Why do we still use qwerty keyboards?

[Jedamethis]

EDIT: I have noticed most of you are saying stuff that had to do with typewriters. Let us not forget that another thing QWERTY was famous for is slowing us down when we type. Is that a good thing? This is the 21st century using a 19th century technique on a obviously obsolete system. I believe we need a change to take advantage of computers and not typewriters.

But now that we are all used to QWERTY, changing back to ABC would make us all a lot slower again.

 

[sonicstormer]

Because if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Legion]

After researching it I realized it was because typewriters would jam a lot with a ABC layout so QWERTY was designed to minimize this. Now escapist, I for one can say I have never used a typewriter and am pretty sure they aren't a common occurrence at this point.

Actually I'm fairly sure the keys are arranged to make typing commonly used words faster.

Anyways, point is, we're all used to it.

No the letters that jammed most often were arranged furthest away from each other.

Why did they jam most often? They were used the most often; so Sprite's point still stands.

 

[Ryuk2]

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.

I don't know much about Dvorak, but i think that ABC is harder than QWERT and that's what this discussion is about. Is Dvorak easier than QWERT? Maybe. I don't know. All i know is that ABC keyboards are not as good as QWERT.
BTW those Dvorak keyboards look kind of good and could be better, but i don't care. I write fast enough on QWERT keyboards.

 

[stockvillain]

snip

Glad I could provide a thought-provoking addition to this thread. I'd expand on some of those points that I tried to make, but it seems that you've interpreted them all pretty well; we Americans [as a whole, because there is no individuality or variance within our Mighty Nation] are hateful, backwards rubes to whom change is simply inimical. Thank you for clarifying that, as I was much too occupied oppressing minorities to do so myself.

Thanks again, and pleasant holidays!

 

[Gasaraki]

ABC would be slow as fuck

 

[ratix2]

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)

i think your getting things confused here. dvorak was created a while after qwerty had long replaced abcdef for typewriters, and despite the advantages of the dvorak layout it has NEVER gained widespread popularity, especially when compared to qwerty. second, in your first paragraph you need to replace dvorak with abcdef and then switch abcdef and qwerty around and youve got it right.

and finally, while it is true that the gain in productivity wouldnt be worth the cost of switching over to dvorak, the fact is there is NOTHING stopping anyone from learning dvorak on their own, nor is there anything from stopping schools from teaching dvorak either exclusively or in conjunction with qwerty. here, in the classroom, theres NO productivity reason to NOT teach dvorak. i mean hell, in MOST keyboarding classes dvorak isnt even MENTIONED, let alone taught.

 

[BonsaiK]

Does the escapist have an answer for this?

Because people felt like it. Yes, that is actually the real reason.

After manual typewriters came "automatic" electronic typewriters (like manuals but with a motorised hammer system so you didn't have to push the keys so hard), and then computers finally took over once they were capable of word processing with enough grunt. Even though there were now no more hammers and thus jamming issues were no longer relevant, it just made sense to keep the QWERTY layout so people who already had kick-ass typing speed on the old systems didn't have to relearn where shit was. It might not seem like a big deal to someone in high school or Uni, but relearning key arrangements and getting your speed back up takes time, and in a business environment where you are paying people by the hour, time is money. Money talks, bullshit walks, and therefore a smart employer is going to just buy QWERTY keyboards so he doesn't suffer productivity loss while the staff re-learn the new layout, and also so anyone new he hires in the business who has had typing experience will fit right in. It's a much more sensible business option than buying some DVORAK shit (even if it's better), or ABCDEF, or whatever else you can think up. That's why nothing else ever really took off.

Oh and QWERTY kinda sounds cool.

 

[thiosk]

Incidentally, you have the option in windows to set your keyboard layout to anything else.

 

[MurderousToaster]

I <3 QWERTY. It was designed to stop people typing fast, but, hey, if you handed me an ABC keyboard, I'd be typing about 300% slower.

 

[Fraught]

We're all used to it.

And I simply don't understand how changing it to ABC would help in any way.

 

[Keepitclean]

I got used to using a qwerty keyboard pretty easily. I can type pretty quickly. I don't it would matter what layout the keyboard is I would just adapt and type as fast as my hands can move with coordination.

I dont think the change to anyother layout would be worht it to be honest.

 

[Ignignoct]

Today I saw my little cousin typing on the keyboard in frustration. She does know her alphabet but still hasn't learned how to properly type. In frustration she asked me why do we still have QWERTY keyboards, and to that I had no real response.

After researching it I realized it was because typewriters would jam a lot with a ABC layout so QWERTY was designed to minimize this. Now escapist, I for one can say I have never used a typewriter and am pretty sure they aren't a common occurrence at this point.

While it would be a hard change I feel that it would help in the long run. Gaming might have some troubles since we all are used to WASD to move but I think we can adjust. You do see ABC layouts on many devices nowadays but many keyboards still stick with this confusing system.

Does the escapist have an answer for this?

EDIT: I have noticed most of you are saying stuff that had to do with typewriters. Let us not forget that another thing QWERTY was famous for is slowing us down when we type. Is that a good thing? This is the 21st century using a 19th century technique on a obviously obsolete system. I believe we need a change to take advantage of computers and not typewriters.

The placement of the keys matters less than our skill at translating thought into text with the muscle memory of where the letters exist. It'd be hard to argue for a new scheme when many people can rock out with 60-120 WPM on QWERTYs.

But go ahead, redesign the layout and let your friends/family/microsoft/Apple judge.