Wednesday, October 21, 2009

QWERTY




Do you know what QWERTY refers to? It is the first six letters on the upper row of your keyboard. Have you ever wondered why the keys on your keyboard are placed where they are? Probably not, it's a pretty random thought. Well, I have, and I discovered the answer the other day. The inventor of today's modern keyboard fashioned the keys very intentionally in order to slow the keyer's typing speed. Strange, huh?

Did you know there's a more efficient keyboard out there that actually locates the keys in position according to the frequency of their use in order to increase efficiency?

This keyboard was designed more than seventy years ago but the QWERTY still dominates. It reminds me of the difficulty we all have with accepting new ideas.

5 comments:

Cary said...

Yep, it was originally done to reduce jams among typewriter key hammers that can hit each other if striking the page in too quick a succession. Probably the best improvement was a two handed device with five buttons each used to create characters with combinations of buttons. Allowed typists incredible speed with a little bit of training. But, just like the Dvorak keyboard, never caught on.

You just saw the typography nerd side of me. Sorry for ignoring the point of your post. :-)

Tim Archer said...

When I came to Argentina, one language teacher commented, "It's hard for us to type on computer keyboards since they're laid out to be convenient in English." I explained to her what you pointed out, that they were actually designed to be INCONVENIENT.

Saw Hugo Fuentes last night (I'm in Bs.As.). He said to tell you hi.

Grace and peace,
Tim Archer

Wes and Ellen said...

Thanks guys for reading and your comments. It would be a long and arduous process to transition to something else . . . I think? Well, I actually haven't tried it.

Tish said...

I hate to also leave a comment that does not really relate to your point at all, but your dog has gas. Just FYI.
Thanks for sharing an illuminating thought that God gave you from the ordinary.

maybe said...

I'm appreciate your writing skill.Please keep on working hard.^^