The Dvorak keyboard has a different layout than QWERTY and may result in faster typing due to the placement of letters. Barbara Blackburn set a typing record using it. The design places frequently used letters in the middle and top rows and supports alternating hands. New computers have software to convert to Dvorak, but it may not become more popular than QWERTY.
The Dvorak keyboard is a keyboard with a different key layout than the QWERTY layout. Dr. August Dvorak and William Dealy developed the Dvorak keyboard in 1936. One can see the Dvorak keyboard referred to as Simple Keyboard or Simplified Keyboard. However, in most cases, the design has not attracted much attention and the QWERTY layout is much more popular.
There is some indication that the Dvorak keyboard may result in faster typing for people trained to use it, due to the placement of the letters. In 1985, Barbara Blackburn achieved the title of “World’s Fastest Typist” in the Guinness Book of Records using a Dvorak keyboard. His maximum speed measured at 212 wpm and his typing speed over fifty minutes averaged 150 wpm.
Many believe that Blackburn’s success is directly related to the principles Dvorak had in mind when determining where to place the keys on Dvorak’s keyboard. The most frequently used letters are found in the middle row, and the top row also contains frequently used letters. The bottom row has the least frequently used letters. Also, most of the frequently used letters are on the right side of the keyboard and support right hand dominance.
Most importantly, part of the Dvorak keyboard principle is to increase your speed by alternating hands to type each letter. The most common words are frequently consonant, vowel and consonant. In the middle row of the Dvorak keyboard, the checkerboard is divided between all vowels on the left and the most common consonants on the right.
Most new computers have software to convert a regular keyboard into a Dvorak keyboard. If one was learning the style, however, one might need to customize the keyboard to see which letters are different in the Dvorak keyboard.
Dvorak has also designed several keyboards for one-handed typing. These are separately designed for use by typing with a right or left hand. With one-handed typing often accompanying text messages, these may become more popular.
The QWERTY typing format will likely continue to be taught more than the Dvorak keyboard even if there is conversion support. Not all older keyboards can be converted, and learning typists or people who hunt and peck would occasionally need to see what letters they were hitting. This is perhaps unfortunate, since tests of the Dvorak keyboard indicate it’s probably more efficient.
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