Open Mike II: Radical (OT)

Man, I'm a radical. I remapped my keyboard!

Look at the "heatmap" for the Dvorak keyboard layout:

Source: keybr

Note that my keyboard is "ortholinear," meaning the keys are vertically aligned instead of staggered.

The one thing I found awkward and painful was hitting the "L" with my right pinkie, which seems to be the finger that hurts the most for me. But hitting the "V" with my right ring finger is very comfortable.

So I switched L and V (the keyboard is programmable). Much better. I adapted to it surprisingly quickly.

So now I'm learning a modified Dvorak layout. As if my windmill could get any more windmilly. (Don Quixote reference.)

...Although right after I made the switch, I had to type the following sentence: "I have tried on several different days but have never received an email." Five V's and only two L's...you know what they say: oh well!

Mike

Product o' the Week:

A fantastically comfortable ergonomic mouse for PC users. Should be considered incompatible with Mac unless you want to use only default settings. Available in regular and small sizes, right and left hand, and wired and wireless. WARNING to Mac users: Do NOT download USBOverdrive! It broke my computer. But really, for you PC users, you won't believe how easy on your hand this mouse is.

The link above is a portal to Amazon, through which most anything you purchase will be credited to TOP. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

And here is a portal to...

Original contents copyright 2021 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Comments

[JoeB]

MJ,
OK if it works for you. Your explanation makes me dizzy :)
August D (and his brother-in-law) in 1936 found a fix for something not broken. Much like VHS vs Beta, qwerty may not be the most efficient but won the war.

[Michael Marcus]

Here is an OT typing practice for you. My dear late mom once told me when I was trying to learn to type, that she once learned to practice typing using all of the keys on the keyboard with "Pack my box with five dozen jugs of liquor." In later years, while living with my brother's family, who has a more conservative bend, she claimed she said no such thing. :-)

[Pak Ming Wan]

Not sure how you did the remapping, but I can wholeheartedly recommend Karabiner for Mac users. I use it to remap modifier keys on my keyboards so that I get a consistent experience across every keyboard I use.

I also use it to disable the internal mac keyboard and mouse when an external keyboard is connected: useful to put my external keyboard on top of the internal one for a better typing experience.

Check it out here: https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/

Pak

[Thomas Mc Cann]

"The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" Keyboard practice this side of the pond.

[Dan]

now if you have to use another keyboard you're lost!

[No, I don't believe so. I've been typing with four fingers and one thumb on QWERTY keyboards for 50 years...I don't think I'll suddenly lose my way around just because I learned a new way of typing on a new keyboard. Maybe if I manage to switch over completely, which is what I want, then the old way will become rusty. But I doubt it will be something I ever forget altogether. --Mike]