Evolved Keyboard Layout User Experiences

[lost_file]

Hey there,

I've been interested in evolved keyboard layouts for about 2 years now, looking back every now and then to see what the latest and greatest layout is. I created a Windows klc file of MTGAP 3.5 (keyboard layout) and tried it out today for 30 minutes and surprisingly, I actually felt the difference from Dvorak. I've been using Dvorak for a year and type an average of 70wpm, with 90wpm being my fastest.

Some things I really don't like about Dvorak which some of you have heard many times so you can skip this:
Awkward positioning of L and F.
Right pinky (and sometimes ring finger too!) usage

Some thing I LOVE about Dvorak:
aoeui on left hand, ',. above on some hand.
TH digraph

MTGAP 3.5 basically satisfies all the things I love. aoeui in one "square" and punctuation are in sane places (not insane .

After typing for hours at a time I really start to feel the ache in my right pinky and ring fingers, which will be my motivation behind switching to MTGAP 3.5. Apparently there are more rolls, has greater alternation and same finger. Overall superior, from a mathematical perspective (and I rarely argue with science when there are numbers to prove it and source code to run the tests yourself).

I'm mainly interested in CarpalX fully-optimized and the MTGAP 3.5 layouts.

Has *anyone* been using these layouts for at least over a month or two? Share your experience! Please!

[Linkbane]

Everyone seems to dislike the 'L' placement besides me. I tend to alternate with my ring finger when typing normally, or pinkie when things are faster; it made sense to give the pinkie a single letter to focus on. Have to say I'm not a fan  of the 'p-e-o' sequence, typing 'people' is one of my least favorite things.

That being said, I type with my right hand off the board, I use my left thumb for space and alternate Shift properly. Also my fingers are very long, which would make things easier for me than most.

[hermes1908]

@lost-file

I am a dvorak user contemplating making a similar switch. There aren't too many active mtgap users, I would be interested in hearing your experience after a few years of usage (assuming you stuck with it).

[Snarfangel]

I used MTGAP as a starting point, but kept tweaking with online keyboard layout programs. Ended up with all of the vowels on the left, which helps with alternating hands. I did put the e under the left thumb like in the Maltron layout, and I prefer it there.

Only minor annoyance from an aesthetic standpoint is that left and right shift keys aren't symmetric, but couldn't find a symmetric way to improve on things. An extra inner row of keys might have helped.

I forced myself to touch-type with it, because I couldn't move the keys around, but printing the layout and putting it under my monitor helped for the first month.

It works well for me. Not sure if it would work very well on a staggered layout if modified, though.

I've attached what I've used for the past couple of years on my Kinesis Advantage2: