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Install a left-handed typing keyboard layout
Authored by: jporten on Dec 05, '06 01:03:47PM

When I switched to two-handed Dvorak in 1994, a set of stickers from Staples had me up and running in two months or so. A caution, though: building up the muscle memory for two-handed Dvorak eventually replaced the muscle memory for QWERTY, and I'm no longer able to touch type on that layout. I presume that something of the same thing might happen with a one-handed layout. If anyone knows of a way to stay keyboard multilingual, I'd be interested in hearing it.



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Install a left-handed typing keyboard layout
Authored by: zottel on Dec 05, '06 05:05:22PM

Well, it's quite obvious: Just use different layouts frequently. ;-)

Personally, i'm "fluent" in the US (Windows) layout, German Windows and German Apple layout. Sure, these layouts are by far not as different from each other as Dvorak and US; it's more the special characters that make the difference. But still—I guess it should be no problem to adapt to different layouts as long as they're all used from time to time. I use Windows at work, Apple at home and US for programming (as reaching all the bracket characters is a real pain in the a** on a German keyboard).

You could, say, write emails and use use your word processor with Dvorak, but browse the Internet and write forum replies with US. Something like that should work without problems.



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Install a left-handed typing keyboard layout
Authored by: newbish on Dec 05, '06 06:40:17PM

Zottel is correct: just continue using both layouts. I did this for years, jumping back and forth between Windows and Mac OS X/9. During that period, I could jump back and forth between the two formats with hardly a second thought.

I eventually got tired of going back and forth between formats, and made the jump entirely into Dvorak. In the years since going 100% Dvorak, my QWERTY skills have certainly degraded. I can still switch back and forth between the two, but I'm now slower at QWERTY than I used to be.



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