×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

abc or still qwerty?
2

abc or still qwerty?

abc or still qwerty?

(OP)
Now that keyboards no longer need to be split up in that odd order for mechanical reasons, would you prefer to see keyboard keys arranged in alphabetical order?

I hated the keyboard when I was learning to type and longed for a foot-pedal to operate the backspace key!

I would still trade for a keyboard with alpha keys, do they exist?

RE: abc or still qwerty?

Yes, I would like it better. Some day there will not be keyboards anyway.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 05
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

RE: abc or still qwerty?

No.  How does alpha make any sense execpt for two-finger hunt-and-peck people?

If I were going to go through the pain of learning a new keyboard, I would learn the Dvorak keyboard, which was designed taking the frequency of use of the letters.  Most frequently used letters in the home row.  http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak/layout.html

However, since I already can touch type faster than I can think on a QWERTY keyboard, I don't have much motivation to switch

RE: abc or still qwerty?

I didn't realize QWERTY came from mechanical reasons. Can you explain that.

I know there is another type called Dvorak which is supposed to be a super-efficient keyboard layout used by transciptionsists

=====================================
Eng-tips forums: The best place on the web for engineering discussions.

RE: abc or still qwerty?

The other thing about the abc keyboard... the only ones who really benefit are kids 6 and under. Doesn't everyone else know how to type on stanadr keyboard already?  I know it wouldn't do me any good to use abc keyboard now that qwery is second nature.

If small kids are the only one who benefits, is there any market power to drive the change?

=====================================
Eng-tips forums: The best place on the web for engineering discussions.

RE: abc or still qwerty?

Look - my brain is already hard wired to the qwerty keyboard...you guys just go away.  I don't need things like new abc keyboards messing up the essential fabric of the universe!

RE: abc or still qwerty?

you know, I learned to type on a qwerty keyboard.  When I went to france and found that certain keys were in different places, it only took a few minutes to start touch-typing again on the new keyboard layout.  Most of the keys were in the correct spots, though.

RE: abc or still qwerty?

I understand that the reasoning behind the qwerty key board was the same as the reasoning behind the Dvorak keyboard.
Put the most used keys where they are easiest to press. A different implementation of the same philosophy.
Re different keyboards, try Latin America. There are two Spanish keyboard layouts in use as well as English. Of course there are three corresponding layout maps. Except they don't always correspond. Pick any of the three keyboards and combine it with any of the three keyboard maps. I get by with English-English, but I have encountered and been confused by all of the other combinations.
yours
yours

RE: abc or still qwerty?

I believe the QWERTY keyboard was developed to slow down typists who would cause the mechanical arms of the "typeface strikers" so they would not hit each other in old-fashioned type writers.  So basically we're using a system designed to be inefficient.

RE: abc or still qwerty?

bah, you better order this keyboard : http://www.artlebedev.com/portfolio/optimus/

then you can assign what you want to each key and have your personnal keyboard as you wish winky smile

Personnally, I do not like abc keyboard. That is what is into the xbox360 and it's a real pain to type a message when you're used to AZERTY keyboard (hey, I'm in France, remember? winky smile )

Cyril Guichard
Mechanical Engineer Consultant
France

RE: abc or still qwerty?

Yes, remember that. But where in France are you? We have a hobby called Paris - go there as often as we can. You in île de France?

BTW, what does such a keyboard cost?

Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org

RE: abc or still qwerty?

I'm from Grenoble in the Alps, close to Italian border.

For the keyboard's price, I have no idea yet as it is not in production. The mini-optimus (the one with 3 buttons) will be available soon at $120.00 I believe

Cyril Guichard
Mechanical Engineer Consultant
France

RE: abc or still qwerty?

nice stuff, but you have to stay qwerty to use it.

Cyril Guichard
Mechanical Engineer Consultant
France

RE: abc or still qwerty?

Grenoble! Been there several times. To visit Caterpillar among others. Took the car over the mountains once, went from Paris. In the autumn. Will never forget how long it was before we got to Gap.

Hmm.. USD 120 for three buttons - sounds really expensive. There are around 100 buttons on a full-grown key-board.

Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org

RE: abc or still qwerty?

It will probably be cheaper and more user friendly to buy a 5 button mouse and reprogram the extra buttons to mimic the 3 button Optimus.
respectfully

RE: abc or still qwerty?

What messed me up in France was that I logged into the computer which brought up my US profile. So then I was trying to type with US layout assigned to a French keyboard. I had to remember where some of the keys were in order to get anything to come out right, and God forbid that I needed a special character like / or = or *.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

RE: abc or still qwerty?

Qwerty all the way.  I hate the SMS tapping and the "T9" where they guess your word and you end up with things you can't get out of and don't want - and it still doesn't get the word you want.  I gave up writing because I can type much much faster.
cheers

RE: abc or still qwerty?

I never was able to get a keyboarding class to fit into my schedule, yet I can hunt-and-peck with four fingers and two thumbs much faster than I can write (and faster than some people can type).

I do envy those who can touch-type however.

As far as T9 is concerned, I'd take it over typing manually into a keypad any day of the week.  That is unless you need the words "whozit" or "thingmodiggle"....

Robert

RE: abc or still qwerty?

skogsgurra : funny, I grew up in Gap before moving to Grenoble for my studies.

sms : I understand your concern as I faced the same one when I was in Canada. I had to move from azerty to qwerty.

Cyril Guichard
Mechanical Engineer Consultant
France

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources