Author Topic: Thinking about Dvorak  (Read 30115 times)

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Offline Polymer

  • Posts: 1587
Re: Thinking about Dvorak
« Reply #100 on: Fri, 20 December 2019, 02:29:56 »
I do certainly want to get faster speeds. But WPM isn't my only goal. I am thinking about long term usage; having to use standard keyboards at work all the time. Prevention is better that cure. By that logic, Dvorak should be the way to go.
Having used Dvorak for the past couple of weeks, I do have to ask a question. Has anyone ever felt that QWERTY is more comfortable than Dvorak?
I do feel that for some movements, I find QWERTY much for free and comfortable; even if it is a little bit more effort.

Ok...if this is a legitimate question I'm going to be very honest..

You type way too slow to be worrying about this....you might be using a keyboard for a long time but so what?  You don't have enough repetitive motion in the speed that you type that it matters which layout you want to use...

Millions of people use a QWERTY keyboard today and a vast majority without any issues...If you're concerned about injury, get a keyboard and setup that is comfortable and also make sure you take sufficient breaks, etc. 

It doesn't matter what speed or comfort levels you have...you don't type fast enough for any of that to matter....

Now, if you're going to say you're planning to get 150WPM+ and dedicating yourself to getting that...go for it..but honestly, you haven't shown any dedication to that given your current speed so no reason to believe that will the the case going forward. 

Because like others...this is starting to feel like a troll..

Offline knightjp

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  • Posts: 204
Re: Thinking about Dvorak
« Reply #101 on: Sat, 21 December 2019, 13:54:31 »
I agree with rxc, and I think you should switch to Dvorak already.
I think I already stated that for more than a month now, I have been using Dvorak, cold turkey. I have been practicing whenever I get a chance on 10fastfingers.com and my speed is currently at 43 - 46 WPM. Hardly anything noteworthy. I certainly like Dvorak and I do prefer it over to the other alternative layouts. I was surprised at how quickly I picked up speed with Dvorak. It kinda felt as if I was using it all the time.

If it sounds like a troll or a waste of time, I do apologize. But to date no one has addressed a couple of statements I mentioned in my pervious post.

Having moved over I have noticed a few things.
  • I sort of feel that my fingers are getting a bit cramped of being on the home row so often. Maybe it is something just to get used to.
  • I kind of feel that my fingers move more freely to the QWERTY layout; albeit not as fluidly across the keys as with Dvorak. Again, this could just mean that I am not fully trained and ready with Dvorak just as yet.
  • I sometimes kind of type one handed, for instance whilst drinking a cup of coffee or choco. On Dvorak it isn't as easy because the layout is designed for hands alteration.

Am I the only one who has felt this?.. Is it just a common part of the experience of switching?..

Offline rxc92

  • Posts: 440
Re: Thinking about Dvorak
« Reply #102 on: Sat, 21 December 2019, 15:24:49 »
Typing one handed will be much more difficult with standard Dvorak of course, as you pointed out. 
I don't know why you'd want to move off the home row. Moving up and down constantly is detrimental for your wrists and hands. 
Second point, the reason your fingers move more 'freely' on QWERTY is because they're moving significantly further for words on average. I barely feel my hands are moving at all no matter how fast I'm typing on Dvorak, which is the point. None of the hand contortion necessary in QWERTY, much lower same-finger use, very very little hand movement necessary. 
 
Just take a look at a video of a Dvorak typist side-by-side with a QWERTY typist at the same speed; one of their hands will look like a pair of spiders, the other will stay nearly motionless. For me anyways, my hand only really moves away from default position when I need to hit backspace. I've mapped that to backslash to reduce hand movement as well.

Offline knightjp

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Re: Thinking about Dvorak
« Reply #103 on: Sun, 22 December 2019, 01:43:09 »
Typing one handed will be much more difficult with standard Dvorak of course, as you pointed out. 
I don't know why you'd want to move off the home row. Moving up and down constantly is detrimental for your wrists and hands. 
Second point, the reason your fingers move more 'freely' on QWERTY is because they're moving significantly further for words on average. I barely feel my hands are moving at all no matter how fast I'm typing on Dvorak, which is the point. None of the hand contortion necessary in QWERTY, much lower same-finger use, very very little hand movement necessary. 

Typing on one hand isn't really something that would make me decide to stick with one layout or another. I just notice that it is easier on QWERTY when I am working at the computer and drinking a cup of coffee at the same time. I do a fair bit of data entry at work.
For that kind of a job, filling out form online, etc., is a really easy with Dvorak. I do notice that my hands move less.

I agree with you on the finger travel. But I do have quite large hands and long, slim fingers and the constant curl of them being on the home row for most of the time, makes them feel a bit cramped. Its not uncomfortable, it is just something that I guess I would need to get used to. Perhaps I am just used to having my fingers move lot with QWERTY.

I am going to give Dvorak a serious go. I think I will come back to this topic after 2 months as an update on the progress.
« Last Edit: Mon, 23 December 2019, 14:55:59 by knightjp »

Offline Symbiote

  • Posts: 16
  • Location: Denmark
Re: Thinking about Dvorak
« Reply #104 on: Tue, 07 January 2020, 15:21:54 »
> constant curl

That could be an argument for a column-staggered keyboard (where the Dvorak E and T keys are slightly further away from the typist, and the A/S keys closer).

However, I've only recently started using one, so I can't yet give an informed opinion.  I used Dvorak for 15 years on basic curved keyboards (MS Natural etc).

Offline WestMountain

  • Posts: 4
Re: Thinking about Dvorak
« Reply #105 on: Mon, 13 September 2021, 11:57:17 »
I've been thinking of switching to Dvorak for quite a while though. I have been using QWERTY for a while now. I've noticed that for me, coming back to QWERTY is not that bad as I believe that the layout is so imprinted in my brain, my fingers already know where each letter is.
And I think that for those who choose to use an alternative layout and still keep the keys in the standard layout, this will be the case. The image of QWERTY is just imprinted in the brain because every time you look at your keyboard, that is what you see.

However I've noticed that I'm not making much improvement with QWERTY anymore. While others are getting over 70 WPM, I'm just barely scratching 35 WPM. Its slow. Too slow to be taken seriously.

I noticed that I was far more comfortable and a bit faster when using Dvorak. However I switched to QWERTY because I wanted to be able to type fast on anything without getting too hung up on layouts.

At first, you may notice a huge slowdown in your typing speed. This is perfectly normal, I had this when learning qwerty.

To get as fast as me it takes Years of practice . I practiced every day, for two hours straight, competing against other typists as well as doing exercises on websites.

That's probably why you would see over 1000 typing tests and at least 10 per day on my 10fastfingers typing profile.

Don't worry, you will get there soon. Have motivation and courage!
That is quite a motivation for me, thank you!