First thing I do on a linux machine: setxkbmap -layout us -variant dvorak -option ctrl:swapcaps,compose:rctrl (You can leave -variant dvorak out; the -option

First thing I do on a linux machine: setxkbmap -layout us -variant dvorak -option ctrl:swapcaps,compose:rctrl (You can leave -variant dvorak out; the -option stuff will still work.) The compose key, used to compose all kinds of characters from æ to ż, is one of those smart and fantastic options, and it works really intuitive. Just hit that key, then guess two characters (like a and e, or z and .) and voila. It's also pretty neat that it supports stuff like ™ and ©. Yeah, the other setting switches ctrl and capslock. My left pinky just really doesn't like the original place of ctrl, and caps is something I use only rarely.