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Comment by mmel | Hacker News Reader

As someone who's learnt both colemak and dvorak in the past, it is my opinion that the utility of being able to use qwerty anywhere, at any computer, without having to adjust settings or install and configure keymaps, far outweighs any purported advantages of either colemak or dvorak or any other exotic layout.

That said, other people's situations will differ from mine, and I can see why you would switch if you were say, writing slabs of prose in seclusion, or lived in a country that is majority non-qwerty already.

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Would say the best reason to try something weird is if the normal approach just isn't working. I never managed to touch type on a normal keyboard. Now that I'm using a split layout, I've learned to touch type. That makes it worth the weirdness for me.

I used Colemak for a year and came to the same conclusion — I use Qwerty again now and am happier for changing back. (I no longer feel/look inexperienced when asked to help on a computer set to use Qwerty, and vim is easier with Qwerty.)

Using Qwerty because “Qwerty won” in the face of better-optimised layouts felt defeatist to me at first, but I accept it as the most practical option for those living in Qwertyland.

Committing to Colemak for a year was a fun exercise to focus on basic typing skills, though — I'm now faster in Qwerty due to better general typing habits (after the initial and frustrating re-adjustment period when switching back).

I wrote about the experience here: https://thisisforeveryone.com/switch-to-colemak-for-the-shee...

I learned Colemak on my work machine while using QWERTY on my home machine. It made typing in general rough for a time, but forcibly transitioning back and forth has eventually gotten me to the point that when using my work laptop, my fingers instinctively go into 'Colemak mode', and when using my home laptop, my fingers instinctively go into 'QWERTY mode'. It's an extremely useful switch to be able to manually toggle in my head, as it's no longer crippling to use someone else's keyboard.

How long did it take you to feel comfortable switching back and forth? How fast do you type?

I spent a year switching between Colemak and Qwerty (but mostly using Colemak) and the transition never became comfortable for me.

I'm not sure how long it took to settle - it's one of those things you don't realize has become natural until you actively notice it - but I think it was the scale of a couple of months.

I'm not sure if there's a 'special recipe' to be generalized to all people; unfortunately, I only have my experiences on this to draw on, and the stories of a few others.

Does the transition just feel disjointed for you, like it takes you a few minutes to switch modes fluidly? Or is it longer-term?

It's longer term — I have to type one or the other for a few days before it feels like I'm not fighting the keyboard. Glad to hear it's not like that for everyone, though!

I type 85-95wpm (peaking around 130wpm) in Colemak on a Kinesis Advantage I with cherry brown keys. I documented my switch to Colemak five years ago (February 2013) and am still on it:

  - [7 weeks of colemak](http://petrustheron.com/posts/colemak.html)
  - [21 weeks of colemak](http://petrustheron.com/posts/colemak-21-weeks.html)
  - [Back up to speed on Colemak](http://petrustheron.com/posts/colemak-speed.html)

Don't switch unless you have RSI issues and you won't have to type on other people's computers. Whichever layout you choose, map Caps Lock to Backspace on QWERTY for an easy boost (and Backspace as Space key to learn faster).

To type fast, don't focus on speed; instead aim for 95%+ accuracy. Then push your speed up. The trick to touch typing is to maintain home row position, and the Caps Lock/Backspace mapping helps with that: [How to Type Fast](http://petrustheron.com/posts/how-to-type-fast.html)

I use dvorak full-time on my desktop PC, but I never bothered to switch my cell phone key layout so it's still qwerty, and I send a few texts a day. I don't even notice the change anymore, I can fluidly switch between the two. I've been using dvorak for almost 20 years, it's so much more comfortable for typing quickly, as I usually do on my desktop PC.

The reason I learned Dvorak was because I saw my own fingers doing so much work when typing over 100 wpm on querty. Typing fast on Dvorak looks and feels effortless. Although I never got up to 100 wpm, I stayed with Dvorak because it is so much more comfortable. And yes, it's a pain to remember both Vim and Emacs keybindings in both layouts. Not to mention other program's shortcuts. I don't regret it, but I wouldn't recommend anyone else to go through the pain of switching.

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