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<font size=3>A few years back I kept hearing of the benefits of the
Dvorak keyword layout. It provides for less awkward finger movements. It
is claimed that you can type faster and longer without as much stress to
your fingers and wrists. The design of the early typewriters was such
that they had trouble with keys sticking at faster typing speeds. To get
around this the keyboard was deliberately laid out to slow typists down
(and thus the QWERTY layout). So today we are using a legacy keyboard
design explicitly engineered to be slow and awkward.<br><br>
Anyhow, I had a 2 week vacation in 2001 and decided to become a Dvorkee
(on Windows computers it is built-in, you just change your regional
settings). It wasn't easy but after a few of months I was pretty much as
fast as I was before. The only trouble now is when I use someone else's
keyboard (which is rare) it is very slow going. However, the awkwardness
of QWERTY is very apparent. Here is a web page describing my experiences
in more detail:<br><br>
<a href="http://members.shaw.ca/vseward/dvorak.html" eudora="autourl">http://members.shaw.ca/vseward/dvorak.html<br><br>
</a>Perhaps if the world had been using a layout like Dvorak there would
be less incidents of carpal tunnel. <br><br>
~Vaughn Seward<br><br>
At 2004/10/19 16:02, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""> <br>
</font><font face="arial" size=2 color="#0000FF">Hey Mark! Sorry to
hear about your wrist. That's the only advantage to typing like I
do-with two fingers and wrists in a natural position. Of course, I
have to look at the keyboard and my speed tops out at about 30 words per
minute (usually much slower). And while some of my compatriots
might eventually get an Industrial Insurance claim for carpal tunnel, I
figure the most I could get for wearing out the top joint of each index
finger is a couple of two-for-one Starbucks certificates and the nickname
"stubby." <br>
</font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font face="arial" size=2 color="#0000FF">More dated replies to
come. (I wonder what all those messages titled
"miniatures" are about?) <br>
</font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font face="arial" size=2 color="#0000FF">Take care -Gary G.
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