Tread lightly on the things of earth

I’ve successfully converted to the Dvorak keyboard!

I’ve been trying to switch away from QWERTY for >5 years to make myself more efficient. But I kept getting frustrated by the resulting slowdown, and kept cheating back into QWERTY. (As a tech writer, I more or less type for a living, for heaven’s sake.)

But during 2001 wrist pain from typing had risen to the point that I made a New Year’s 2002 commitment, to do whatever it takes to switch to Dvorak. After all, some people experience speed increases after the transition, but nearly everybody reports increased typing comfort and lessened strain.

Three months into it, I attest: My wrist pain has subsided. I’m no faster typing Dvorak (yet), but now that I’ve finally got my fingers rewired, it is more comfortable.

I referred this article to my friend Martin a few days ago so he can consider recommending Dvorak to his young kids from the start. I’m pretty sure one day their wrists will thank him.

2004-07-13 update:
I’m now multiple years into Dvorak and the wrist pain I had begun to experience while using QWERTY has never returned. Today I see that Jared provides a truly extensive article on Dvorak rationale and history, The Curse of Qwerty.

<!— imported into MT from 2002 Radio entry via RE on 2003-12-10 —>

2006-12-08 update:
Today I find Alec, Frunch & GCB’s The Dvorak Zine. My favorite quote is from p. 24:

Your hands are important and you should take care of them! It could be the difference between working in your garden when you’re 70 or wearing wrist braces when you’re 40.

Nicely done, guys.