Re: [SAGE] Suggestions for Dvorak (learning/good keyboards/etc)

[Justin Dossey <jbd@well.com>]

I went to all the trouble of learning the two-handed Dvorak layout
because of RSI.  It's fast, but I found that the motion was even more
repetitive than the QWERTY layout-- all up and down, no stretches or
pauses.  This made my RSI even worse!  Also, switching back and forth
between Dvorak and QWERTY is serious not-fun.  After a few months on
Dvorak, my fingers just didn't know the QWERTY layout anymore!

Regular breaks and proper exercise wound up being much more effective
for me with my RSI, even more so than ergonomic workstation changes.
There are applications like XGrabber (
http://sourceforge.net/projects/xgrabber/ ) that help you remember to
take breaks.

Good luck with Dvorak if you go with it.

Justin Dossey

On Thu, 22 Jan 2004, Glenn E. Sieb wrote:

> Over the past few years, on and off, I have trouble with my elbows. My doctor tells me it's a sign of repetitive motion injury, and I should try and change things like the keyboard(s) I use, and the way I type. I'm a fairly competent (140wpm or so) typist on a Sholes/Qwerty keyboard, and I have a few friends who use Dvorak and insist it's a good way to go, along with possibly an old Northgate Ultra/Avant Stellar, or one of the wackier split keyboards. I've used split keyboards in the past, but, being a touch typist, they annoy me as they always seem to put the 6 on the left hand, which tends to annoy me..
>
> Anywho.. I figured people here might have some good suggestions. :)
>
> Thanks in advance!
> Glenn
>
>