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Your argument about Dvorak is far from the ultimate layout because of "ls" utility is strange. I think it is really best layout and in regular typing "ls" is ra

Your argument about Dvorak is far from the ultimate layout because of "ls" utility is strange. I think it is really best layout and in regular typing "ls" is rare. If "ls" case bothers you, you can just add an alias. What you can not get in any other layout is alteration of right and left hands, that is what makes Dvorak ultimate.

lawn 6y ago
"ls" was just an example. L being a common letter in an awkward position is another, imbalance between the hands a third and other layouts get a lower score on same finger usage (pressing two keys with the same finger right after each other). See this writeup for a bunch of ways you can analyze a layout: https://sites.google.com/alanreiser.com/handsdown#h.u8i88askuf5c https://sites.google.com/alanreiser.com/handsdown#h.u8i88ask... There are many layouts that give you right/left alternation. The BEAKL layouts for example.
- eimrine 6y ago
  Interesting layout, but my opinion is that pinky keypresses is not so hard as a Beacl's effort grid says. Especially I disagree with placing rare letters on a home row in pinky positions, it is just wrong. I really want to explore the metriks which make Dvorak worse than Workman or Colemak, my experience with those three layouts tells me that something is wrong with those data on the link you have published. For me typing on a keyboard is like a piano playing, if your pinkies move hardly, then you will have hard time playing literally any chord and it is not a piano's problem. But who knows, maybe people with hard moving pinkies want to have their own layout and Beacle is comfortable for them.
  - lawn 6y ago
    Oh I agree with your comments about the pinky. I tried BEAKL-15 for a while but I switched to a modified RSTHD to get more pinky usage (I also use a 5-column layout so I don't press shift or similar with the pinkies either.) RSTHD is another good layout that has this left/right alternation, especially if you move E to the vowel side which I've done. But it does require a keyboard with at least two thumb keys as it has Space on one and E on the other.

lawn 6y ago

"ls" was just an example. L being a common letter in an awkward position is another, imbalance between the hands a third and other layouts get a lower score on same finger usage (pressing two keys with the same finger right after each other). See this writeup for a bunch of ways you can analyze a layout: https://sites.google.com/alanreiser.com/handsdown#h.u8i88askuf5c https://sites.google.com/alanreiser.com/handsdown#h.u8i88ask... There are many layouts that give you right/left alternation. The BEAKL layouts for example.

eimrine 6y ago
Interesting layout, but my opinion is that pinky keypresses is not so hard as a Beacl's effort grid says. Especially I disagree with placing rare letters on a home row in pinky positions, it is just wrong. I really want to explore the metriks which make Dvorak worse than Workman or Colemak, my experience with those three layouts tells me that something is wrong with those data on the link you have published. For me typing on a keyboard is like a piano playing, if your pinkies move hardly, then you will have hard time playing literally any chord and it is not a piano's problem. But who knows, maybe people with hard moving pinkies want to have their own layout and Beacle is comfortable for them.
- lawn 6y ago
  Oh I agree with your comments about the pinky. I tried BEAKL-15 for a while but I switched to a modified RSTHD to get more pinky usage (I also use a 5-column layout so I don't press shift or similar with the pinkies either.) RSTHD is another good layout that has this left/right alternation, especially if you move E to the vowel side which I've done. But it does require a keyboard with at least two thumb keys as it has Space on one and E on the other.