@Sigivald: I said in my first post that it’s not so much about speed as efficiency, and in my second post I said there are fast Qwerty and Dvorak typists (and plenty of slow ones in each camp, too). Yes, my personal preference is now Dvorak. And of course the fact that the current record holder uses Dvorak doesn’t prove anything, but it is something to consider.
There are some facts about Dvorak which are indisputable:
you spend twice as much time on the home row
this reduces finger movement and strain
you alternate hands more (this is an ergonomic improvement)
it is easier to learn because it is more logical and there are so many common words you can practice right from the very first lesson
I’m not trying to convert you, I couldn’t care less if you love Qwerty, or if you type twice as fast as me, or earn ten times as much. But, I think it’s unwise to call the benefits of Dvorak a myth when there are so many people who swear by it, and you probably haven’t tried it yourself for any significant period of time.
@Sigivald: I’m a Dvorak typist, but I try to take a more nuanced approach for keyboard recommendations.
If I were setting up a typing class at school for kids who are new to typing, I’d make a strong case for setting up the whole computer room to use Dvorak. That is because I do believe that Dvorak is easier to learn if you aren’t already a skilled typist. (For starters, you can do home-row exercises using real words.)
But for people who are already skilled in their layout (100+ wpm, no matter what layout they’re using), there’s no reason to switch, unless they particularly wanted to. The retraining will take time, and in my opinion, the real gain comes if you struggled on qwerty, not if you’re already good at it.
(Back when I switched, 7 years ago, I was one of the fastest qwerty typists at work. I switched because I was bored and needed something to keep my brain active. Sadly I didn’t record my typing speed before the switch, so I cannot meaningfully decide if switching improved my speed significantly.)
Of course, that reflects my view that people who know what they’re doing should be free to do what they want—if they’re comfortable with qwerty, then they should feel free to keep using it. Personally, for myself, I have the same opinion of qwerty as I do of Apple*, and so it’s extremely unlikely that I’ll ever switch back.
I strongly dislike both, but I don’t judge people who use either or both. Hey, there are people who strongly dislike Dvorak, Linux, and Android; that shouldn’t make me a better or worse person in their eyes, either.
I couldn’t help but think of the gorgeous artisan/steampunk keyboards at Datamancer.net (http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/keyboards.htm) that I found a while back. I can’t see myself ever shelling out that much cash for a keyboard, but they sure are purdy.
Any keyboard with flat keybeds has sacrificed ergonomics to reduce cost or achieve compactness; your fingertips do not naturally move in a plane when flexed.
The only two keyboards that ~don’t have flat keywells are the kinesis contour/advantage and the Malton, and it’s not clear if latter even still exists; they don’t answer their e-mail.
I find it funny that there are so many complaints about no ergonomic mechanical keyboards, with the MS Natural Ergonomic 4000 being a great example of what is needed. I scored one of these at work and my thumbs were sore after about 2 minutes as it requires a significant amount of pressure to depress the spacebar, unless you push it down dead in the center.
This is apparently a common problem [ http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/MS-Natural-Ergo-Keyboard-Sticky-Spacebar-Fix/index.html ] though I was able to mitigate it by twisting the sway bar a little. But still the keyboard provides little advantage except forcing you to separate your hands a little and come in at an angle. Though I already do this on standard keyboards and can type fine anyway. In fact my hand placement is probably better on a standard keyboard as I don’t have to twist or stretch my hands to press the spacebar as near to dead center as I can just to ensure the thing doesn’t jam. For those of you who can’t use anything but an ergonomic keyboard, there has to be something better.
And, as a couple have noted, there are ergonomic mechanical keyboards. http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/contoured.htm http://www.maltron.com/
And they take a lot more into consideration than just splitting the keyboard. For example, both halves of the keyboard are mirrored, just like your hands, instead of angled from left to right. And they give the thumb more to do than hit the spacebar.
Using the MS Ergo 4000 (along with having a job) has convinced me it’s time to spend the $300-$500 on a good mechanical ergonomic keyboard. Now if I could only decide. Maltron, or Kinesis?
Had the same low-end rubber dome Microsoft Wired Keyboard for six years now. Cleaned it out a year ago but still a very nice, basic keyboard for £6. Loose tolerances and a mushy feel but very relaxing to type on and reasonably quiet.
My favorite keyboard was the FingerWorks-modified MS Natural Keyboard with the integrated mousepad. Thanks to Apple, FingerWorks disappeared and I no longer had a source for it. The MS Natural 4000 is about the closest I can get to a perfect keyboard, except that it doesn’t have the nice feel of mechanical switches. However, it correctly defaults to not using the stupid Fn lock, and the arrow / PgUp, etc. keys are all in the right spots.
Ergonomics is important for me, and while the MS Natural 4000 isn’t a true ergonomic keyboard, I didn’t last very long with the Das keyboard. I absolutely need a split keyboard at the very least. So I ended up hacking the MS 4000 to work for me, and I brought my mouse as close as possible to the main keys. Who needs 10 key anyways?
“I can’t take slow typists seriously as programmers.”
That seems rather silly. The speed of typing has nothing to do with >programming.
I’ve seen good programmers that use the two finger method of typing. Just >because it takes them a bit longer to put down (even so, barely, >apparently if you do it a lot, you become fast regardless), it doesn’t >affect the quality of their code.
To MJ
Yes those good programmers you saw were superior to most programmers, because they can remain good while having slow typing speed (less than 6 keys / seconds), and distraction of moving eye focus between the keyboard and the screen.
In other words, while nothing can denies they are good, they must have greater brain power.
In other words, while they have greater brain power, why don’t they improve typing speed by using more fingers, and then have less distraction, and eventually become even better programmers?
i’m a 120wpm typist but out of necessity, not choice. swyping is freedom from our mechanical overlords, and i’m not even very good at it yet, just got my new phone a couple weeks ago.
Great article, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been using an old IBM SpaceSaver II server keyboard (no numeric keypad, built in Trackpoint nipple, nice and clicky).
I love macs but everytime I get a new desktop machine I have to ebay the attractive but useless fancy-pants Apple keyboard - all style and no substance. Muggles (non-techies) express surprise when they see my state-of-the-art MacPro connected to an unassuming ‘1980s style’ keyboard. This just goes to show how much they know
PS. Agree wholeheartedly with your view on non-typists. The analogy re: pianists is a very good one. How much time DO you spend at the keyboard …?
I recently left AT&T and after three years of iPhone I was unable to type at all on the teeny tiny Blackberry keyboard! I ended getting an HTC EVO because it has a glass capacitative touch screen and has that iPhone “feel.” My speed on Blackberry was less than half that on iPhone. I guess that’s an acquired taste.
As to keyboards, I used to love the old mechanical IBM keyboards, but I’m now with the commenters who note the lack of ergo keyboards in the list. My employer bought me a Kinesis Advantage (for $285!) after my elbow and wrist surgery two years ago because the damage to my wrist and elbow was attributed to keyboarding by my hand surgeon. The Kinesis Advantage’s mechanical keys have a similar “click” to those old IBM’s but the hand positioning is nearly optimal, which it is not with the IBM. I do use the built-in keyboard on my Macbook Pro for short durations at home, but I can’t tolerate a standard keyboard for long. I also use a vertical mouse at work, as a standard mouse or trackball puts too much stress on my wrist. I couldn’t do my job without my Kinesis Advantage and my vertical mouse.
I currently use this http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=191278
at home
and a crappy Acer at work (crappiest thing about this keyboard is the placement of the f-keys means I keep reaching for the esc key and end up hitting the sleep button)
One of these days I would like to try something GOOD, maybe something with mechanical keys (I have used the original MS natural keyboard and hated it though)
What I want to know is why no-one has made a bluetooth keyboard with mechanical key-switches (would be the ultimate keyboard
How could you do this without one decent ergonomic keyboard? My personal favorite is the Kinesis Contoured. Whether Essential, Advantage, or Pro, the mechanics are all the same—only the firmware is different. This keyboard saved my career. I got my first one in 1994, and I own six of them. New costs $300 but a reconditioned is just as good and you can save some cash.
I do sometimes miss my original IBM PC keyboard, which not only was a great mechanical keyboard, but was also rugged enough to use as a cricket bat. But the Kinesis is better.
I used to have a Marquard(t?) keyboard with Reed switches! Reed! Those that react to the the speed at which you pressed the key! Slow down motion -> No key. Proper keydown -> Hit! Made in early 80s, it was the perfect typing tool. German made, I believe (of course).
Even Apple’s Extended II keyboard, which was great, couldn’t match it (= mechanical switches).
And yes, I could always tell the cheap ones, they were and still are everywhere! And people wouldn’t believe me when I told them that the kbd was crap. Oh, the good ole times…
Great post and I am a big believer that the quality of the keyboard has a direct impact on the well-being of the programmer. I have written about mechanical keyboards that I have used over the years:
I love my Goldtouch keyboards. I’m curious about whether mechanical keys are really better, but I would never go back to using a less ergonomic (angle/position wise) keyboard again, and it’s really hard to even consider going back to page up/down being on the right.
The laptop keyboards and the Apple flat keyboards drive me nuts. I like the longer travel. I am, however, a keyboard killer. I beat them mercilessly until they start skipping keystrokes. I would love to be able to try one of those Cherry switch keyboards before buying it. I have an old IBM keyboard, and it is great except that the plug doesn’t fit anything any more (AT only).
It is about time for a new keyboard again (space bar, “M”, and “T” skip) so I will take this all into consideration.
