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   🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱 (freemo@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 09:23:14 JST 🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱

   Should I finally switch to a Dvorak layout?

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     NotHelpfulUntilIAm🥤 🌛 🗄️ (admitswrongifproven@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 09:36:48 JST NotHelpfulUntilIAm🥤 🌛 🗄️

     in reply to

     @freemo Depends on how much stress you are willing to go through to find out if claims are warranted.
     Tell me the result, in any case!

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     Free Peoples Free Press (freepeoplesfreepress@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 09:36:49 JST Free Peoples Free Press

     in reply to

     @freemo

     Dear Dr. Freemo: I believe that you should carefully consider your options.

     Sincerely, Monica Andrews, Editor-in-chief, #FreePeoplesfreepress News

     Is Dvorak actually better than QWERTY?

     Because the Dvorak layout is not widely used, the sample size of typists to use it is too small to make a true determination of the layout is intrinsically faster than the QWERTY layout, but there is early evidence that shows that it Dvorak (and Colemak) typists tend to be more accurate.

     https://www.daskeyboard.com/blog/qwerty-vs-dvorak-vs-colemak-keyboard-layouts/#:~:text=Because%20the%20Dvorak%20layout%20is,tend%20to%20be%20more%20accurate.

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     🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱 (freemo@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 09:38:28 JST 🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱

     in reply to

     • Free Peoples Free Press

     @freepeoplesfreepress Dvorak consistently seems to hold world record status too

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     Free Peoples Free Press (freepeoplesfreepress@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 09:44:51 JST Free Peoples Free Press

     in reply to

     @freemo.

     Dear Dr. Freemo: I see great benefit in using the Dvorak layout, I guess it depends upon each individual person's individual preferences. You are a techie, more highly adaptable, I have greater difficult adapting.

     Sincerely, Monica Andrews, Editor-in-chief, #FreePeoplesfreepress News

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     🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱 (freemo@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 09:47:10 JST 🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱

     in reply to

     • Free Peoples Free Press

     @freepeoplesfreepress I think that would just mean me and you would be slower on dvorak at first bbut eventually would be better... ITs mostly a question of if its worth it. You might get a few % faster typing but you pay for it with being unable to type fast for months AND being crippled should you ever be traveling and need touse an ordinary keyboard, which now you will probably be worse at.

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     K‮ly‬e (khird@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 10:12:52 JST K‮ly‬e

     in reply to

     @freemo depends. There are certain times it can be an obstacle. For example, the undo/cut/copy/paste commands are now scattered across the keyboard. Some software that uses keys based on position rather than letter value (e.g. WASD keys if you're a gamer) works automatically, some needs to be configured, and some just leaves you stuck with unusable keybinds. Importantly, early in your boot process (BIOS password, disk encryption) you'll still have to type in QWERTY because the computer doesn't know anything about your keyboard settings until after you've decrypted that information.

     It will restrict your options for customising your keyboard, because many keycap sets have different profiles on a per-row basis, so keys that are in a different row between QWERTY and Dvorak will stick out. Obviously you'll touch-type most of the time, but sometimes you run into situations where you have one hand on the keyboard and one on the mouse, and you'll need to find a key with your left hand for which only your right hand has muscle memory.

     Also, if you swipe-type on your phone, some of Dvorak's strengths become weaknesses. Alternating fingers turns into a lot of back-and-forth. Concentrating heavily used keys onto the homerow means you have to be very precise, and even then there are a lot of ambiguous words. For example, swiping S-O-T could be:
     - soot
     - snot
     - snout
     - stout
     - shot
     - shoot
     - shout
     and that's if you aim perfectly. If you miss by one key and type S-E-T there's a whole different set of words. The poor autocorrect can only do so much for you.

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     🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱 (freemo@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 10:15:13 JST 🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱

     in reply to

     • K‮ly‬e

     @khird yea i figured some of these concerns,.. the bigger issue for me is once you learn dvorak anytime you are away from your home keyboard youll have to use qwerty and now likely going to make a lot of mistakes as you fight muscle memory... to me thats the biggest deterrant.

     I did see a cool keyboard once where the keys were little LCD screens so the key mappings would show up dynamically as the kayboard switches... cool idea but doesnt really fix the problem.

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     Free Peoples Free Press (freepeoplesfreepress@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 10:15:32 JST Free Peoples Free Press

     in reply to

     @freemo

     Dear Dr. Freemo: I agree that I could eventually learn Dvorak Layout, I believe that I will continue to use Qwerty Layout, I am comfortable with qwerty, IT tells me to not switch operating systems and subprograms of operating systems. I am now being tutored by IT, IT started me off learning storage device technology, my IT guy is teaching me hardware first. I am being tutored every 2 weeks, all hands on training, no book work until I am completely familiar with basic computer hardware. My IT guy says: "Familiarize and Memorize." After that will come the book work, my IT guy is a nice but hard nosed, no nonsense instructor, who yells at me when I get things wrong. Actually I learn much faster when teaching instructors yell at me. I asked this IT guy to really push me, which he agreed to do.

     When teachers yell at me, they help me to better focus on learning. I know that this must sound strange, it works.

     Sincerely, Monica Andrews, Editor-in-chief, #FreePeoplesfreepress News

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     🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱 (freemo@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 10:16:39 JST 🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱

     in reply to

     • Free Peoples Free Press

     @freepeoplesfreepress That sounds like a wonderfully valuable experience. Good luck..

     I agree, i too will not switch to Dvorak at this time.

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     🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱 (freemo@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 10:18:25 JST 🎓 Doc Freemo :jpf: 🇳🇱

     in reply to

     • K‮ly‬e

     @khird also thanks for the well thought out and helpful response. Much appreciated.

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     K‮ly‬e (khird@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 10:42:13 JST K‮ly‬e

     in reply to

     @freemo that's actually not often an issue unless you're in a tech-support role or something where you're working on lots of different people's computers every day. If it's a computer you use enough to have your own account on, you can save your preference for Dvorak there. Then it's just a case of building the muscle memory so you can touch type properly - the physical keys will say QWERTY but you'll type on them as if they were Dvorak.

     For background, I've typed exclusively Dvorak for essentially my entire adult life, but I never learned QWERTY properly to begin with - at my school, the accelerated program taught slideshow/spreadsheet skills instead of typing. I guess they assumed that we'd be bigshots and all have secretaries or something, but that was no longer true when I got to college, and, being the nerd I am, I decided to teach myself to touch-type Dvorak. My method was to have the keymap overlaid on the screen and not switch around my keycaps, so I wouldn't develop hunt-and-peck habits the way I had with QWERTY. First week I relied on the overlay, second week I used my memory and trial-and-error when I forgot, and then my third week was on this horrible ancient system where backspace cleared the whole damn line instead of the most recent character, so it was really punishing to make a mistake.

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     strawd (strawd@qoto.org)'s status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 11:25:34 JST strawd

     in reply to

     @freemo I went with Colemak after trying Dvorak for a little bit. I found Colemak to be a good compromise of keeping your shortcuts working / not changing too much, while also moving common stuff to the home row. No regrets!

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     ampbenzscientist@qoto.org's status on Saturday, 11-Nov-2023 13:39:54 JST AmpBenzScientist

     in reply to

     @freemo You should get a nuclear launch key and lock for caps lock. Just remember that they asked for it.

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     Erik Haugen (ech@qoto.org)'s status on Sunday, 12-Nov-2023 09:55:12 JST Erik Haugen

     in reply to

     @freemo how do you chose between dvorak, colemak, hands down, etc?