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Klyith
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Dvorak keyboard conversion

Mon Sep 20, 2004 7:21 am

I've been thinking of rebuilding my keyboard into a dvorak one, by pulling out the keys and moving them around. Has anyone here done that? Are there any bad results from certian types of software? I know it would suck to use in dos mode forever after. Unless anyone knows a dos trick for remapping a keyboard?

I get wrist aches once a week or so, but I really don't like the split keyboards. I'm not old enough to have to seriously worry about carpal syndrome, but I ain't getting any younger. I know a few people who have carpal or tendonitis, and that is something I don't what to have to deal with. My thought is that the faster and easier typing plus less reaching movements might help a lot.
 
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 7:40 am

Ever think of giving up computers :lol:
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pyrodeus
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 8:00 am

I did that for my home computer and have never had a problem. It did take me FOREVER to learn the new keyboard though...to the point where I was noticeably slower on the Dvorak keyboard than I was on the Qwerty for several months.
 
zgirl
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 8:20 am

I've thought about the same thing. Problem is as a consultant I am always going to encounter QWERTY keyboards. I'd either have to carry around a DVORAK or just not switch.

I choose the latter. :wink:

Oh well.
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Insightfill
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 9:01 am

I've swapped out the mappings at the OS level (without changing the keyboard) just to check it out, but I'm partially a "look at the keys" sort, so I was still hobbled.

I would reconsider the Dvorak switch, though. The superiority of Dvorak over QWERTY has been suspect. Links below:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_248.html

http://www.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/keys1.html

(Pro-DSK site here: http://www.theworldofstuff.com/dvorak/ )
 
Sargent Duck
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 9:14 am

I've often thought about switching to Dvoraky, but I don't want to miss up my keyboard. None of the local computer shops around carry it, and I'm too lazy to order it seperatly online.
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atidriverssuck
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Re: Dvorak keyboard conversion

Mon Sep 20, 2004 10:43 am

Klyith wrote:
I get wrist aches once a week or so, but I really don't like the split keyboards. I'm not old enough to have to seriously worry about carpal syndrome, but I ain't getting any younger. I know a few people who have carpal or tendonitis, and that is something I don't what to have to deal with. My thought is that the faster and easier typing plus less reaching movements might help a lot.


First make sure your ergonomics basics are up to snuff:
Make sure your table is low enough (or your chair high enough) to allow:
1) your spine and your upper legs to be at an angle of around 90 degrees or more.
2) your elbow angle to be 90 degrees or more

If you don't have a palm rest for your keyboard a la:
http://www.mitsubishi-electric.com.au/P ... 01B_fs.jpg

...then get one.

Same goes for your mousemat. 3M make a decent one with gel-filled thingy. Others might too, for much cheaper than 3M charge. They really help keep the height of wrist at a more natural level, avoiding lots of strain.

Another thing to consider would be a Wacom Graphire3 (or Intuos3) graphics tablet, especially if you edit photos or do creative stuff like that which the mouse is just not suitable for.

I wish they would make mice in a more claw-like fashion (with the buttons facing the front, which your fingers naturally sit over in a claw-like fashion, and with a scroll wheel inside a concave area where your thumb rests, but nobody has bothered to make a mouse with basic ergonomics in mind unless you're talking http://www.claw.com.au/ ), which isn't really a mouse...

Anyway, these are all things to consider before you make the switch to the (superior, but rare) dvorak keyboard layout, and IMO will make a far bigger difference than a different keyboard layout ever could.
 
Klyith
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:18 pm

So... failure!

I've got a MS "internet" keyboard. The F and J keys have a slightly different socket than all the other letter keys. You can't rearrange them! The keys are also at different heights by thier rows, but that wouldn't have bothered me for the short term. I really just wanted to try it for a while. Guess I should get some overlay stickers. But while the thing was in pieces I took the opportunity to give it a good wash.

atidriverssuck - My chair stinks, but everything else is good. I had seen a thing where the real problem with mice (and keyboards) is the orientation of your hands. If you have your hands vertical instead of horizontal there are much fewer places where the nerves and tendons are pinched. Someone makes a mouse that is like a joystick to hold, but I don't see how to make a vertical keyboard.

Insightfill - I think that study has been somewhat disproven, or at least there are a lot of holes to poke in it. See http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak/dissent.html The guy who did the biggest study "against" dvorak keyboards destroyed his data before anyone else saw it. One thing to think about - virtually all the records for speed typing have been set with dvorak keyboards since 1935. If they aren't as good, how come the best typists use them?
 
atidriverssuck
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:32 pm

Klyith wrote:
atidriverssuck - My chair stinks, but everything else is good. I had seen a thing where the real problem with mice (and keyboards) is the orientation of your hands. If you have your hands vertical instead of horizontal there are much fewer places where the nerves and tendons are pinched.


No doubt about it. And look at your hands when you are standing up (or sitting down) and how they rest at your side. They are also more claw-like in their natural resting position, not outstretched. The whole "mouse buttons facing upwards" thing really really irritates me, because your hand is outscretched and stressed in this position. I am about to modify a logitech optical to my tastes (new housing, desoldering and repositioning the main 2 button switches), but I keep putting it off.
 
atidriverssuck
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:41 pm

Klyith wrote:
So... failure!

I've got a MS "internet" keyboard. The F and J keys have a slightly different socket than all the other letter keys. You can't rearrange them! The keys are also at different heights by thier rows, but that wouldn't have bothered me for the short term. I really just wanted to try it for a while. Guess I should get some overlay stickers. But while the thing was in pieces I took the opportunity to give it a good wash.


This page has links to dvorak sticker overlays and keyboards:
http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak/overlays.html

Haven't tried any of them tho.
 
zgirl
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:25 pm

Insightfill wrote:
I've swapped out the mappings at the OS level (without changing the keyboard) just to check it out, but I'm partially a "look at the keys" sort, so I was still hobbled.

I would reconsider the Dvorak switch, though. The superiority of Dvorak over QWERTY has been suspect. Links below:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_248.html

http://www.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/keys1.html

(Pro-DSK site here: http://www.theworldofstuff.com/dvorak/ )


And those can be countered here.
"I used to think the brain was the most amazing organ in the entire body. Then I realized who was telling me this."

If ignorance were painful, half the posters here would be on morphine drips.

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