OT: Keyboard scheme

The subject of the Dvorak keyboard has come up in this newsgroup half a
dozen times, so maybe this proposal isn't too far off topic.


Aset keyboard
It has been said that the most common letters were taken off the home
row of the first typewriter keyboard to slow down the typist and
prevent jamming.
On a Dvorak keyboard almost sixty percent of average text is typed from
the home keys.  Transposing the letters 'etni' with 'dfjk'  would put
more than 55% of text on the home keys, up from only 26% on the qwerty
layout.  Thats more than twice the text typed without lifting a finger.

The change is quite pleasant and easy to learn.  I hope you will pass
this on.

To put e, t, n and i back where they belong, there is a keyboard
remapping program that is free, downloads quickly and is very easy to
use.  I am typing this post on a keyboard remapped to the 'etni'
transposition layout.  The program is called 'Keytweak 2.11' and can be
googled up by that name.  It is available from several sites, including
PC magazine.

1)  After you have loaded the program click start.
2)  Click the "KeyTweak" icon and a graphic of a keyboard will appear.
3)  Click the "Full Teach Mode" at the bottom of the screen.
4)  A box will appear.  Click "Begin Teach Mode".
5)  Press the key you want to reassign, then the key you want it
reassigned to, in this case D to E.
6)  Click "Remap Key#1 to Key#2"
7)  The box will disappear and the scancodes of the keys will appear in
the "Pending Changes" window at the bottom right.
8)  Follow the same procedure (from 3) for E to D, and the remaining
six remaps.
9)  Click "Apply" and you will be asked if you want to turn off the
computer to apply the changes.
At the top there is also a clickable "Restore Defaults" to give
you back your qwerty layout.
I was able to remap in under three minutes and restore qwerty in
thirty seconds, not including the restart.

You can try out the sample lines of text below to discover that your
fingers already know where etni should go.

nineteen lean little saints settle in a nest
jkjdfddj ldaj lkffld sakjfs sdffld kj a jdsf

an alien eats an ant antenna in atlanta
aj alkdj dafs aj ajf ajfdjja kj aflajfa

elite sense entails a siesta in a satin seat
dlkfd sdjsd djfakls a skdsfa kj a safkj sdaf

a stain is seen at a linen sale
a sfakj ks sddj af a lkjdj sald

a latent latin talent tast tests in seattle
a lafdjf lafkj faldjf fasf fdsfs kj sdaffld

insane santa sails in sea salt
kjsajd sajfa sakls kj sda salf

Many thanks

skearney@accessbee.com wrote:
> The subject of the Dvorak keyboard has come up in this newsgroup half a
> dozen times, so maybe this proposal isn't too far off topic.
>
>
> Aset keyboard
> It has been said that the most common letters were taken off the home
> row of the first typewriter keyboard to slow down the typist and
> prevent jamming.
> On a Dvorak keyboard almost sixty percent of average text is typed from
> the home keys.  Transposing the letters 'etni' with 'dfjk'  would put
> more than 55% of text on the home keys, up from only 26% on the qwerty
> layout.  Thats more than twice the text typed without lifting a finger.
>
> The change is quite pleasant and easy to learn.  I hope you will pass
> this on.

I think it's totally off-topic and irrelevant.  Everyone chooses
whatever layout they like, and Scheme away in it.

I don't know how much simple 4-letter transposition gives you with
how little learning curve.  I'm certainly happy with my Dvovak
layout and recommend it if you are willing to exercise a lot for
two ws with much reduced typing speed for maybe a w after
the switch (I switched only after a w of exercising the
layout).  After switching and getting up to speed again, for quite
a while I wasn't any faster than with my old Qwerty (maybe two
months, but then qwerty speed is good too, isn't it?), but now
that my hands know most English and German words I'm mostly
limited by thinking what to write, not by typing speed.

--
Don't let school interfere with your education. -- Mark Twain

skearney@accessbee.com wrote: 

It's been said, but it's not true. The layout of the keyboard was fixed
before touch-typing was invented (and therefore before there was a "home
row").

Ulrich Hobelmann wrote:
> I think it's totally off-topic and irrelevant.  Everyone chooses
> whatever layout they like, and Scheme away in it.

Agreed.

> I don't know how much simple 4-letter transposition gives you with how
> little learning curve.

FWIW, the best-known study showed that there's no significant benefit to
typists already trained in QWERTY; they benefit more from additional
QWERTY training than they do from re-training with Dvorak. Also, there's
the problem that you can't easily share keyboards with other typists,
which is a big deal in many circumstances.

Alternative keyboards might improve productivity if everyone used them,
but that's unlikely to happen so long as there's a large pool of QWERTY
typists, because (1) compatibility is important, and (2) the alternatives
don't actually help much unless it's what you learn first.

> I'm certainly happy with my Dvovak layout and recommend it if you are
> willing to exercise a lot for two ws with much reduced typing speed
> for maybe a w after the switch (I switched only after a w of
> exercising the layout).

Then again, research shows that you can get similar benefits if you're
willing to exercise your QWERTY skills for two ws, and you can still
use other people's keyboards.
--
Bradd W. Szonye
http://www.szonye.com/bradd

Bradd W. Szonye wrote:
> FWIW, the best-known study showed that there's no significant benefit to
> typists already trained in QWERTY; they benefit more from additional
> QWERTY training than they do from re-training with Dvorak. Also, there's
> the problem that you can't easily share keyboards with other typists,
> which is a big deal in many circumstances.

The first point makes sense, but I could never shake off my bad
four-finger typing habit with qwerty.  Relearning in Dvorak worked
quite well for me that way, so now I'm 10-finger.

The second point is a good one, but most systems allow you to just
switch the layout in a heartbeat, so it isn't too bad these days.

> Then again, research shows that you can get similar benefits if you're
> willing to exercise your QWERTY skills for two ws, and you can still
> use other people's keyboards.

(1) yes, probably
(2) just switch the layout in 10 seconds or so

--
Don't let school interfere with your education. -- Mark Twain

Bradd W. Szonye wrote:
>
> Alternative keyboards might improve productivity if everyone used them,
> but that's unlikely to happen so long as there's a large pool of QWERTY
> typists, because (1) compatibility is important, and (2) the alternatives
> don't actually help much unless it's what you learn first.

Besides.. who needs ultra-fast typing?  Secretaries perhaps but who else?

mkb.

"Bradd W. Szonye" <bradd+news@szonye.com> writes:

> FWIW, the best-known study showed that there's no significant benefit to
> typists already trained in QWERTY; they benefit more from additional
> QWERTY training than they do from re-training with Dvorak. Also, there's
> the problem that you can't easily share keyboards with other typists,
> which is a big deal in many circumstances.

I don't consider that a problem.  It keeps away the riff-raff.

skearney@accessbee.com <skearney@accessbee.com> schrieb:
> The subject of the Dvorak keyboard has come up in this newsgroup half a
> dozen times, so maybe this proposal isn't too far off topic.

You're right that there seem to be more Dvorak users here than average.
I wonder if it's some kind of personality trait that also makes people
interested in Scheme. Like they're looking for the "right" way to do
things, even if it's not as practical in the short term. In that case,
I'd say your proposal is to Dvorak as Python is to scheme -- steals some
 ideas, but misses the core, and if you're going to go that far why
not go all the way?

Bradd W. Szonye wrote: 

Ulrich Hobelmann wrote:
> The second point is a good one, but most systems allow you to just
> switch the layout in a heartbeat, so it isn't too bad these days.

Just don't forget to switch it back!

There's a more subtle issue with layout compatibility. Software with a
lot of shortcut keys (like vi and many videogames) typically uses a
combination of mnemonic and layout-based keys. For example, vi uses
layout for movement (HJKL) and mnemonics for input (AIOS). Alternate
keyboard layouts can only lead to madness (or at least extensive
reconfiguration) in that situation.
--
Bradd W. Szonye
http://www.szonye.com/bradd

Adrian Kubala wrote:

> In that case,
> I'd say your proposal is to Dvorak as Python is to scheme -- steals some

I really do think that this comparison is a little bit stretched...

mkb.

Bradd W. Szonye wrote:
> skearney@accessbee.com wrote: 
home 
>
> It's been said, but it's not true. The layout of the keyboard was
fixed
> before touch-typing was invented (and therefore before there was a
"home
> row").
>
> Ulrich Hobelmann wrote: 
>
> Agreed.
> 
how 
>
> FWIW, the best-known study showed that there's no significant benefit
to
> typists already trained in QWERTY; they benefit more from additional
> QWERTY training than they do from re-training with Dvorak. Also,
there's
> the problem that you can't easily share keyboards with other typists,
> which is a big deal in many circumstances.
>
> Alternative keyboards might improve productivity if everyone used
them,
> but that's unlikely to happen so long as there's a large pool of
QWERTY
> typists, because (1) compatibility is important, and (2) the
alternatives
> don't actually help much unless it's what you learn first.
> 
are 
speed 
>
> Then again, research shows that you can get similar benefits if
you're
> willing to exercise your QWERTY skills for two ws, and you can
still
> use other people's keyboards.
> --
> Bradd W. Szonye
> http://www.szonye.com/bradd

While Frank Gurrin might have been the first touch typist it is
probable that common letters were entered in fairly rapid succession
even prior to touch typing.  There are two fingered typists that can
manage sixty words a minute.  The earliest typewriters might have been
very prone to jamming.  The letters from d to l are in alphabetical
order with the exception of e and i.  The letters a and s are on the
home row but under the weakest fingers.  The evidence is atleast
suggestive that they were removed for a reason.
The limited research done so far does suggest that your time is better
invested in drilling on the qwerty keyboard that you already know than
learning a new layout, as far as typing speed goes.  But Dvorak users
complain that qwerty is just uncomfortable and there is some evidence
that qwerty users are more prone to making errors when typing the most
common words.
It is ironic that now that typing is much more common than even just a
few decades ago, and the software necessary for a thorough tracking of
typing skill would be easy to apply without requireing subjects to
leave there own keyboard, that there has been no modern study.
The letters etni are five times more common in average text than dfjk.
If having etni on the home row is the principle advantage of the
Dvorak, then simply swapping the letters is a less painful way to
acomplish it.  Keeping the letters under the same fingers makes it more
of a qwerty varient than a whole new layout.