Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Justin C who wrote (62222)	3/13/2002 11:38:14 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71178

"What were they thinking about?" They were purposely trying to slow the typist down because otherwise the keys got all tangled up as they were being struck. I can well remember untangling bunches of keys all trying to strike at the same time.

To: Justin C who wrote (62222)	3/13/2002 3:45:46 PM
From: The Philosopher	Respond to of 71178

The greatest illogic on the keyboard to me is the layout of the alphabet, which goes back to the origin of the typewriter. "What were they thinking about?" I've wondered. What they wrere thinking about is slowing typists down. In the early models, the typists were too fast for the manual bars that shot up to make the letters. (And I'm old enough to have used one of those!) They "invented" this keyboard layout specifically to slow the typists down so that the keys you type most aren't on the home row where you could type them easily, but are off in weird places. There is an alternate keyboard layout, Dvorak (spelling?), which is logically laid out, and would make much more sense on a computer that doesn't care how fast you type. You can buy them, or there are programs which will remap your keyboard to that layout. Typists who have learned it outperform QWERTY typists significantly. But it's never caught on because everybody learns the dumb QWERTY keyboard first and doesn't want to make the transition. Plus every office has the standard keyboard, and nobody wants to be the first to change over. And in ten years it won't matter anyhow because it will all be voice activated. In twenty years, the keyboard will be as obsolete as the 8" floppy disk (remember those??).