I will throw in a plug for English. I’ve heard it’s actually a fairly young and therefore simple language, compared to some. Simpler languages tend to rely even more on nonverbal context to resolve ambiguity. That’s bad for text.

if i read anything about people who may have switched it was only because of the difficulty they had in using it and a Qwerty layout in a multi-layout environment, which i have experienced that difficulty too.

but thankfully, those are rare situations.

this has been a very interesting thread/topic/conversation, and i thank all who have participated. i find it especially interesting that gregory gordon has: 1: been a Dvorak supporter since 7(?)th grade, 2: had a vision which persuaded him that he is the Creator, and 3: believes that a mandatory forcing of peope against their will is the *right* way to prove he’s God and the Messiah. i will mention that the same God that he claims to be, has never forced anyone against their will. not once. i will only point out that according to what i see, judged by the very same writings which teach that Jesus is the Messiah, gregory would be judged the opposite of what he claims. Please consider this, gregory: the Scriptures that teach Jesus is the Messiah, also teach that He is a *loving* Messiah who did not condemn the guilty (woman caught in adultery) but told her (commanded her) to “Go and sin no more.” i do not really write this for gordon’s benefit, altho it is my desire that this would enlighten him to the truth, but i write this excerpt to expose to others, gordon’s true motive: our “Simplfied Keyboard” as Mr. Dvorak called it, is truly superior, but gordon wants to force a good thing to show evidence that he is the Messiah. and it’s funny that no one agrees with him that it should be forced on anyone. just as Gordon chose to get an F in typing class because his teacher unfairly forced him to use the qwerty in his High School keyboarding class, i would choose to defy congress if they tried to take away my freedom of choice by forcing me to use this superior keyboard layout against my choice. but i am thankful for my free will, and free will is much more important than any keyboard layout.. even the most efficient and comfortable layout for the English language. i am a computer programmer, someone who so appreciates the advantage of 1/3rd as much work on my hands in a day, but i would rather kiss every computer goodbye than give up one freedom such as this.

free will is critical to the American way of life. only a dictator would try to take away our freedom. not even the God of the Scriptures which point to Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords attempts to force people against their will. In Genesis, He commanded Adam and Eve. and He commands people thru-out those Scriptures, but not once has He forced a person against their will. just perhaps He also says, “I am bigger” than those who force their own puny wills upon others. now i understand there are times when rules must be made too, and followed and enforced. but all those are contingent upon real harm to others. forcing a keyboard layout would be bad. just like forcing everyone to speak English. but this has been done in the past, many times. but English is one of the worst languages for a global “International Language” due to it’s complexities beyond the most basic English. the same Bible that gordon seems to claim to believe in even states that the true God has even divided people’s tongues! now why would a great God of unity decide to cause people to be divided against themselves? perhaps He has a bigger plan that you/gordon does not see. perhaps this God is against world unity before the proper time. and perhaps, just perhaps, this same God has intentionally *also* cause people to use very complex archaic human languags *and* inefficient keyboard layouts too! but i don’t want to turn this into a philosophy discussion, altho i do find it interesting.

Dvorak was a genius! i stand amazed that he designed his layout without computers, and computer programs have later been developed to find the easiest keyboard layout, and they found the same key placements that he used. (i did not verify the validity of these reports, so this is only claims, but i do believe this is very likely.)

well, thanks to all who have helped me see this great tool! if you have a website for the Dvorak keyboard, you are doing people a great favor! and i thank you,
-Ed Kovac <

[MWB: Applied clarifying edits Ed posted in a follow-up.]

Fewer than 5% of all of the people who use keyboards actually touch type. 95% still do some version of hunt-and-peck.

And in the history of Qwerty is the fact that the Qwerty was made to slow down the hands of people who use two fingers to hunt and peck.

Sholes the man who invented the Qwerty keyboard in 1873 was faced with a problem. The mechanical keyboards of the time were so slow that people who used two fingers to type kept jamming the machines so he deliberately put the most used letters as far apart as possible. This solved his problem. Touch typing was not even invented until the 1920′s.

So the bottom line is that for more than 95% of all Qwerty keyboardists a switch away from Qwerty to Dvorak will speed up their typing instantly as they hunt and peck. I have listened to the members of my ALT typing group and am going to make sure to go slow with my recommendations for the inevitable switch to Dvorak.

First I am going to recommend removing the obstacles to typing on a Dvorak by employers, schools and testing centers.

Next I am going to recommend requiring dual labelling of all keyboards sold in the United States for the only people who will be using Qwerty who are the tiny minority of Qwerty touch typists.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/altkeyboards/message/3773

I approved the post because it is topical, but I do not approve of the idea. Talking about mandatory conversion is a sure-fire way to drum up anti-Dvorak sentiment, and there is absolutely no reason to suggest it. On the contrary, we need to encourage the availability of choice. Mandate freedom.

[Edit] I neglected to mention: The HD example is a bad precedent because that mandate was driven by unique resource limitations that don’t apply to computer keyboard layouts. A radio or TV broadcast using inappropriate bandwidth or indiscriminate tuning interferes with other broadcasts. This is the essential fact first used in the 1920′s to justify radio regulation (including technology mandates affecting signal bandwidth and quality). Radio was already in danger of becoming useless without regulation.

Old analog TV signals use excessive bandwidth when compared to modern technology, and they do so in a frequency range that is valuable for regional communication. Replacing analog TV with digital TV doesn’t just allow higher density video, it also frees up valuable bandwidth for more TV channels or other uses.

By contrast, the “bandwidth” of a keyboard layout is less than one data block per user, typically 4 KB. That’s roughly $0.00, even at several hundred dollars per terabyte of storage. In other words, Dvorak really is free! (As is Svorak, or any other layout you want, even QWERTY.) There is no resource-based justification for forcing the change on individuals.

(It is appropriate to require a particular target typing speed for this or that job. This requirement is likely to favor Dvorak typists. But the candidate should always be allowed to decide which layout to use.)

We in the mandatory conversion to Dvorak camp have long since changed our focus from the ease of learning, less finger motion, fewer mistakes selling points of why to switch to Dvorak and moved on to the bottom line. Mandatory switching to the Dvorak keyboard will save the country anywhere from 250 billion dollars to as much as one trillion dollars in lost productivity per year.

Add to that the fact that less than five percent of Americans actually touch type on a Qwerty keyboard and it is easy to see why Qwerty is no longer an acceptable alternative for any body. Those who must switch are so greatly outnumbered by those who will still hunt and peck that it would also make great sense to just make it a national movement where those who do know how to touch type on a Qwerty be given other chores during the month or less that they need to enable the switch. Remember that the navy said that the cost to retrain can be recouped in ten days.

Yes. We can Dvorak! But it will take bold action from Congress and the President to force it upon the people for the sake of the nation. And as America goes so will the rest of the world. Now is not the time for every body has free will. It is time for real leadership. Nobody was asked if they wanted to join the army during the draft. The economy is in such a sad state mainly because of the inefficiency Qwerty that we must look at our mission in terms of a war on Qwerty.

The challenge is there and all must rise to the occasion. YesWeCanDvorak.com

Including Steve Jobs. Apple put Dvorak in its computers, but they have not put it in the iphone.

Let’s have a protest about that.

Cheers

Bob jones

The tone of the article is like something out of The Onion.

If you find something official, post a link to that, but I think that particular article is just a troll.

“woosh”