Ever wondered why the layout on your Keyboard had the alphabets QWERTY on the extreme left? Ever questioned why the keys are arranged in this manner? Most people would assume, as i did, that this layout was optimal to typing and the keys were arranged in this manner so that man could use this tool to the best of his ability. You couldn’t be further from the truth.
In 1872, Remington produced the first mechanical typewriter. With practise professional typists had begun to type so fast that the keys on the old machines were getting jammed. And so, in the late 1870’s
the “improved” Qwerty layout was designed to slow down typing, done with the specific purpose to stop those pesky keys from jamming. We’re still stuck with the same speed trap, 130 years later!!!
The hardware scenario 130 years later is very different. We don’t use typing machines, and dont even use electronic typewriters anymore. So why would we want to stick with a layout that was designed
specifically to slow down the speed with which you type? The main reason for this is habit. We’ve all been introduced to keyboards with QWERTY as the default layout and have never questioned it. However,
ladies and gentlemen, we are not without options.
Quality alternatives to the QWERTY layout include the DVORAK layout and the new XPeRT keyboard layout which was introduced in 2003.
The Dvorak keyboard layout was invented (by Dr Dvorak) in the 1930s.
His layout aimed to
(a) Reduce finger reach and strain by putting common letters on the home row,
(b) Avoid awkward use of key pairs (digraphs), to improve speed.
Though in principle this sounded good, since almost all letters moved from their familiar Qwerty locations, it was hard to transition to DVORAK. Dvorak is superior to Qwerty, and during the Second World
War, the US Navy conducted experiments to ascertain the same. They discovered that the Dvorak layout increased typing productivity so significantly, that the payback time to retrain a group of typists was
only ten days! But these designs were never successful in the marketplace.
However, end users (common folk like you and me) insist that relearning typing on the Dvorak layout may take closer to 3 weeks. Though a few enthusiasts use it today, it has not become the standard.
Many Dvorak advocates claim that the masses are stupid as, the DVORAK layout ensures over “twenty times less motion”. Its easy to see if one’s fingers move less, one can cover more area in the same time and thus type faster, much faster. Many personal computers come with software drivers that let the user switch back-and-forth between QWERTY and Dvorak mappings, so one does not have to buy any special hardware for the same. Due to lack of awareness and the lack of human willingness to stir from the norm, the DVORAK keyboard has few takers.
The XPeRT Keyboard layout prides itself on being Built for Speed and being an easier transition from QWERTY. The XPeRT website actually claims that Hunter keyboard users (those who hunt for leys with their eyes) can reach touch typing speeds with no special training. Since the XPeRT Keyboard moves only two high frequency letters, A + N (in dvorak you move 6) and adds a second E key (the most common letter (13% usage), the change is easy to adapt to. It also optimizes key sequences to be struck by opposite hands, the fastest way of typing. With these 3 elegant moves, the XPeRT keyboard goes from digraph disabled to speed enabled.
Many natural questions follow and the answers lead the inquisitive into experimentation. Windows does come with support for DVORAK keyboards and trialware for the XPeRT keyboard is available online.
Though XPeRT does require you to pluck out the keys from your keyboard and re-align them, the speed difference and the ease of use (once you decide on opening your mind to the idea) of both DVORAK and XPeRT is far superior to the traditional QWERTY layout.
I personally used the XPeRT layout for over 6 months and using QWERTY, in my humble opinion, is both decadent as well as significantly slower. Didn’t want to reshuffle the keys on my notebook keyboard, so have been back to QWERTY. It’s time to buy another keyboard and mix it up a bit!
Though it takes some getting used to, having two ‘e’ keys and commonly used alphabets bunched together in the centre of the keyboard gives an XPeRT user additional speed and tremendous excitement. It’s not very often that doing something fundamental in a radically different manner means doing it radically better!
They say the more things change, the more the stay the same. It’s almost as if Dr. Dvorak is looking down at me saying, ‘I told you so’!
Would be great if you could offer some links to XPeRT keyboard models and where can one source them. Of course unlike lots of other geeks I tend to direct a fixed stare at the keyboard
But I remember trying out a Microsoft Natural keyboard once and found it made my lingering carpal tunnel afflicition worse not better. I think part of the problem was with design: the keys were space for a large Caucasian hand not the tiny Asian sizes we Injuns are more used to.
Hey Govind,
http://www.xpertkeyboard.com. My apologies, should have punctuated my entry with hyperlinks!
Haven’t used the MS keyboard, so wouldn’t be able to comment! BTW i get a change detection email for the freeloader blog on a daily basis!
I rem when u wrote this or atleast when u had sent me this idea – in May of last year
. long way since then huh… interesting post. but am too old to relearn my keyboard hehe… 