The Dvorak Keyboard
The Dvorak keyboard is an ergonomic alternative to the layout commonly found on typewriters and computers known as "Qwerty". The Qwerty keyboard was designed in the 1870s to accommodate the slow mechanical movement of early typewriters. When it was designed, touch typing literally hadn't even been thought of yet! It's hardly an efficient design for today's use.
Free Weird Newsletter
By contrast, the Dvorak (pronounced "duh-VOR-ack", not like the Czech composer!) keyboard was designed with emphasis on typist comfort, high productivity and ease of learning -- it's much easier to learn!
There were several variations in the Dvorak's design in its first few decades, but these were settled when the American National Standards Institute approved a standard for the layout of the Dvorak in 1982.
There's a lot more information -- this page grew enough that it was moved to its own site. So, for more details about the Dvorak layout (it's not a "system" any more than Qwerty is a "system"), see Randy Cassingham's Dvorak Keyboard microsite.
And yes, Randy uses the Dvorak layout on his computer.
Most Recent Comments
Posted by Scott Yakima, WA USA on February 6, 2009:
Although I heard of the Dvorak keyboard back in the 1980's, I never saw the layout until I got online in the early 2000's. I rearranged the key caps on one of my keyboards, after discovering that some keyboards can NOT be rearranged, because the home key caps are mounted differently, and began to use it. I have never taken typing, and I have never done typing exercises, so I don't consider myself a 'typist'. Maybe that is why I found converting to the Dvorak so easy.
At my peak, I could probably do 30 words per minute on a QWERTY keyboard, but within a month, I was typing faster than I had ever typed before! I was astonished at how easy it was to learn the Dvorak layout. A friend of mine who used my computer regularly asked me at one point if I had "switched the keyboard back," because she was typing so easily.
Now that switching to the Dvorak layout is only a matter of a few mouse clicks, I think that all school children should have a chance to learn the alternative to the QWERTY mess. I have gone to the lengths of switching keyboards over just to give them away, so that people will be more inclined to try the Dvorak keyboard.
Posted by Robert Hanlon, St. Louis, MO on June 11, 2009:
I am trying to find a hardwired (not soft-switchable) Dvorak keyboard that doesn't have some strange quasi-ergonomic style. Can anybody help me?
---
There used to be a number of options, but they've mostly died out since most people just use software remapping, since that's built in to Windows now. The only one I know of that's still available is from http://www.kinesis-ergo.com -- but I'd like to hear about it if you find others. -rc
Posted by Don, Cupertino, CA on January 30, 2010:
A decade ago, KeyTime, Inc., of Seattle made a hardware-switched keyboard for Mac OS 9. It looked much like Apple's old "Saratoga" keyboard, which resembled an aircraft carrier. It had hidden DIP switches that let a user choose the right-hand-, left-hand-, or two-hand-Dvorak layouts; or QWERTY. Since you could also use the Keyboard menu, you could get seriously confused.
It used ADB wiring, so it quickly become obsolete when Apple switched to USB -- one of Apple's rare prescient guesses about which "standard" would win.