Keyboard Layout: Dvorak vs Colemak: is it Worthwhile to Improve the Dvorak Layout?

[Xah Lee]

(a lil weekend distraction from comp lang!)

in recent years, there came this Colemak layout. The guy who created
it, Colemak, has a site, and aggressively market his layout. It's in
linuxes distro by default, and has become somewhat popular.

I remember first discovering it perhaps in 2007. Me, being a Dvorak
typist since 1994, am curious on what he has to say about comparison.
I recall, i was offended seeing how he paints a bias in peddling his
creation.

So, here, let me repaint his bias. Here it is, and judge for yourself.

〈Keyboard Layout: Dvorak vs Colemak: is it Worthwhile to Improve the
Dvorak Layout?〉
http://xahlee.org/kbd/dvorak_vs_colemak.html

here's a interesting excerpt:
--------------------------------------------

Just How Much Do You Type?

Many programers all claim to type 8 or 10 hours a day. They may be
sitting in front of the computer all day, but the time their fingers
actually dance on keyboard is probably less than 1 hour per day.

Contrast data-entry clerks. They are the real typists. Their fingers
actually type, continuously, for perhaps 6 hours per day.

It is important get a sense of how much you actually type. This you
can do by logging you keystrokes using a software.

Let's assume a pro typist sustain at 60 wpm. 60 wpm is 300 strokes per
min, or 18k per hour. Suppose she works 8 hours a day, and assume just
3 hours actually typing. 18k × 3 = 54k chars per day. With this
figure, you can get a sense of how many “hours” you actually type per
day.

I sit in front of computer on average 13 hours per day for the past
several years. I program and write several blogs. My actual typing is
probably double or triple of average day-job programers. From my emacs
command frequency log for 6 months in 2008, it seems i only type 17k
strokes per day. That's 31% of the data-entry clerk scenario above.
Or, i only type ONE hour a day!

I was quite surprised how low my own figure is. But thinking about it…
it make sense. Even we sit in front of computer all day, but the
actual typing is probably some miniscule percentage of that. Most of
the time, you have to chat, lunch, run errands, browse web, read docs,
run to the bathroom. Perhaps only half of your work time is active
coding or writing (emails; docs). Of that duration, perhaps majority
of time you are digesting the info on screen. Your whole day's typing
probably can be done in less than 20 minutes if you just type
continuously.

If your typing doesn't come anywhere close to a data-entry clerk, then
any layout “more efficient” than Dvorak is practically meaningless.

 Xah