QWERTY vs Dvorak: Settled?
Turns out that the oft-quoted “market choosing an inferior technology” and “training trumping usability” story of the QWERTY keyboard versus the Dvorak keyboard layouts may not be as clear cut as some (including me) have thought.
This article points out some of the background research and it’s flaws… I guess it still isn’t clear which one is more efficient or even if that matters, given enough training.
Have you ever tried Dvorak?
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Thanks for posting the article, I have always been interested to see articles like abet QWERTY and Dvorak.
I think the only conclusion that the author came was to “try it yourself”. However, he unfortunately fell into the trap of “I got work to do” like many others who have posted their negative opinion after tried and gave up. (I don’t even consider the opinions of those who never tried count).
To put it bluntly, changing to Dvorak is a BIG thing, and it requires some investment. To expect to gain their full speed within a couple of weeks is simply wishful thinking.
I have been comparing notes with other Dvorak typers (and there is a yahoo group about alternative keyborad http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altkeyboards/). Basically the general pattern is that you will become extremely slow for a couple of weeks, and by the second month you start get much better and within half a year you will look back, try to type in QWERTY, and know by heart that it is just inferior. If you try to keep at QWERTY while learning Dvorak, things will only get slower.
Hope this helps. Cheers.