When I was a kid...

We used to refer to that as the "nine women" theory: nine women can make a baby in one month.

Tom

 

Ah, thanks :thumb:

 

Technically the goal of QWERTY was not to slow you down, but to avoid typebars hitting each other (slowing you down is an unwanted byproduct).

Dvorak is the other common layout. The main difference is that all vowels are on the left home row, and common consonants are on the right home row. It's not really rare, if you think about it.. it's built into whatever OS you're using right now, and most keyboards can be reconfigured by popping the keys off and moving them around (some stupid keyboard manufacturers key F and J differently, and you have to put them in sideways or trim the plastic).

I used it for about 5 years. The main thing about switching, ime, is that you can't go half hog. It's kind of like learning a language.. you have to do immersion. In fact I saw my hacked Dvorak board when we were cleaning the basement recently.. might be time to bring it back out. Dvorak was easier on the wrists, but it's mouse use that bothers me the most, and these days I use a lot more mouse than I used to.

ETA: Forgot to mention. If you use the computer every day, it takes about 2 weeks to get back to a moderate typing speed.

 

Yeah, that's it. Whether I'm convinced Dvorak is the better layout isn't the issue, it's having to switch back and forth. If I worked in the same office all the time, it might be worth the retraining. I suppose I could carry my own keyboard around....is Dvorak/Qwerty simply a setting that can be adjusted on most computers?

 

windows supports several dozen layouts. its a change in control panel.

 

I was a kid during the 1950s too, but have refused to grow-up. As good as things where then, I like today's toys, including the Prius, even more.

 

Aren't they about a thousand times more sophisticated? Used to be a slot car set was about the coolest thing a kid could have. Now we have racing simulations on home computers that would have been overkill for early space travel.