Ode to the Dvorak Keyboard

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5361389041945562785.post-59664519037960152442008-04-15T06:27:00.000-04:002008-04-15T06:27:00.994-04:00Ode to the Dvorak Keyboard<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_wI1egPoLmWg/SAJCvtzFHLI/AAAAAAAAABM/chk4bv7bpuw/s1600-h/300px-KB_United_States_Dvorak.svg.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_wI1egPoLmWg/SAJCvtzFHLI/AAAAAAAAABM/chk4bv7bpuw/s320/300px-KB_United_States_Dvorak.svg.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188783108199357618" border="0" /></a>Okay - take a look at the keyboard to the right. Notice the placement of the keys. This is not a QWERTY keyboard. The layout you see is the Dvorak Keyboard. Did you know that the QWERTY keyboard (the one 99% of the English-typing world uses) was designed to be slow and more difficult to use? Why would someone design and market a keyboard that makes typing harder? Simple - way back in the day, they were using manual typewriters. If you are under 40 you may be able to find one in a museum somewhere. If you are 40 or older you may just have had to type on one when you were first learning to type. Anyway, the big problem with manual typewriters is that the keys were all flying up to strike the ribbon and they would jam if you typed too fast. So typewriter manufacturers actually looked for ways to slow down typists to minimize the number of jams. Slow and steady saves the typing pool. But then came IBM Selectric's with the bouncing font ball. After that came the personal computer. Now you have to search to find a typewriter at all. So why are we still using a keyboard designed to slow us down? Here is an example of how the QWERTY keyboard slows you down. The most inefficient way to type a two-character combination is by using the same finger. "ED" is the most common two-character combination in English. Think about it - QWERTY says middle finger left hand for both keys. The QWERTY keyboard has been giving us the finger all these years and we've been taking it. The lesson is - be careful establishing standards - they live forever. Nobody knows that QWERTY is slower than Dvorak any more. Very few people even know the Dvorak keyboard layout exists. This is an example of how much our lives and our businesses are limited by our Same-Old-Same-Old thinking. There are lots of opportunities to improve no matter what your business. We just have to open our eyes and maybe be willing to learn something new. What other options lie just beyond our fingertips? Read more on the <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard">Dvorak Keyboard</a>.Hillpond Consultinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15715096533480278912noreply@blogger.com