Anybody use a Dvorak keyboard?

[seedjar]

So, I borrowed this keyboard from a friend to do some last-minute schoolwork. I've been using it in Dvorak mode almost exclusively, as my habitually bad QWERTY typing style is further aggrivated by this keyboard's lack of staggered rows. I've done Dvorak keyboards before, but never really learned them.
Has anyone with a Dvorak keyboard ever noticed the weird typos that come with switching from QWERTY? For example, the "O" key is in the place of the "S" key on a normal keyboard, so a momentary lapse tends to turn my plurals into fake Spanish. (My favorite was probably systemo - sounds like the name of a robrt from a poorly translated foreign sci-fi flick.) There's an "S" where I expect an "L," which only seems to trip me up when I try to type "all." It's almost like this layout was designed to make QWERTY users feel stupid.
Anyways, I love the keyboard itself and highly recommend it, especially if you have problems with wrist strain. (I'm buying one myself once the company has them available again.) Just funny getting used to.
~Joe

 

[xvart]

Cool. Reading all the associated links makes me want to try and convert. I have no idea how I'd do it with my wife since we use the same keyboard and I know that she would not want to switch. I can see how the keyboard you linked could be difficult to use since I can imagine even switching to a QWERTY keyboard with gridded keypads instead of staggered keys. And the enter key in the middle?! That's just crazy talk!

xvart.

 

[phissionkorps]

I think you can switch between layouts in some menu in the control panel. Pushing alt + tab switches between the two. I have to use the German layout now and then. äüöß°§²³

You just need to have exposure to the other layout to know where everything is, since the keyboard itself doesn't change, obviously. German layout can be confusing...like typing ctrl + alt + 2 to make the superscript 2

 

[DrWurm]

Heh, an old prank we used to play on my robotics team was to switch the keyboard layouts to Dvorak without telling anyone. Watching somebody's confused face as they try to QWERTY on a Dvorak is priceless.

 

[seedjar]

pk, Typematrix and many other specialty keyboards have hardware-level Dvorak support. The one I'm using has QWERTY printed on the caps and came with a silicon Dvorak cover - I've heard of fancy high-end ones (not by Typematrix) with LCD characters on the caps that let you define arbitrary mappings.
xvart, switching isn't hard. Typing QWERTY is easy to pick up, as are the center-row backspace and enter keys. Even during the initial adjustment period, I could feel that keystrokes took less effort and produced less strain. And in the event your wife doesn't like it, it's tiny so you can stash it away when you're not at the computer - I actually plan to get one mostly to carry around with my laptop.
~Joe