Ever since I first read the DVZine, an online comic about the Dvorak keyboard layout, I’ve been meaning to make the switch. Patented by August Dvorak in 1936, the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard is based on research and logic, rather than designed as a kludge to prevent jamming on primitive typewriters (QWERTY, I’m looking at you!). With Dvorak, 70% of your keystrokes are on the home row, as opposed to a mere 31% on the completely random Sholes-QWERTY layout. This makes Dvorak easier on a typist’s hands and ultimately allows you to type faster and more accurately—important for someone like me, who types a ridiculous lot.
But I’m a lazy bum, so for the past three years I’ve been a Dvorak advocate who can’t even use the thing. My younger brother recently mastered it, however, and is now forcing me to put my fingers where my mouth is and— . . . excuse me, gotta go suck my thumb.
. . . Okay, back! Anyway, I’ve decided it’s now or never, and have made a resolution: Henceforward, I shall type all posts on this site in Dvorak, even if it kills me. And it just might—while you can learn Dvorak faster than you can QWERTY, even as a second layout, it does take time. Meanwhile, I look like a finger-pecking Mavis Beacon middle-schooler again—this post has taken me over an hour to type. But I feel faster already!
