3 ms·

I was a bit paranoid about this in my mid 20's, so I learned touch-typing the Dvorak layout (well supported on all major OS's, so no problem using it everywhere

I was a bit paranoid about this in my mid 20's, so I learned touch-typing the Dvorak layout (well supported on all major OS's, so no problem using it everywhere), got myself a decent mechanical keyboard a few years later and I use vim for editing since forever (fewer key-combos is good against RSI, so modal wins out here). Most recently I have switched the Ctrl and Caps keys on my layout, which reduces a lot of stress on my pinky finger. People think I'm a total geek (which is OK considering I'm in IT), and this works quite well in my daily business. Now in my mid-30's I have no problem and enjoy typing very much, so I guess the best thing to do is start with the precautions before the damage is done. Of course my conclusion might be very much premature, but I'm carefully optimistic.

godshatter 10y ago
I did the same. When I was in my 30s my hands were cramping while I was typing so I learned dvorak and then built up the skill to switch between them easily. Now it's dvorak at home and qwerty at work, and no cramping since. That was 20 years ago or so.
kzisme 10y ago
How big of a difference did Dvorak make for you? While I feel no pain at all I'm pretty paranoid about getting any pain/RSI in the coming years (recent graduate now working full time)
- emodendroket 10y ago
  While I'm not a Dvorak typist, it seems to me like the benefit from getting your keyboard at a proper height and maybe doing some hand and wrist strengthening is going to be bigger than switching keyboard layouts.
  - Symbiote 10y ago
    I disagree, and I've used Dvorak for 12 years. Just using Qwerty for a few sentences feels awful. It doesn't hurt, of course, it's just a few sentences, usually on someone else's computer. But it's like using chopsticks to eat oily rice, when you're used to eating potatoes with a fork. To everyone: - Print this PDF: http://www.dvzine.org/type/OneSheetDVmap.pdf http://www.dvzine.org/type/OneSheetDVmap.pdf - Change your keyboard layout to Dvorak - Don't look at the keyboard, look at the printout to see where the keys are. - Relax :) (Qwerty: so much is one one hand. "st a few se", "lly on", "oily". Common things like "ter" and "sed" and "ard". This is the uncomfortable typing. In Dvorak, the longest sequences on one hand in the above are "12 yea" and the "ng ch" in "using chopsticks".)
    - emodendroket 10y ago
      The longest one-handed QWERTY words are "sweaterdresses" and "stewardesses" as far as I know. But anyway, as a programmer, you spend more time hitting key chords and special characters, which aren't much better in Dvorak and are probably part of why programmers are so prone to RSI despite in absolute terms not typing that much compared to, say, a secretary.
      - Symbiote 10y ago
        I spend lots of time typing emails, documentation, HN comments, comments within code, and so on -- this mostly fits the secretary distribution of keypresses. Even when I'm writing code, alphabetic characters and normal punctuation are still by far the most commonly used. It's only the rare punctuation []{};: that's worse off, and even within code I still type for more S characters than semicolons. If this concerns you, there's Programmer Dvorak layout, but I prefer to keep compatibility with a wider range of computers and use standard Dvorak.
- Alex3917 10y ago
  > How big of a difference did Dvorak make for you? I've been a Dvorak user for ~20 years. I only use a laptop, am working on it basically all day every day, and have terrible posture. And I've never had any RSI issues. IIRC with Dvorak your fingers only travel about a third as much as when typing on a regular keyboard. Even if it hasn't been scientifically proven or whatever, imho anyone in the tech industry who isn't using Dvorak is crazy. If you worked as an orchestra conductor, would you spend your weekends going to EDM shows without hearing protection? Of course not, because you make your living using your ears. Same idea.
- peterarmstrong 10y ago
  I had horrible wrist pain working long hours in Silicon Valley, and switched to Dvorak. No major issues since, over a decade later. It's just better.

godshatter 10y ago

I did the same. When I was in my 30s my hands were cramping while I was typing so I learned dvorak and then built up the skill to switch between them easily. Now it's dvorak at home and qwerty at work, and no cramping since. That was 20 years ago or so.

kzisme 10y ago

How big of a difference did Dvorak make for you? While I feel no pain at all I'm pretty paranoid about getting any pain/RSI in the coming years (recent graduate now working full time)

emodendroket 10y ago
While I'm not a Dvorak typist, it seems to me like the benefit from getting your keyboard at a proper height and maybe doing some hand and wrist strengthening is going to be bigger than switching keyboard layouts.
- Symbiote 10y ago
  I disagree, and I've used Dvorak for 12 years. Just using Qwerty for a few sentences feels awful. It doesn't hurt, of course, it's just a few sentences, usually on someone else's computer. But it's like using chopsticks to eat oily rice, when you're used to eating potatoes with a fork. To everyone: - Print this PDF: http://www.dvzine.org/type/OneSheetDVmap.pdf http://www.dvzine.org/type/OneSheetDVmap.pdf - Change your keyboard layout to Dvorak - Don't look at the keyboard, look at the printout to see where the keys are. - Relax :) (Qwerty: so much is one one hand. "st a few se", "lly on", "oily". Common things like "ter" and "sed" and "ard". This is the uncomfortable typing. In Dvorak, the longest sequences on one hand in the above are "12 yea" and the "ng ch" in "using chopsticks".)
  - emodendroket 10y ago
    The longest one-handed QWERTY words are "sweaterdresses" and "stewardesses" as far as I know. But anyway, as a programmer, you spend more time hitting key chords and special characters, which aren't much better in Dvorak and are probably part of why programmers are so prone to RSI despite in absolute terms not typing that much compared to, say, a secretary.
    - Symbiote 10y ago
      I spend lots of time typing emails, documentation, HN comments, comments within code, and so on -- this mostly fits the secretary distribution of keypresses. Even when I'm writing code, alphabetic characters and normal punctuation are still by far the most commonly used. It's only the rare punctuation []{};: that's worse off, and even within code I still type for more S characters than semicolons. If this concerns you, there's Programmer Dvorak layout, but I prefer to keep compatibility with a wider range of computers and use standard Dvorak.
Alex3917 10y ago
> How big of a difference did Dvorak make for you? I've been a Dvorak user for ~20 years. I only use a laptop, am working on it basically all day every day, and have terrible posture. And I've never had any RSI issues. IIRC with Dvorak your fingers only travel about a third as much as when typing on a regular keyboard. Even if it hasn't been scientifically proven or whatever, imho anyone in the tech industry who isn't using Dvorak is crazy. If you worked as an orchestra conductor, would you spend your weekends going to EDM shows without hearing protection? Of course not, because you make your living using your ears. Same idea.
peterarmstrong 10y ago
I had horrible wrist pain working long hours in Silicon Valley, and switched to Dvorak. No major issues since, over a decade later. It's just better.