[CW] Copying CW

[Donald Chester]

>From: "Ron H" <rnharsh@visi.com>

>Has it ever occurred to you to use a keyboard? 30-40 wpm "copy" on a
>keyboard is only moderately fast. . . These computer keyboards
>are a lot easier.
>

Especially if you use the Dvorak keyboard layout.  It is a standard feature 
of all Windows computers and Macs manufactured within the last 5 years or 
so.  It takes a few weeks to learn and get your typing speed back up, but 
once mastered, your typing speed will continue toincrease far beyond 
anything you could ever do with the old standard keyboard layout.

The standard layout (QWERTY) was deliberately designed to slow down your 
typing speed, because typing too fast on mechanical typewriters would cause 
the keys to jam, especially if you hit two adjacent keys in rapid 
succession.  The Dvorak layout was designed in the 30's, but never caught on 
until the advent of computers, which make it easy to modify keyboard layout 
with software rather than special mechanical arrangements.

There are tutorials available on the web for learning the keyboard.  Just do 
a search for "Dvorak keyboard".  You will get some erroneous hits for music 
by the famous composer of the same name (and reportedly cousin of the 
inventor of the keyboard).

Here is a comparison of the layouts:

>Standard:  QWERTYUIOP[]\       Dvorak:  ',.PYFGCRL/=\
>           ASDFGHJKL;'                  AOEUIDHTNS-
>           ZXCVBNM,./                   ;QJKXBMWVZ

Note that on the Dvorak keyboard, the most frequently used letters lie in 
the home row which, when typing English, account for 80% of the keystrokes.

Don, K4KYV


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