Typing speed....

[jyl]

What are the practical aspects of trying out, or converting to, Dvorak?

Can you remap and relabel existing k/b's or buy a Dvorak k/b? What about for laptops and other mobile devices? How long does it take to learn Dvorak?

[lendaddy]

I would think that unless typing is a huge part of what you do it would cause problems when away from your keyboard.

[masraum]

All mainstream operating systems have Dvorak built in, so you can "convert" any OS to Dvorak. THe keys on the keyboard don't change, but what comes up on the screen when you type does. In Windows it's in "Regional and Language Settings".

You can also buy stickers for keyboards. I printed out a large copy of the Dvorak and kept it between my keyboard and monitor when I was still learning.

When I learned I had a really, REALLY OLD keyboard and a job where I had lots of time on my hands (had been laid off after the 2001 dot com crash). So I popped all of the keys off and sat there and typed on that keyboard all day. You can do that with 99.99% of the keyboards today, because the keys are shaped differently.

I also used a typing tutor and some online typing stuff specific to the Dvorak keyboard.

To get back up to your current speed, if you type fairly quickly, I'm guessing it would take 1-3 months depending upon how much you type and practice.

[lendaddy]

Ahh, makes sense.

[dhoward]

Wear a short skirt and unbutton you blouse a little more.
Nobody will care how well you type.

Oh, wait....