by Ben Lewis

Created on: June 25, 2008

MORE ABOUT DVORAK (keyboard)

Concerning writing with a word processor using the not-so-popular DVORAK keyboard: First, a definition: DVORAK is not a languageit is a configuration, just as is QWERTY (Look at the top, left, row of alpha characters & you'll see: QWERTY spelled out on the key tops).

We owe the DVORAK configuration to August Dvorak a relative of the famous Polish composer Antoine Dvorak (pronounced by most people as Da vore szaak). Many more people are familiar with the composer's work than are with his more mundane cousin, August. But who can say which of these gentlemen gave the greater gift to posterity?

The evolution of the typewriter keyboard had taken some interesting turns by the 1930s-going from a quite logical sequence in earliest machines to a deliberately illogical one designed to slow down typists whose skill level was ahead of the machine's precision-their speed caused it to jam.

The first "solution" was to rearrange the order of the keys to create one that was more awkward. That seemingly untenable "solution" solved the technical problem but it created a human problem and set the stage for repetitive strain injuries (RSI) because of stress involved in the reach for so many frequently used keys such as vowels.

So in the 1930s August Dvorak the industrial engineer, was called in to find a better solution. He decided that the most practical solution could be achieved by a new configuration of the keyboardone that put the vowels and other high frequency characters on the "home" row. In the course of his research, Dvorak took meticulous measurements of the finger movements of heavy production typists who hammered away at the keyboard eight hours per shift. He determined that during a typical shift the fingers of a typist using the new keyboard would travel 12 (twelve) fewer MILES than those of a typist using the existing keyboard.

When I read that, back in 1997, I was so impressed I determined to learn DVORAK. I had never been more than a mediocre typist and that was a burden to me because I am one of those smitten with the disorder that makes me obsessed with putting words onto paper or other media, whether or not I am ever paid for my trouble. Perhaps some of you reading this are likewise cursed, or blessed depending upon your orientation. I alternate between the two opinions.

So at middle age, I set about trying to unlearn QWERTY & internalize DVORAK. The balance of this article will relate my experiences with this decision in hopes it will

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