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Date:      Fri, 18 Aug 2000 21:49:59 -0500
From:      Jon Hamilton <hamilton@pobox.com>
To:        Jason Evans <jasone@canonware.com>
Cc:        j mckitrick <jcm@FreeBSD-uk.eu.org>, chat@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: emacs on a laptop 
Message-ID:  <20000819024959.A27E81E2@woodstock.monkey.net>
In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 18 Aug 2000 17:32:37 PDT." <20000818173237.J14875@blitz.canonware.com> 

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In message <20000818173237.J14875@blitz.canonware.com>, Jason Evans wrote:
} On Sat, Aug 19, 2000 at 01:11:47AM +0100, j mckitrick wrote:
} > On Fri, Aug 18, 2000 at 03:33:14PM -0700, Jason Evans wrote:
} > | > 
} > | > here is my new plan:
} > | > dvorak layout
} > | > change caps lock to ctrl
} > | 
} > | Plan to not be able to type well for at least a month.  Plan to not gain
} > | full typing speed for at least several months.
} > 
} > is it worth it?
} 
} In my opinion, it wasn't quite worth it, though it's definitely not worth
} switching back at this point (I've been using dvorak for almost two years
} now).  There are rewards to switching, but they probably don't justify the
} huge effort involved.
} 
} It took about a year before I could clearly type at least as well in all
} cases (coding, copying, composing email, etc.).  I could not have done the
} transition at all if it hadn't been for a lull at the end of one job (I
} started the switch when I gave two weeks notice =) ).  There is a period of
} time when it is very difficult to type at all, even on a qwerty keyboard.
} I can no longer type with any speed on qwerty.

This was the killer for me, when I switched for a couple of months.  I got
to about the same speed using dvorak in that time (~75WPM) as I typed under
QWERTY before the switch, but when I had to go help someone on their 
workstation using QWERTY it was just excruciating.  

} On the up side, I feel less hand fatigue from typing, and my error rate is
} much lower than it ever was on qwerty.  My error rate is lower mainly
} because a number of hard-wired problems I had on qwerty didn't transfer to
} dvorak (for example mixing up left/right hand letters (e/i, q/p)).
} Unfortunately, I didn't do a timed typing test before switching, but I'm
} pretty sure I can type faster now (on the order of 10-15% faster).

Interesting.  I never noticed any perceptible difference in hand fatigue,
but it rarely bothers me using a QWERTY layout, either.  

-- 
   Jon Hamilton  
   hamilton@pobox.com



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