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The Dvorak Tastaturlayout, also Dvorak Simplified key board (DSK) or American Simplified key board (= American keyboard simplified) mentioned, is the designation of an ergonomic key assignment, which was developed from August Dvorak into the 1930er years as alternative to the QWERTY keyboard layout.

Emergence

The 1932 Dvorak Tastaturlayout developed by a commission under August Dvorak and William Dealey had the clear default to be as simply as possible easy to learn and fast applicable. The draft of the keyboard layout on it investigations of the letter frequency and the physiology of the hands preceded.

This ergonomic keyboard layout was sketched on basis of the following principles:

  • On a mechanical keyboard it is easier to type letters if thereby the hands alternate.
  • The most frequent letters and letter combinations should be, where the hands rest upon.
  • The rarer letters should be on the lower (at worst the one which can be reached) row.
  • The right hand should perform, since most humans are more tapping work.
  • Digraphe should be written with neighbouring fingers.
  • The most favorable finger movement is from outside to inside.

The Dvorak Tastaturlayout could become generally accepted however never really, since only few humans were ready umzulernen, the industry the QWERTZ keyboard layout as standard used and typing teachers only on "„the normal "“keyboard to train. 1984 gave it in the USA of about 100,000 users of this keyboard layout. It has nevertheless nothing from its sense lost, today is ISO-certified it.

Characteristics

The keyboard layout uses completely different key arrangement, in order to make less fatigue and faster letter possible. Thus are (for English tip by) 70 % of the notices on the middle letter row, the basic row are called. With the QWERTY keyboard layout this is only 32 %. 22 % instead of 52 % of the notices lie on the upper row and only 8 % instead of 16 % on the badly attainable lower row. Also by it that both hands alternate if possible it is increased, the scanning rate. And finally strong fingers with Dvorak more are used than with the QWERTY allocation, which for example the weakest finger (left, small finger) nearly as often uses as the second-strongest (right middle finger).

According to Dvorak users the fingers of a QWERTY tapping move on a usual working day approximately 30 km, with Dvorak would be it only 1.8 km. Also one makes twice as many errors on QWERTY keyboards as on Dvorak, more simply to learn is this system besides: In order to reach 40 words per minute, one needs on the average 56 hours of learning time, but only 18 hours with Dvorak. For people, which want to learn the ten-finger tapping, but for a long time with their own system tap, is offered also equal transferred the keyboard layout on, since so the bad habits will hardly transfer.

Criticism

There are however also doubts about the advantages of the Dvorak system. Some studies (1952 of the Australian 1973 of Western Electric, 1978 of the Oregon State University) showed only very small or no speed improvements. To the statements, the Dvorak keyboard is better also under ergonomic-medical criteria and e.g. prevents. , There is RSI syndrome or chord sheath inflammation as well as long-term damages no secured data, but the non-uniform occurrence of these disease pictures puts the assumption close that other factors than the keyboard layout are more important.

A study of the US-Navy of 1944, which shows large advantages of Dvorak, was criticized by the economists S.J. Liebowitz and Stephen E. Margolis in 1990 a published essay, particularly since it was accomplished under the direction of Dvorak themselves. The essay again was attacked repeated by Dvorak writers as incorrect and partially.

Today's applicability

Owing to the PC technology it is today very simple to use Dvorak. Almost each operating system can switch the key assignment. With all versions of Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and most Unix derivatives is according to standard supported Dvorak (see left). For DOS there is a special driver. By this switching it is possible to use several keyboards and not to impair for example not Dvorak users at the PC.

With Mac OS X the keyboard can be changed over over the menu "„to national attitudes "“to the American Dvorak version. Also a German variant (type II) is available (see Related links).

With most today's keyboards one can remove the keys with a screwdriver for cleaning. Thus these can be converted into a Dvorak keyboard. (With other keyboards the key caps of the different rows have however partly easily different forms.) it is very advisable to make before the conversion a Dvorak course in the Internet in order to get accustomed faster to the new keyboard.

See also

  • NEO Tastaturlayout

Related links

Generally

Criticism

Keyboard driver


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