You might want to get yourself this keyboard. It’ll decrease your chance of getting RSI, it might be a little faster to type on than a standard keyboard, and it’s possible to remap the keys in hardware so you can take your keyboard anywhere and plug it in to anything and have it be configured with your preferred layout. In theory you might be able to train yourself to use Colemak or whatever when your hands were in the contoured position and Qwerty in the flat position, for friends’ computers and library computers and such.
(For best results, combine with this keyboard tray that also converts your desk in to a sit/stand desk. I recommend sawing off part of the adjustment knob underneath the desk so it won’t poke your legs.)
In theory you might be able to train yourself to use Colemak or whatever when your hands were in the contoured position and Qwerty in the flat position, for friends’ computers and library computers and such.
Anecdotal evidence:
I’ve been typing on Dvorak for personal use for over 10 years, and I use Qwerty at work. I can touch-type on both layouts. Being able to toggle between the two seems to be affected by the system and/or keyboard tactile sensation, but is otherwise effortless. When I got a new laptop and was setting it up, my fingers were confused for a few hours, before the realization cemented in that I had set it to Dvorak. Conversely, trying to type on Dvorak as if Qwerty (I tried just now) requires conscious effort and looking at the keys. (I also tried it without looking at the keys; my typing spontaneously switched back to Dvorak mid-sentence.)
Interesting. Are you noticeably faster on Dvorak? Do you feel learning Dvorak slowed down your Qwerty typing?
The only thing that annoys me about the Kinesis option I outlined above is that the Kinesis hardware doesn’t allow you to do Programmer Dvorak type things like inverting numbers and symbols—you can only move keys around, you can’t mess with their shift behavior.
Personally, I’ve pretty much always typed with Qwerty—I think I’m pretty fast with it and I don’t want to risk losing that (hard to know ‘cause I make more mistakes whenever I think about the fact that I’m typing—I’m just assuming I must be pretty fast ’cause I type commands in to the terminal to navigate my filesystem, type to journal my thoughts, type to take notes on random stuff, etc. and I rarely get frustrated that I’m typing too slow), it’s nice to be able to use computers that aren’t my standard one, and I’m skeptical that learning a new layout would pay for itself. I had extremely bad RSI symptoms in the past, but thanks to this guide I learned how to reverse them, and nowadays they’re not a significant issue.
Are you noticeably faster on Dvorak? Do you feel learning Dvorak slowed down your Qwerty typing?
No to both by my estimate, but Dvorak does feel (faster, more fluid, smooth). I’m pretty sure that individual dexterity and experience affect (Edit: optimal) typing speed much more than the keyboard layout.
I taught myself Dvorak back in high school with casual practice one summer (possibly a bit longer.) I had minor recurring problems toggling between Dvorak and Qwerty in the classroom for a decent portion of the following school term. So I wouldn’t recommend switching layouts to everyone, especially if they’re already fluent on Qwerty and can’t afford the temporary drop in speed/accuracy.
You might want to get yourself this keyboard. It’ll decrease your chance of getting RSI, it might be a little faster to type on than a standard keyboard, and it’s possible to remap the keys in hardware so you can take your keyboard anywhere and plug it in to anything and have it be configured with your preferred layout. In theory you might be able to train yourself to use Colemak or whatever when your hands were in the contoured position and Qwerty in the flat position, for friends’ computers and library computers and such.
(For best results, combine with this keyboard tray that also converts your desk in to a sit/stand desk. I recommend sawing off part of the adjustment knob underneath the desk so it won’t poke your legs.)
Anecdotal evidence:
I’ve been typing on Dvorak for personal use for over 10 years, and I use Qwerty at work. I can touch-type on both layouts. Being able to toggle between the two seems to be affected by the system and/or keyboard tactile sensation, but is otherwise effortless. When I got a new laptop and was setting it up, my fingers were confused for a few hours, before the realization cemented in that I had set it to Dvorak. Conversely, trying to type on Dvorak as if Qwerty (I tried just now) requires conscious effort and looking at the keys. (I also tried it without looking at the keys; my typing spontaneously switched back to Dvorak mid-sentence.)
Interesting. Are you noticeably faster on Dvorak? Do you feel learning Dvorak slowed down your Qwerty typing?
The only thing that annoys me about the Kinesis option I outlined above is that the Kinesis hardware doesn’t allow you to do Programmer Dvorak type things like inverting numbers and symbols—you can only move keys around, you can’t mess with their shift behavior.
Personally, I’ve pretty much always typed with Qwerty—I think I’m pretty fast with it and I don’t want to risk losing that (hard to know ‘cause I make more mistakes whenever I think about the fact that I’m typing—I’m just assuming I must be pretty fast ’cause I type commands in to the terminal to navigate my filesystem, type to journal my thoughts, type to take notes on random stuff, etc. and I rarely get frustrated that I’m typing too slow), it’s nice to be able to use computers that aren’t my standard one, and I’m skeptical that learning a new layout would pay for itself. I had extremely bad RSI symptoms in the past, but thanks to this guide I learned how to reverse them, and nowadays they’re not a significant issue.
No to both by my estimate, but Dvorak does feel (faster, more fluid, smooth). I’m pretty sure that individual dexterity and experience affect (Edit: optimal) typing speed much more than the keyboard layout.
I taught myself Dvorak back in high school with casual practice one summer (possibly a bit longer.) I had minor recurring problems toggling between Dvorak and Qwerty in the classroom for a decent portion of the following school term. So I wouldn’t recommend switching layouts to everyone, especially if they’re already fluent on Qwerty and can’t afford the temporary drop in speed/accuracy.