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For anybody learning to touch type, I highly recommend looking at alternative keyboard layouts. I use QFMLWY, which reduces typing effort by 43% in comparison t

For anybody learning to touch type, I highly recommend looking at alternative keyboard layouts. I use QFMLWY, which reduces typing effort by 43% in comparison to QWERTY (for some measure of "effort") [1]. It greatly reduced my wrist pain, and just feels much "lighter" to type. [1]: http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/?full_optimization http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/?full_optimization

pitaj 10y ago
I feel like learning a non-qwerty layout would make it difficult to switch between computers. What has your experience been? Is QFMLWY supported on pretty much every device? How does it compare to Dvorak?
- mherrmann 10y ago
  That's a valid point. I now can't touch type on QWERTY keyboards anymore (but mostly because I never have to). Setting up QFMLWY requires special setup that is more difficult than "select the layout from the System Preferences". I'm certain it outperforms Dvorak, but I'm not sure by how much.
mmel 10y ago
I used left-handed dvorak for a while while my right hand was broken, and used colemak at home, but I reverted to QWERTY after realising I have to work with other people. Other people use my computers, and I use other peoples computers. Having to remember to switch maps before letting someone start typing at my computer, or having to cognitively switch back and forth between layouts whenever I used anothers wore thin, and I gave up. If I did lose the use of a hand permanently, I would probably try making a custom map with chording, there's definitely a payoff there. I'd say it would be worth learning alternative keyboard maps if: A) you work remotely and have a single computer or set of computers you can permanently configure with your preferred layout. B) You're a wordsmith/writer and produce large amounts of textual input as fast as you can type. I think getting a base touch-typing competency matters far more than optimised layouts, even though the latter can improve comfort/accuracy/speed even further. In comparison, the text-input methods for smartphones and portable devices need to improve drastically. I find myself getting frustrated whenever I need to input more than a single sentence of text into a smartphone. Using terminal emulators or trying to write technical code/information is a nightmare.
- mherrmann 10y ago
  You're right - I'm A).
alkonaut 10y ago
I'd be delighted to just have a querty with a Swedish layout, but with some English mappings for \[]{}, all of which require AltGr on a Swedish layout. Having those available on a better (or no) modifier would save my wrists a lot of pain.
- eddiedunn 10y ago
  I would recommend that you just use the US layout when coding. It's not like you need åäö when writing source code. The only time I use the Swedish layout is when writing emails or chatting, and a keyboard shortcut to change layouts quickly solves that for me.

pitaj 10y ago

I feel like learning a non-qwerty layout would make it difficult to switch between computers. What has your experience been? Is QFMLWY supported on pretty much every device? How does it compare to Dvorak?

mherrmann 10y ago
That's a valid point. I now can't touch type on QWERTY keyboards anymore (but mostly because I never have to). Setting up QFMLWY requires special setup that is more difficult than "select the layout from the System Preferences". I'm certain it outperforms Dvorak, but I'm not sure by how much.

mmel 10y ago

I used left-handed dvorak for a while while my right hand was broken, and used colemak at home, but I reverted to QWERTY after realising I have to work with other people. Other people use my computers, and I use other peoples computers. Having to remember to switch maps before letting someone start typing at my computer, or having to cognitively switch back and forth between layouts whenever I used anothers wore thin, and I gave up. If I did lose the use of a hand permanently, I would probably try making a custom map with chording, there's definitely a payoff there. I'd say it would be worth learning alternative keyboard maps if: A) you work remotely and have a single computer or set of computers you can permanently configure with your preferred layout. B) You're a wordsmith/writer and produce large amounts of textual input as fast as you can type. I think getting a base touch-typing competency matters far more than optimised layouts, even though the latter can improve comfort/accuracy/speed even further. In comparison, the text-input methods for smartphones and portable devices need to improve drastically. I find myself getting frustrated whenever I need to input more than a single sentence of text into a smartphone. Using terminal emulators or trying to write technical code/information is a nightmare.

mherrmann 10y ago
You're right - I'm A).

alkonaut 10y ago

I'd be delighted to just have a querty with a Swedish layout, but with some English mappings for \[]{}, all of which require AltGr on a Swedish layout. Having those available on a better (or no) modifier would save my wrists a lot of pain.

eddiedunn 10y ago
I would recommend that you just use the US layout when coding. It's not like you need åäö when writing source code. The only time I use the Swedish layout is when writing emails or chatting, and a keyboard shortcut to change layouts quickly solves that for me.