK, Colemak looks more logical and easier to learn than Dvorak. Will run through some lessons and try it out.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:41:20 +1000

yeah it actually gets better scores from rsi professionals than Dvorak! my hands feel so much better already.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:42:34 +1000

btw, I'm already up to 25-30 words on day 2! it's super encouraging.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

zenlc — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:20:35 +1000

Yeah, after spending a couple hours on the tutorials this morning I'm already faster on it than I was on Dvorak. Still not fast enough to NaNo on it full time, but I practice a few minutes every hour. I'll try to spend the entire work day in Colemak tomorrow and see how it goes.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:10:40 +1000

I can no longer type in QWERTY so it's a little bit frustrating to try to do nanowrimo. :(

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

aleiji — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:16:08 +1000

QWERTY for this kid. I touch type at around 100wpm and don't have any problems with it, so I've never felt any motivation to change. Dvorak looks cool, but I'm a creature of habit when it comes to things like this. QWERTY works for me.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Korivak — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:31:04 +1000

Good to see a fellow Colemak Wrimo! I've got a Colemak Mac that I do all my writing on, but can still do QWERTY at speed (I've never been a particularly fast typist, but typing Colemak does make me happier).

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Korivak — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:34:18 +1000

I wish you the best of luck. I did QWERTY by day, Colemak by night during NaNoWriMo a few years ago. Now I can do both equally well, but prefer Colemak for writing. You have to admire that home row though...even if your typing is weak, you can type most of the English language with only slight finger movement!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:19:46 +1000

how are you doing with the Colemak? I'm definitely getting faster, but I still make a lot of mistakes! it's really frustrating....

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Earthsick — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:44:11 +1000

QWERTZ German standard keyboard. I occasionally read about Dvorak in english speaking forums but this seems to be uncommon where I'm from. :')

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Kara-Blakely — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:29:12 +1000

Dvorak... Switched in August, loving that I can write for a half an hour, constant, and only ache enough to warrant a couple minutes break. :) Qwerty, the same move would have had me aching enough to not type for another half hour.. Or only a little, and severely broken up.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

zenlc — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:39:02 +1000

I'm getting there but still too slow to use all the time. I'm trying to use Colemak through my work day off and on but I'm having some hand pain from fighting more than 30 years of muscle memory. I will say, though, that I'm faster at Colemak in just 2 days than I was in 10 days of practice at Dvorak.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

scammer — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:09:41 +1000

Qwerty, but I've always wanted to try out Dvorak. Maybe when I actually get my own computer.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Elaeri — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:12:36 +1000

I popped off all the keys on one of my spare keyboards a while back and arranged them for dvorak. I'm having loads of fun learning it too! However, typing 100+ wpm on qwerty and not having to think is really a lot more convenient for the time being. =P

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

shadowsowner888 — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:21:49 +1000

I think this is my second year at attempting Nanowrimo with Dvorak—I'm having trouble remembering when I actually switched over from Qwerty. XD But I have to say I adore it—mainly because I like to impress my friends by demonstrating how quickly I can type with this unusual keyboard layout, but also because it's hysterical when other people try to use my computer and can't type anything. Nobody I've met actually uses Dvorak. And I have to say, I'm not sure if Dvorak actually helps me type faster—but today I pulled off 900 words in 10 minutes, and although they were rambly, they were actually readable, and I'm proud of that fact. I blame it on Dvorak because I never pulled that off while I was using Qwerty. XD

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Deterre — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:18:11 +1000

I use Qwerty, but I've customised it to include German characters and the long dash –. I've never learnt to touch type, probably because when I started using the internet at nine, I just... typed. They taught it to us in Year 7, but I didn't pay much attention. D: My hands move to the letter I'm typing, but I remember where all the letters are? My WPM is something like 50, though. Dvorak sounds interesting, but I can't get keyboard stickers right now, so I'll stick with Qwerty.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

dmcconkey — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:42:37 +1000

I've used Dvorak for about 10 years because my education is in music and I injured my hands while in school. While I certainly believe Dvorak is less painful than Qwerty, it's only less so. This year, I'm Nanoing using Dragon Naturally Speaking. That has its own consequences and my voice has been raw all November.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:29:21 +1000

I'm up to 45-50 words with about 98% accuracy, but I don't leave typos when I write, so in reality I'm probably a solid 40-45 wpm. :D finally feeling more okay with my writing speed.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Anne_Lyle — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:55:30 +1000

Dvorak all the way - I switched in July 2007, just before my 2nd Nano, and haven't looked back. I can touch type in Dvorak, but now I have to hunt and peck if I use Qwerty. Thank goodness the iPad external keyboard driver supports it, or I'd be screwed...

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

MaddsWasHere — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 12:43:21 +1000

Wow! After I saw this thread I decided to switch!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

auramaster — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 12:25:27 +1000

Confirming the greatness of Dvorak, switched over in early June and by the end of the month could type at a reasonable (~40 wpm) speed. Checked my typing speed a few minutes ago and it's faster then I ever was with Qwerty (72 wpm compared to 63 with Qwerty non-touch type), plus my hands have never hurt from typing a lot :) Definitely worth switching from Qwerty. Plus as shadowsowner pointed out, having others get baffled when they can't type anything, then taking the keyboard from them and typing perfectly is hilarious :) Although I set a keyboard shortcut to switch back to Qwerty if anyone else uses my laptop, not sure if you can do that with Windows (As a Linux Mint user, I haven't tried it).

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

mbrsart — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:16:28 +1000

It's pretty easy to set the shortcut fire windows. When you add the layout, it automatically signs ctrl + shift as the switcher.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Ramzuiv — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:26:03 +1000

I have some knowledge of how to type in Dvorak, but not enough. I think I might try typing "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" in Dvorak a few times, just so that my muscles know every key.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Kiwi-kauri-kid — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:44:49 +1000

I use QWERTY most of the time. Tried to convert to Dvorak late laste year/early this year, but that laptop went and died on me, so now I'm switching between something like three or four different computers, none of which actually belong to me, soooo... However, when I get a new laptop (if ever ffff) then I'm going to start off with Dvorak straight away. Need a challenge anyway lol

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

DanielJPorter — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:02:55 +1000

Considering my top QUERTY speed is already upward 100-120, I can't imagine changing now would do anything but totally freak me out lol.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:00:22 +1000

it can actually reduce pain, effort, and risk of repetitive strain injuries. It does freak you out though!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

PeverellSister — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:29:38 +1000

I'm sorry for the strange question, but I've never heard of the Dvorak keyboard before. Why is it called that? There are no letters that spell out the word Dvorak, so is it named after someone? A company?

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

radioactivealchemist — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:21:10 +1000

It's named after its creator, August Dvorak.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Laura E. Andrews — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:56:35 +1000

I'd never even heard of the Dvorak method. But... because I'm a creature of habit (or lazy, whichever you like to call it), and I rarely find my hands or fingers to be in pain from typing (unless I've got my wrists bent upwards on the edge of a table), I'm not going to change. Really, the Dvorak looks confusing :P And it took me enough frustration just to learn QWERTY that I don't want to go through all of that again :D

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

PeverellSister — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 07:16:39 +1000

Oh, thank you.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:25:50 +1000

oh man. I somehow managed to finish NaNo this year with Colemak. I DON'T recommend starting to learn any later than like October 24th, though! You might forget how to type in QWERTY like I did. =/ And then you would be screwed. I think I'm a pretty fast typist now, though. :) And next year I should be just fine.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:28:54 +1000

just tested... I'm up to about 60wpm after starting Colemak about two weeks ago. :) Yay!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

zenlc — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 02:07:43 +1000

I was switching back and forth for a long time but just last week something clicked and I got better with Colemak and couldn't use QWERTY anymore. I'm still not as fast as QWERTY but I'm getting better.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Tolaura Bookchild — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 07:39:46 +1000

anybody know how to switch to Colemak on Vista? It's not a colemak keyboard regular qwerty but I'd like to be able to swap out the letters.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:08:41 +1000

You have to download it: http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=Download And in order to switch caps lock and backspace you'll need to download a program like sharpkeys.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

BloodRoseAngel — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 02:35:07 +1000

I've never even heard of Dvorak. o_o I'm a 72wpm typist on Qwerty so I guess I'm doing OK with it. Is Dvorak meant to be easier?

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 03:38:26 +1000

Dvorak is meant to be easier, faster, and more comfortable. I think most people switch to it so that they can alleviate hand and wrist pain. If you're already a fast QWERTY typist I would highly recommend Colemak. It's WAY faster to learn, and it's actually a little better for your hands! Plus about half the letters and almost all the punctuation stays where it is. :D I tried to learn Dvorak first and it was MISERABLE and actually a little more painful for me. However, Colemak was very comfortable right from the start.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

opheliac — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 07:33:08 +1000

Same here. I've never learned to "properly type"--I type with two fingers (mostly--I have actually seen "how to type"). This year, my cat sat on my lap/arms for a lot of NaNo (I like having my netbook on my lap), and I could see the screen of my netbook, but not my keyboard ... and I found myself typing anyway, and mostly getting it right. I tried learning Dvorak a while back, but gave it up when I changed computers, because I just haven't worked out how to make my computer do it ... I will, though ...

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

opheliac — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:21:05 +1000

It suggested Aransito for me (besides, of course, my own personal layout). Are these alternate layouts as available as Dvorak?

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 04:35:08 +1000

I don't know about Aransito (I use Colemak) but I know that Colemak has programs where you can just download a program and run it without installing anything! That would let you use Colemak wherever you are. :) I imagine there might be something like that with Aransito. I'm not really sure what you mean by "available" though.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

bobo_the_bard — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 04:30:16 +1000

I just made the switch. Now that NaNo is over, I have time to mess about for a bit to see if I like it. ...It's not so bad...but sooooooo painfully slow!

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

mbrsart — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 11:55:25 +1000

You'll see your speed shoot up as you learn the locations of the letters. I think you might find it to be quite comfortable.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

bobo_the_bard — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:34:46 +1000

Oh, it's insanely comfortable! Even after fifteen minutes of different styles, I can tell the difference. Much less impact on my hands! I've memorized the layout now, but when it comes to actual words, it still takes me forever, because unlike with QWERTY, where muscle memory knows the 'shape' of the word, with Dvorak, I am still picking them out one letter at a time, because I have not yet learned the shape of words. ...My QWERTY speed is about 80 wpm. I have dropped to...12 wpm with Dvorak XD

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

mbrsart — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:44:29 +1000

The weird shapes for Dvorak are much better then qwerty, and I found them much easier to learn. I forced my change over Christmas break 09, and it took a week to get to 60 wpm

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

stillalive — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:44:19 +1000

It gets easier!!! I've been using Colemak since the first week of November or so and it's way better by now! :D

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

zenlc — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 02:39:08 +1000

I'm finally back up to 30 wpm in Colemak and starting to learn those shapes. Much better and I can see it will be faster...eventually. More than 30 years' muscle memory is tough to overcome.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Septimus Pfluger — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:58:29 +1000

I've thought about using DVORAK, but if I used it, there would be several unhappy people at my house. So I guess I'll stick with QWERTY for a while.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Tetrinity — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:45:47 +1000

This thread inspired me to pick up Colemak, since I'd been debating the switch for a while. I'm currently running through some typing lessons I found on the Colemak site and I'm at the point of getting 97% accuracy across the home row after a day. Still, it's just sooooo slooowwwww... I get 90wpm sustained and 100wpm burst on QWERTY, but on Colemak home row? 20wpm at best. XD

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Tetrinity — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:40:48 +1000

And now I have at least covered the entire keyboard... still very slow to say the least, but this is being typed in Colemak. I was hitting 25wpm in the typing tests, but I am definitely much slower when typing something that I thought of myself. I may need to practice a little more before making the change permanent. <_<

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

jackow — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:58:50 +1000

I tried switching to Dvorak last November, but never followed through. When the event was done, I tried again, and now I use Dvorak for everything. It's a blessing. XD

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

xxthefanxx — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:24:37 +1000

I might be bumping this thread up to far, I really don't know. Anyways, thanks to this thread, I decided to learn colemak. As of yesterday, I turned off QWERTY officially, and I also remapped caps lock to backspace. I also when I tried to turn to QWERTY found it insanely confusing. I used several trainers, before I discovered the best one for me, and thanks to it I now almost average 40 wpm, and 56 wpm on the home row. This statistic is after two weeks, and beforehand, I didn't know how to properly touch type. It's been amazing going on this journey, and I doh't regret the initial frustration.

Re: Dvorak or Qwerty?

Beatrix — Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:08 +1000

QWERTY. My writing speed tends to average around 100wpm, so to me, there's no real point in switching keyboard layouts. My speed isn't too much of a problem as is :)