Why do we still use qwerty keyboards?

[Shurikens and Lightning]

Try this kids!

Pretend you are an alien, You have extensive knowledge of the human English alphabet and you have abstract idea of a keyboard. Now look at your QWERTY keyboard and realize that the letters are all out of order. Then somebody tells you that this was designed for a 200 year old device and humans are too lazy to change.

 

[demoman_chaos]

There used to be ABC keyboards, but QWERTY was developed after years of research. QWERTY has since replaced the ABC ones completly like gas-powered cars replaced steam ones.
There are a few AWERTY ones outside the US though.

 

[theultimateend]

snip

OK, I'm going to take a deep breathe, and tell you this as calmly as I can.

I am done with this conversation, because neither you or I will back down from our standpoints, and this will only end in a thread lock, a probation, or a suspension. Do not quote me again. Do not message me. I'm done with you. Goodbye.

Alright can do.

Oops.

In other news I'd love to try Dvorak one of these days.

Try this kids!

Pretend you are an alien, You have extensive knowledge of the human English alphabet and you have abstract idea of a keyboard. Now look at your QWERTY keyboard and realize that the letters are all out of order. Then somebody tells you that this was designed for a 200 year old device and humans are too lazy to change.

If you try that you'll get whined at by AkJay so it probably isn't a good idea .

 

[Xhu]

Try this kids!

Pretend you are an alien, You have extensive knowledge of the human English alphabet and you have abstract idea of a keyboard. Now look at your QWERTY keyboard and realize that the letters are all out of order. Then somebody tells you that this was designed for a 200 year old device and humans are too lazy to change.

Like blu-ray disks? Technically superior in a small way, but not enough to make a changeover necessary for most of the population either now or in the future. Hell, we'll probably have neural interfaces before the net gain of changing to Dvorak as a society becomes apparent.

 

[Zeraki]

You can change your keyboard if you'd like, but I don't want to learn how to type all over again. I'll stick with the 'qwerty'.

 

[internetzealot1]

I'll be damned before I have to learn how to type again.

 

[SamuelT]

Snippage

Now there was no need for that. Sarcasm only carries you that far. A normal tone would have sufficed.

Still, I stick to my points. Why change it, and make it more difficult and expensive for every owner of a keyboard, when the original still works.

 

[PuppetMaster]

We drive on the left here in the UK.

left, right, you know what i'm talking about. point is, we're probably doing it as some sepratist thing, personally i think drivers should be in the middle

Incorrect.

damn, you got me. while i may not know the best alternitive, I know qwerty isn't it

 

[PuppetMaster]

Now there was no need for that. Sarcasm only carries you that far. A normal tone would have sufficed.

Still, I stick to my points. Why change it, and make it more difficult and expensive for every owner of a keyboard, when the original still works.

sorry darlin, but my points are usually understood easier if they sting a little. if every other industry had your attitude about keyboards where would cars be? human rights? if we didn't do things because we thought it was too much of a hastle to adapt we'd be lost in the dark ages.

so.. deep breath, game face, smile to the nice people, go out and buy a new keyboard, evolve

 

[AkJay]

OK, I'm going to take a deep breathe

phew, it's a good thing you don't text, or you might have spelled breath wrong. god bleasse teh Americain skool sistem

Actually, I spelled it right.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Breathe

 

[SamuelT]

sorry darlin, but my points are usually understood easier if they sting a little. if every other industry had your attitude about keyboards where would cars be? human rights? if we didn't do things because we thought it was too much of a hastle to adapt we'd be lost in the dark ages.

so.. deep breath, game face, smile to the nice people, go out and buy a new keyboard, evolve

My god, you're a bastard. Can't you just, y'know, converse with people instead of insulting them? I could rage on your lack of capitalisation, but I don't.

This 'adaptation' is one without any noticable change in result. A letter typed with a qwerty-keyboards or an alternative is by all means still a letter. You're putting huge amounts of effort and money in something that has little pay-off. The generation that uses these keyboards are all used to the original, so why change it?

And now I'm done with this conversation.

 

[PuppetMaster]

OK, I'm going to take a deep breathe

phew, it's a good thing you don't text, or you might have spelled breath wrong. god bleasse teh Americain skool sistem

Actually, I spelled it right.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Breathe

haha oh my, of all the points I skewered you with you picked the worst one to try to defend.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/breath

i'll simplify for you: breath is a noun, breathe is a verb. you can't take a deap breathe, but you can breathe deeply. similarily you can catch your breath, but you can't breath quietly.
world-7
America-0

 

[AkJay]

OK, I'm going to take a deep breathe

phew, it's a good thing you don't text, or you might have spelled breath wrong. god bleasse teh Americain skool sistem

Actually, I spelled it right.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Breathe

haha oh my, of all the points I skewered you with you picked the worst one to try to defend.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/breath

i'll simplify for you: breath is a noun, breathe is a verb. you can't take a deap breathe, but you can breathe deeply. similarily you can catch your breath, but you can't breath quietly.
world-7
America-0

And all I can think of is... so? (>similarily (It's not a word))

 

[PuppetMaster]

OK, I'm going to take a deep breathe

phew, it's a good thing you don't text, or you might have spelled breath wrong. god bleasse teh Americain skool sistem

Actually, I spelled it right.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Breathe

haha oh my, of all the points I skewered you with you picked the worst one to try to defend.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/breath

i'll simplify for you: breath is a noun, breathe is a verb. you can't take a deap breathe, but you can breathe deeply. similarily you can catch your breath, but you can't breath quietly.
world-7
America-0

And all I can think of is... so? (>similarily (It's not a word))

ahh, but similarly is. It seems a pesky 'i' snuck in there. Interestingly, if I was using a ABC keyboard there would have been an extra 'a'. so..... don't try to blame anyone or anything for bad spelling or grammar but the person directly responsible for it. In addition, when you make a mistake, don't pretend it didn't happen or convince critics you know what you're talking about. Just fess up when a word is used out of context and you will be forgiven. "'i' and 'l' are really close on a keyboard and my fingers are as large and powerful as rod iron so they tend to push multiple buttons" or "oh my, you're right; though 'breath' is spelled correctly it was not the intended word for this instance. Surely you don't deserve probation for bringing such a thing to my attentin, being that it's far from 'flaming other users'"

 

[rabidmidget]

Because it would drastically reduce productivity around the world as people get used to the new layout

 

[Cowabungaa]

I would have to get used to a different keyboard, which would be a nuisance. A useless nuisance actually, which has no real purpose and can be avoided easily, so I won't bother with it.

 

[Jodah]

The QWERTY keyboard was made so that commonly hit keys were struck by the same fingers in order to prevent jamming. With the Davorak you could hit one commonly used key with one hand and another with the other leading to them being pressed before the first hammer could return. It wasn't to directly slow typists down, though it did do this to a degree.

As for the advantages, now that we are no longer confined by the limitations of the ribbon hammer system of typewriters we could return to the Davorak keyboard. However, most studies have shown there is only a 5-10% increase in the efficiency of the user. This is after they have mastered the new one, which takes quite a long time. Think about how long it took you to learn how to type with a QWERTY (assuming you can touch type and do not have to look at the keyboard). Now imagine you have to forget all of that and learn a new layout. (this would apply for any layout whether it is a Davorak, ABC, or something else)

 

[Ryuk2]

It won't be easier to write with ABC keyboard. Even if you know alphabet perfectly it will be easier to learn writing with QWERT.
Put your hands on keyboard and write slowly. You will see that your fingers fit perfectly ..and now try to imagine writing on ABC keyboard.
QWERT was made to make writing easier.

 

[GloatingSwine]

QWERT was made to make writing easier.

No, it wasn't. It was made to make typing harder. It was designed to slow typists down because early typewriters jammed too much if you typed quickly. That's why all of the most common letters in the English language are typed with the left hand, so that they're on the weaker hand of 90% of the population.

Dvorak is designed to make typing easier.