Staticfree Blog

I started writing this in a comment on Smileloki's RSI post, but figured it'd be more useful here. Awhile ago, I got a wrist brace to help with my aching wrists and hands. It's been good so far, but isn't a "magic bullet" to cure a RSI.

In CS4 a few years ago, I got a severe RSI from pounding out code and chatting constantly. I looked around for RSI solutions and besides correct posture and a good desk setup, many expensive keyboards were suggested. Considering their $200-400 price range, I looked for a cheaper solution.

I decided take the plunge and switch to Dvorak (and more importantly, learn to type properly - fingers on the home-row, minimal moving of fingers, using pinkies and such.). That helped a great deal as I both slowed down during the re-learning process and ended up with a better typing style overall afterward.

Dvorak alone is not a super improvement over Qwerty - I prefer it, as I overall move my hands substantially less (watch someone typing in the two layouts; it's sorta nifty as typing on Dvorak almost looks like fake typing.), but the process of relearning to type was the most important. You can attempt to relearn to type in Qwerty, but I always find that I fall into old habits too quickly.

Of course, it takes a great deal of patience to relearn to type; ultimately, though, it is worth it. I found the best way to do this was by taking notes in class with a laptop/palmtop which is mapped to Dvorak. I tried to practice typing in Dvorak by chatting in AIM and on IRC, but that proved to be insanely frustrating: I couldn't keep up with the flow of conversation and ended up "reverting" to Qwerty to actually speak. Coding or writing papers in Dvorak is a decent alternative to notes, but deadlines make it look rather unappealing after awhile.

If you do make the switch, don't be discouraged. You will start off slow, but will also regain speed within a month or so. I now type a good 80WPM or so in Dvorak without much issue (I'm not sure if that's better than my Qwerty speed, but it probably is).

One last concern which is always brought up: compatibility. Yes, I can still type in Qwerty. When I was starting off, it took awhile to switch between the two. I had a "shaky finger" as my brain tried to decide which to use, but I've gotten to switching now. I can easily start typing on a Qwerty keyboard, but it'll take me a good 30 minutes to get back into the rhythm of Qwerty (I've heard of people who don't even have this time, and I'm guessing they actually use Qwerty on a semi-regular basis). I tend to find that most people's computers can easily be switched to Dvorak with minimal effort or problems on their part (OS X, GNU/Linux, ). My most recent frustration in that front has been with the modern Sun Blades which have magical new USB keyboards that are entirely unlike all their successors.

Ultimately, if you can spend about 1 month of time typing a bit slower (and 1-2 weeks being frustrated at your typing speed) in order to help prevent any RSI, Dvorak is a great choice.

How do I make my computer Dvorak?

So, how do you do it? It's easy!

Windows

Start → Settings → Control Panel → keyboard → Language → add → "Dvorak"

You should be able to switch it with the little icon in the tray.

Mac OS X

System Preferences → International → Dvorak

GNU/Linux with X 4.* (or anything running X 4.*)

setxkbmap dvorak

I also recommend the -option ctrl:nocaps -option compose:menu options. The former will turn your "caps lock" key into a spare "ctrl" key (no more bumping caps lock aND ACCIDENTALLY SHOUTING) and the latter will map that "menu" button to be a "compose" key.

To switch, I've a two scripts that run the setxkbmap with either the above option or setxkbmap pc104 (which is often the default). The one that switches to Qwerty is called aoeu and the one to Dvorak, asdf (that idea blatantly stolen from Tetron). You switch by rolling your left hand on the home row in a terminal.

2004-04-11 update: setxkbmap -option 'ctrl:nocaps' -option 'compose:menu' -option 'altwin:super_win' -option 'grp_led:caps' -option 'grp:shift_toggle' 'dvorak,us' This is wonderful. I hijacked the capslock LED to indicate Dvorak vs. Qwerty (the LED is on when it's Qwerty) and pressing both shift keys at the same time causes it to toggle layouts. No more hunting for a terminal to type "asdf" anymore :-) This is due to the fact that you can have up to 4 loaded layouts at once in XFree86 >= 4.3.

I stumbled across the info here: /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb/rules/xfree86.lst and /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xkb/README.config .