Re: Anybody here fluent in both Dvorak & QWERTY?
Giles Orr <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.comp.hardware.altkeyboards |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
I'm one of the ones that can type relatively fluently in either keyboard layout. But I got there by a bizarre and annoying set of circumstances that you really aren't likely to want to duplicate. I taught myself QWERTY first (on an actual typewriter) and used it for about 11 years. I trained myself in Dvorak and used it almost exclusively for for another 11 years, and during that time I was only slightly better than hunt-and-peck on QWERTY when I was forced to use it. But then I found myself in a situation where I had to use QWERTY exclusively for six months, and then for a year after that I was using QWERTY at work every day and Dvorak at home every night ... Now it takes me less than 60 seconds to make the mental switch between layouts and I'm good to go - in part I suppose because I type Dvorak on a Kinesis Advantage and QWERTY on a regular keyboard, the change in shape is a huge hint to the fingers and brain. But this isn't exactly an easy path to follow. And my QWERTY speed was never high, probably about 35wpm these days as compared to Dvorak where I'm usually around 65wpm. If you're taking votes, I'd suggest getting a hardwired Dvorak USB keyboard and never retraining in QWERTY. I own two Kinesis Advantage keyboards, one at home and one at work - but that's a pretty steep price tag for many people. But if you do have to "cross-train" ... it is possible. Just not fun, and it takes a long time. Good luck. -- Giles http://www.gilesorr.com/ [email protected]