mark@intek01.uucp (Mark McWiggins) (09/08/90)
john@nmt.edu (John Shipman) writes: >Disclaimer: I don't know if my experience is typical. I had >18 years experience touch-typing on QWERTY when I retrained >myself on the DSK, and that was ten years ago. I seldom do >more than an hour or two of typing a day. My QWERTY speed >never got much beyond 40 wpm, but I can generally do over 70 >wpm on the DSK. I haven't tried Dvorak, but Donald Norman ("The Psychology of Everyday Things") claims that it's quite well documented that a conversion from QWERTY to Dvorak will increase speed by no more than 10% for the average user. So it's probably not worth doing for the average QWERTY-comfortable touch-typist. -- Mark McWiggins Integration Technologies, Inc. (Intek) +1 206 455 9935 DISCLAIMER: I could be wrong ... 1400 112th Ave SE #202 Bellevue WA 98004 mark@intek.com Ask me about C++!
rmf@bpdsun1.uucp (Rob Finley) (09/09/90)
In article <1990Sep7.180323.8467@intek01.uucp> mark@intek01.uucp (Mark McWiggins) writes: >john@nmt.edu (John Shipman) writes: > >>Disclaimer: I don't know if my experience is typical. I had >>18 years experience touch-typing on QWERTY when I retrained >>myself on the DSK, and that was ten years ago. I seldom do >>more than an hour or two of typing a day. My QWERTY speed >>never got much beyond 40 wpm, but I can generally do over 70 >>wpm on the DSK. > >I haven't tried Dvorak, but Donald Norman ("The Psychology of Everyday >Things") claims that it's quite well documented that a conversion from >QWERTY to Dvorak will increase speed by no more than 10% for the average >user. So it's probably not worth doing for the average QWERTY-comfortable >touch-typist. I can go from Sun type 4 to IBM extended PC without screaming and cursing now. Thanks whoever for putting the squiggle in a more accessible place for unix but PLEASE don't do me any more favors, ok Sun? :-) I would appreciate a Dvorak type 4 though... My pursuit of Dvorak has to do with Corpal-Tunnel syndrome. It seems like I have to break up my typing into one hour segments because of the excruciating pain in my wrists. Will the reduced wrist movements lengthen my productivity time (perhaps help me delay surgery?) This would more than make up for the problem of having a different layout someone else's machine. ----- "Lets go kick some Earthling butt!" -- Spaced Invaders quintro!bpdsun1!rmf@lll-winken.llnl.gov uunet!tiamat!quintro!bpdsun1!rmf
bote@csense.uucp (John Boteler) (09/11/90)
From article <1990Sep7.180323.8467@intek01.uucp>, by mark@intek01.uucp (Mark McWiggins): > > I haven't tried Dvorak, but Donald Norman ("The Psychology of Everyday > Things") claims that it's quite well documented that a conversion from > QWERTY to Dvorak will increase speed by no more than 10% for the average > user. So it's probably not worth doing for the average QWERTY-comfortable > touch-typist. I never put much faith in statistics, especially not in statisticians! They key here is not sheer numbers of keystrokes per minute, fostering images of some typing boiler room, but, rather, the fact that it is just plain easier to type the most common words because the fingers need not fly all over the keyboard to locate frequently used letters. I can type the word 'the' without ever leaving home (row, that is) under Dvorak. Similar economies exist for many other frequently typed words. Even if the speed numbers alone are not compelling enough, remember the valid consideration of digital fatigue of typists' fingers. Ouch! -- John Boteler bote@csense.uucp {uunet | ka3ovk}!media!csense!bote SkinnyDipper's Hotline: 703-241-BARE | VOICE only, Touch-Tone(TM) signalling
pdwalker@bcarh471.bnr.ca (Paul D Walker) (09/12/90)
>I haven't tried Dvorak, but Donald Norman ("The Psychology of Everyday >Things") claims that it's quite well documented that a conversion from >QWERTY to Dvorak will increase speed by no more than 10% for the average >user. So it's probably not worth doing for the average QWERTY-comfortable >touch-typist. > >Mark McWiggins Integration Technologies, Inc. (Intek) >+1 206 455 9935 DISCLAIMER: I could be wrong ... >1400 112th Ave SE #202 Bellevue WA 98004 >mark@intek.com Ask me about C++! I switched one of my computers over to DVORAK a year ago and painfully relearned how to type. The one thing that I discovered is that my fingers stopped hurting from a long day of typing. I have never formally learned how to type, and just by practice, I am up to a speed of 50 wpm in a good stretch on QWERTY, but at the end of the day, I feel as if I have arthritus. The benefit I get is the release from this pain and an improved typing speed. I will continue to use DVORAK. Paul. /**************************************************************************** * Paul D. Walker PHONE : (613)765-2590 * * Bell-Northern Research, Ltd. BITNET: pdwalker@bnr.car * * Ottawa Ontario Canada USENET: ...!uunet!bnrgate!bmerh732!pdwalker * ****************************************************************************/
mcdonald@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Doug McDonald) (09/13/90)
But how will you play Rogue or similar games on a non-standard keyboard???? :-) Doug McDonald