4 ms·

Dvorak7min: The free way to learn Dvorak in Linux

11 points by bigmetalman 15y ago

hsmyers 15y ago
Cheap and easy to use. Also does not obscure original key info. http://www.amazon.com/Simplified-Keyboard-Lettering-Transparent-Background/dp/B0011FI3O8 http://www.amazon.com/Simplified-Keyboard-Lettering-Transpar...
barumrho 15y ago
I learned to use Dvorak using this site: http://learn.dvorak.nl/ http://learn.dvorak.nl/. Caveat: It took me about (painful) two months to be able to type normally, but I switched back to Qwerty because I couldn't use any other computer without looking like a computer-illiterate.
evoxed 15y ago
I highly recommend learning dvorak. I've switched the keys on every MacBook since 2007 and the difference is huge (not just speed either, but mostly comfort/ease). It took about two weeks to bring myself up to the same speed as qwerty, and if you TOUCH type then switching back and forth is no problem at all. Bonus: I often find myself typing with one hand while taking notes or paging a book– with qwerty this was doable with some advanced pecking but in dvorak it just feels easy with either hand. Caveat... it makes other people look computer-illiterate when they try to use my computers... (so maybe not so good if you share a lot– or at least, switch your keys back once you've tackled the dvorak-touch)
oskarth 15y ago
For those looking to learn a new keyboard layout, I would suggest that you take a look at Colemak before diving into Dvorak. It's easier to learn (more common keys with qwerty), doesn't break common keyboard shortcuts, and some would argue it's even more ergonomic than Dvorak. http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#What_is_Colemak.3F http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#What_is_Colemak....
hippiecow 15y ago
To anyone seeking to switch from QWERTY to some other layout: I highly recommend Colemak over Dvorak. Colemak is supposedly better optimized, and yet it's easier to switch to from QWERTY since many of the key mappings remain the same. I switched ~2 years ago because while I could always type pretty fast (I think 80 WPM or so) on QWERTY, I could only do so while hunting and pecking. So typing was somewhat tiresome. Now, I type faster because Colemak is specifically designed for touch typing in mind. And I can still hunt and peck on other devices (i.e. friends' iPhones, or library computers), possibly because of my history of hunting and pecking with QWERTY, not to mention the similarities between Colemak and QWERTY. Not sure if there's an app for it - I just switched my keyboard and that was that. Initially, I was pretty slow, but my speed quickly picked up. For more info, you should check out their website: http://colemak.com/ http://colemak.com/
codehotter 15y ago
I have experience with colemak, not with dvorak, but: Don't do it for speed. I type exactly as fast in colemak as in qwerty, even after years of using colemak. (110 WPM). The limitation feels to me to be in my brain, not in the keyboard layout. Colemak does feel much more comfortable than qwerty. Although I stopped using qwerty for a month while I initially learned colemak, I have been able to use qwerty or colemak interchangeably since. It takes no effort to switch 'modes'. The biggest thing I hate about colemak is that it breaks vim keybindings. I actually use this script http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2865 http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2865 to have qwerty key mappings in vim while having colemak in insert mode If you're interested in learning a new keyboard layout, I recommend checking out these links before you decide http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=Easy_to_learn http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=Easy_to_learn http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=Ergonomic http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=Ergonomic Below is from the colemak FAQ on dvorak http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#What.27s_wrong_with_the_Dvorak_layout.3F http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#What.27s_wrong_w... What's wrong with the Dvorak layout? The main problem with Dvorak is that it's too difficult and frustrating to learn for existing QWERTY typists because it's so different from QWERTY. Colemak has been designed to be easy to learn. Placing 'L' on the QWERTY 'P' position causes excessive strain on the right pinky. Colemak doesn't place frequent letters where the pinkies stretch. 'F' is on the QWERTY 'Y' position which is a difficult stretch on normal keyboards. 'I' is very frequent but isn't on the home position. 'R' is very frequent but isn't on the home row. It is significantly lopsided so that the right hand does too much work. It's not comfortable to use Ctrl-Z/X/C/V shortcuts with the left hand while holding the mouse with the right hand. Colemak conserves those shortcuts in their QWERTY positions. Even though the design principles are sound, the implementation isn't optimal because it was designed without the aid of computers. 'L' and 'S' form a frequent same-finger digraph on the right pinky. Same-finger for the pinky is very rare in Colemak. In particular, Unix commands such as 'ls -l' are very uncomfortable to type. Some punctuation (in particular the curly/square brackets) is less comfortable to type on Dvorak. This affects mainly programmers and advanced Unix users.
- SkyMarshal 15y ago
  Colemak:Dvorak::Dvorak:Qwerty KTouch (http://kde.org/applications/education/ktouch/ http://kde.org/applications/education/ktouch/) is a great typing tutorial, if you're on KDE or don't mind downloading parts of KDE to run it. Supports Colemak, Dvorak, Qwerty, etc.
polshaw 15y ago
Anyone looking to learn a different keyboard layout to qwerty should look broader than dvorak. Others have mentioned colemak, which is decent but QGMLWY layout[0] does better in testing[1], and with reduced pinky use. 0. The carpalx layouts: QFMLWY is letter-optimised, QGMLWB is fully-optimised (moves the (semi)colon), and QGMLWY keeps ZXCV in place. 1 http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/?full_optimization http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/?full_optimization E: autohotkey exe to try it w/o install: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/49319255/AutoHotKey/QGMLWY.exe http://dl.dropbox.com/u/49319255/AutoHotKey/QGMLWY.exe
tennis 15y ago
It's always interesting to see all the Colemak users recommend Colemak over Dvorak, without ever trying the latter.
RegEx 15y ago
I'm a Dvorak user. Learning Dvorak didn't help me type much faster. My qwerty was 100, my Dvorak 120. I definitely feel more comfortable typing throughout the day than before, though. I use VIM, and the location of the j,k,h,l keys on the Dvorak keyboard do not really hinder me at all. I'll be happy to answer any questions about the transitioning process if you have any. Dvorak is cool, but really, it's just a keyboard layout..nothing to get passionate over.
- ericmoritz 15y ago
  I got the urge to learn how to touch type in my mid-twenties. I didn't take typing classes in high school because I took programming classes for my tech credits, so I never learned. I started off using Qwerty but found my hands cramping up. I fantasized about getting an ergonomic keyboard to make it easier but I thought it was strange to have to carry my keyboard between work and home (I didn't want to buy two, they're expensive) Looking at the Typematrix keyboards peeked my interest in Dvorak. I was already trying to learn Esperanto at the time, so what the hell, what's one more oddity to add to my list. I did dvorak7min everyday for a week or two and completely switched. I've been touch typing using Dvorak for seven years now. I never had the hand cramping issues I had with Qwerty. I am sure if I tried hard, I could type fast but I enjoy how comfortable Dvorak is rather than the raw speed it would bring. The only side effect of Dvorak was I ended up switching from Vim to EMACS because the hjkl movement keys are no longer on the home row. Don't worry, I gave up that Esperanto thing. I figured that with the amount of effort I was exerting to learn Esperanto I could learn Spanish. I never did learn Spanish.
  - RegEx 15y ago
    I was lucky enough to have parents who understood how important it would be for me to be comfortable with computers, despite the fact that they were not tech-savy at all. I was playing Mario Teaches Typing by age 5-6. I upgraded to the more (hilariously) violent "The Typing of the Dead" for my Dvorak endeavors, though ;)
teilo 15y ago
I am a dvorak user because I never learned to touch type properly on qwerty, meaning, without looking. I still believe that the layout is more efficient, in spite of studies which say otherwise, but I really don't care one way or the other. It works for me. I am currently working on qwerty touch typing, without actually switching. I see no reason this should not be possible. I know people that can play mandolin, guitar (picking style), and banjo, and can successfully transition from one to the other as needed, and that is a similar skill.

11 points by bigmetalman 15y ago

Cheap and easy to use. Also does not obscure original key info. http://www.amazon.com/Simplified-Keyboard-Lettering-Transparent-Background/dp/B0011FI3O8 http://www.amazon.com/Simplified-Keyboard-Lettering-Transpar...

barumrho 15y ago

I learned to use Dvorak using this site: http://learn.dvorak.nl/ http://learn.dvorak.nl/. Caveat: It took me about (painful) two months to be able to type normally, but I switched back to Qwerty because I couldn't use any other computer without looking like a computer-illiterate.

evoxed 15y ago

I highly recommend learning dvorak. I've switched the keys on every MacBook since 2007 and the difference is huge (not just speed either, but mostly comfort/ease). It took about two weeks to bring myself up to the same speed as qwerty, and if you TOUCH type then switching back and forth is no problem at all. Bonus: I often find myself typing with one hand while taking notes or paging a book– with qwerty this was doable with some advanced pecking but in dvorak it just feels easy with either hand. Caveat... it makes other people look computer-illiterate when they try to use my computers... (so maybe not so good if you share a lot– or at least, switch your keys back once you've tackled the dvorak-touch)

oskarth 15y ago

For those looking to learn a new keyboard layout, I would suggest that you take a look at Colemak before diving into Dvorak. It's easier to learn (more common keys with qwerty), doesn't break common keyboard shortcuts, and some would argue it's even more ergonomic than Dvorak. http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#What_is_Colemak.3F http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#What_is_Colemak....

hippiecow 15y ago

To anyone seeking to switch from QWERTY to some other layout: I highly recommend Colemak over Dvorak. Colemak is supposedly better optimized, and yet it's easier to switch to from QWERTY since many of the key mappings remain the same. I switched ~2 years ago because while I could always type pretty fast (I think 80 WPM or so) on QWERTY, I could only do so while hunting and pecking. So typing was somewhat tiresome. Now, I type faster because Colemak is specifically designed for touch typing in mind. And I can still hunt and peck on other devices (i.e. friends' iPhones, or library computers), possibly because of my history of hunting and pecking with QWERTY, not to mention the similarities between Colemak and QWERTY. Not sure if there's an app for it - I just switched my keyboard and that was that. Initially, I was pretty slow, but my speed quickly picked up. For more info, you should check out their website: http://colemak.com/ http://colemak.com/

codehotter 15y ago

I have experience with colemak, not with dvorak, but: Don't do it for speed. I type exactly as fast in colemak as in qwerty, even after years of using colemak. (110 WPM). The limitation feels to me to be in my brain, not in the keyboard layout. Colemak does feel much more comfortable than qwerty. Although I stopped using qwerty for a month while I initially learned colemak, I have been able to use qwerty or colemak interchangeably since. It takes no effort to switch 'modes'. The biggest thing I hate about colemak is that it breaks vim keybindings. I actually use this script http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2865 http://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2865 to have qwerty key mappings in vim while having colemak in insert mode If you're interested in learning a new keyboard layout, I recommend checking out these links before you decide http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=Easy_to_learn http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=Easy_to_learn http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=Ergonomic http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=Ergonomic Below is from the colemak FAQ on dvorak http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#What.27s_wrong_with_the_Dvorak_layout.3F http://colemak.com/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#What.27s_wrong_w... What's wrong with the Dvorak layout? The main problem with Dvorak is that it's too difficult and frustrating to learn for existing QWERTY typists because it's so different from QWERTY. Colemak has been designed to be easy to learn. Placing 'L' on the QWERTY 'P' position causes excessive strain on the right pinky. Colemak doesn't place frequent letters where the pinkies stretch. 'F' is on the QWERTY 'Y' position which is a difficult stretch on normal keyboards. 'I' is very frequent but isn't on the home position. 'R' is very frequent but isn't on the home row. It is significantly lopsided so that the right hand does too much work. It's not comfortable to use Ctrl-Z/X/C/V shortcuts with the left hand while holding the mouse with the right hand. Colemak conserves those shortcuts in their QWERTY positions. Even though the design principles are sound, the implementation isn't optimal because it was designed without the aid of computers. 'L' and 'S' form a frequent same-finger digraph on the right pinky. Same-finger for the pinky is very rare in Colemak. In particular, Unix commands such as 'ls -l' are very uncomfortable to type. Some punctuation (in particular the curly/square brackets) is less comfortable to type on Dvorak. This affects mainly programmers and advanced Unix users.

SkyMarshal 15y ago
Colemak:Dvorak::Dvorak:Qwerty KTouch (http://kde.org/applications/education/ktouch/ http://kde.org/applications/education/ktouch/) is a great typing tutorial, if you're on KDE or don't mind downloading parts of KDE to run it. Supports Colemak, Dvorak, Qwerty, etc.

polshaw 15y ago

Anyone looking to learn a different keyboard layout to qwerty should look broader than dvorak. Others have mentioned colemak, which is decent but QGMLWY layout[0] does better in testing[1], and with reduced pinky use. 0. The carpalx layouts: QFMLWY is letter-optimised, QGMLWB is fully-optimised (moves the (semi)colon), and QGMLWY keeps ZXCV in place. 1 http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/?full_optimization http://mkweb.bcgsc.ca/carpalx/?full_optimization E: autohotkey exe to try it w/o install: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/49319255/AutoHotKey/QGMLWY.exe http://dl.dropbox.com/u/49319255/AutoHotKey/QGMLWY.exe

tennis 15y ago

It's always interesting to see all the Colemak users recommend Colemak over Dvorak, without ever trying the latter.

RegEx 15y ago

I'm a Dvorak user. Learning Dvorak didn't help me type much faster. My qwerty was 100, my Dvorak 120. I definitely feel more comfortable typing throughout the day than before, though. I use VIM, and the location of the j,k,h,l keys on the Dvorak keyboard do not really hinder me at all. I'll be happy to answer any questions about the transitioning process if you have any. Dvorak is cool, but really, it's just a keyboard layout..nothing to get passionate over.

ericmoritz 15y ago
I got the urge to learn how to touch type in my mid-twenties. I didn't take typing classes in high school because I took programming classes for my tech credits, so I never learned. I started off using Qwerty but found my hands cramping up. I fantasized about getting an ergonomic keyboard to make it easier but I thought it was strange to have to carry my keyboard between work and home (I didn't want to buy two, they're expensive) Looking at the Typematrix keyboards peeked my interest in Dvorak. I was already trying to learn Esperanto at the time, so what the hell, what's one more oddity to add to my list. I did dvorak7min everyday for a week or two and completely switched. I've been touch typing using Dvorak for seven years now. I never had the hand cramping issues I had with Qwerty. I am sure if I tried hard, I could type fast but I enjoy how comfortable Dvorak is rather than the raw speed it would bring. The only side effect of Dvorak was I ended up switching from Vim to EMACS because the hjkl movement keys are no longer on the home row. Don't worry, I gave up that Esperanto thing. I figured that with the amount of effort I was exerting to learn Esperanto I could learn Spanish. I never did learn Spanish.
- RegEx 15y ago
  I was lucky enough to have parents who understood how important it would be for me to be comfortable with computers, despite the fact that they were not tech-savy at all. I was playing Mario Teaches Typing by age 5-6. I upgraded to the more (hilariously) violent "The Typing of the Dead" for my Dvorak endeavors, though ;)

teilo 15y ago

I am a dvorak user because I never learned to touch type properly on qwerty, meaning, without looking. I still believe that the layout is more efficient, in spite of studies which say otherwise, but I really don't care one way or the other. It works for me. I am currently working on qwerty touch typing, without actually switching. I see no reason this should not be possible. I know people that can play mandolin, guitar (picking style), and banjo, and can successfully transition from one to the other as needed, and that is a similar skill.