One fine day, my friend came over to my place. I allowed her to use my laptop. As she happily started typing on Google Search. An incoherent strings of letters came out:
tsfaodalghgskeism
“What the heck is this?” she gasped.
I looked at the screen and instantly know what’s going on. So I pressed on left Ctrl and Shift at the same time to change the layout back to US Keyboard.
“I’m using a different keyboard layout.” I explained “I just casted a spell on it. You can type normally now.”
“Why can’t you use the normal keyboard like all the normal person would?” Her words were repeated by many of my friends, colleagues, and my family members that were unfortunate enough to use my computers since then.
I am using a keyboard layout called the Dvorak keyboard. It was so simple it took me just few days to learn how to touch type my way up until 60 WPM with Dvorak keyboard layout when I was Form Six. It sticks to me since like a glue and I’ll type like a praying mantis whenever I revert my layout to QWERTY.
What is Dvorak keyboard layout?
Dvorak keyboard layout is an alternative keyboard layout to QWERTY keyboard layout. It is designed by an educational psychologist and professor of education named August Dvorak in the 1930s to improve the efficiency of typist. However it was a little too late for this keyboard layout to achieve widespread attention to replace the QWERTY keyboard.
Dvorak keyboard layout that spread all the most used alphabets such as A, O, E, U, I vowels and the alphabet of D, H, T, N, S in easy to reach part of the keyboard called the home row while all the other alphabets are arranged in a manner that your hands and fingers do not have to move far to type any words.
Why do you want to use this layout?
1. Ergonomic keyboard layout
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The above is a sentence that covers all 26 alphabets in English. Now try to type this in your keyboard continuously for 5 minutes in your favourite text processor like Notepad as many times as you can. I’ll wait for you.
…
…
Okay, do both of your hands feel like they need a massage? Imagine doing this for a living in the field where you write thousands upon thousands lines of code in the next few years as a software developer, a writer or data entry. You might get hand cramps and unable to move your pinky for a few hours. Or worst, you might get the nasty carpal tunnel syndrome. It sounds painful and I don’t ever want to catch that.
I use the laptop extensively for study, work and leisure. From writing a few hundred lines of Java codes to writing a very long blog post. The only thing that stands between me and typing like a pianist is the brain inside my head.
2. Security
DvorakVdtnsaohG;Yfl.
How? I often type my password using by using QWERTY layout while my hand is types in Dvorak. Can you guess what I write here? It is DvorakKeyboardIsFun in Dvorak layout. It will take a whole lot more guesses to anyone trying to brute force their way in to your system via a dictionary attack.
3. It can be picked up in a short time
I learned to touch type after two weeks practising with this excellent online keyboard trainer. I can’t do touch typing in QWERTY even though I grew up using the computer.
4. You can type very fast
Do you have the need for speed while typing? Because of the way it design and the comfort it provides to users. Naturally users can type faster and in a shorter period of time compared to people using the QWERTY layout. For the record, my average WPM is around 80. :)
5. It can be a nice topic for conversation
I often allow my friends to use PC or laptop. Their reaction is so very amusing to watch when weird characters come out whenever they start typing. Here’s how you play a prank on someone:
First, switch to Dvorak keyboard before letting your friend to use your computer. Wait for them to type out gibberish.
Second, after your friend inform you about the error, take over the computer and change the keyboard layout to QWERTY via shortcut keys. In Windows press Ctrl + Shift together. Type a few words, one character at a time in front of your friend to show that the keyboard works completely fine.
Third, before handing over the computer to your friend. Quietly switch the layout back to Dvorak.
Repeat until you are satisfied.
Besides that, it’s a good conversation topic that I can bring up to explain why I use this keyboard instead of the normal QWERTY.
Cons
There is a drawback, if you have to use a computer without access to Dvorak keyboard layout, for example your friend’s PC or your company’s machine with strict company policies. You will be typing like a Praying Mantis kungfu guy.
How to use it on my PC?
Mac
- Go to System Preferences…
- Click on Keyboard
- Click on Input Source
- Click on the ‘+’ button
- Select English on the first screen, and Dvorak on the second screen.
Linux (Ubuntu)
- Open up the terminal
- type → setxkbmap dvorak ← into terminal and you are set!
- type → setxkbmap us ← into terminal to revert back to the normal keyboard
- Note: You can change the keyboard layout via Settings as well
Windows 10
- Click on the Start Menu.
- Click on Settings.
- Click on Time & language.
- Click on Region & language.
- Click on the language you wish to add a keyboard layout to.
- Click on Options.
- Click on Add a keyboard.
- Click on the keyboard layout that you want to add.
It serves me well as a software developer. I’m sure it’ll do well for you.
