At first, the new keyboard seemed to be better than a password. A good hacker can get by a password easily, but a non-convert to Dvorak will never make any sense out of the new keyboard. I later found out how wrong I was. I still often find others using my computer. It probably would be better to leave the old keyboard tiles in place and use a Dvorak chart placed near the keyboard. Not wanting to do that, I now use a password even though it goes against my grain.

Reasons for learning Dvorak

My own favorite, and the one I was most surprised by, is that you become a lot less fatigued than with the old keyboard. You don't get that drawn out feeling when an assignment comes your way late in the day.

Nothing scientific, you understand, but it may relieve carpal tunnel strain. Carpal tunnel hasn't been a problem for me, but I can remember that the third finger on either hand would often bind and get stiff at times, as if they were saying -- don't do this to me!. This has not happened since I switched keyboards.

Accuracy. When the State of Oregon tried to implement the new keyboard, managers saw an increase in productivity even before the typists were up to speed. Their accuracy was so much better that it made up for the lack of speed, even at that early stage. It's good that this was noticed in the early stage, because the experiment didn't last long enough to have a late stage.

The main reason most people switch, speed. Speed is something much of which I don't have of in the first place. My dreams of joining the ranks of high speed typists are yet to come, but I am faster than I was on the old keyboard. People who are blessed with great speed should be able to pass the threshold of credulity using the Dvorak layout.

Much of the communicating done on computers and the Internet nowadays will be easier with the new keyboard. The faster your mind-to-eye-to-hand coordination, the more meaningfully your ideas will emerge.

Who should learn the Dvorak keyboard?

Writers. The more your writing speed approaches your thinking speed, the better your material will be -- look at the way jazz musicians compose on the spot. Write as fast as you think. It's a sad day when one's writing conforms to how much they like or dislike the typing function. How many great ideas have been deep sixed because the writer did not feel like typing?

Transcribers - legal stenographers. Someone who has natural speed could probably approach that of a legal stenographer -- a skill always in high demand.

Office workers. It seems like the most logical place to start, but alas, the response of office workers who have had the Dvorak keyboard imposed on them has been enormously negative -- for now we must live with the fact that imposing it upon the present generation will not work.

Anyone who spends an hour or so a day or more at the keyboard should seriously consider the Dvorak keyboard. Why not minimize the drudgery -- the time you save could be spent in riotous living.

New communication techniques - future. No one knows what forms of communication in the future will take, but archaic processes like the qwerty keyboard will certainly fall by the wayside. Why wait?

Those with a true desire to join the 21st Century should learn the Dvorak keyboard.