Bonus Feature: The Dvorak Keyboard

I just found out about this interesting little piece of keyboard technology and I wanted to share it with you. It's quick, EASY, and might just become your favorite way to personalize your usage of your keyboard. I've typed the following sentence without the aid of the QWERTY layout.

"I'm typing this sentence with the Dvorak keyboard layout."

Ok, I'll admit that took me about two minutes to type that line, but the cool thing is that I in fact was able to do it at all, without downloading any new keybindings to my Dell (though it would work on a Mac or even a Linux machine). The Dvorak system was designed in the last century to replace the really inefficient and stressful QWERTY system (that's the keyboard layout you're probably using right now...your top row of keys spells the name). The new system was based on how people actually use the keyboard and was also made to emphasize easier keystrokes. It never caught on as a major system, but it was added to the SI system and can be found on any computer made today.

I plan to make learning this better layout my new project and with the aid of some built-in hotkeys, I can switch back any time I want. Of course I learned all this stuff from somewhere and I'll direct your attention to The Dvorak Zine, a fun little cartoon strip that has lots and lots of info and tips about using the Dvorak system.


Good luck and have fun defying QWERTY!

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