Q–WER–TY, it’s easy as 123, as simple as do re mi: that could be the lyrics of Jackson 5‘s song if it were made around 1870 with the famous keyboard disposition, ha!
The story dates back to the typewriter period and the problems of “playing the literary piano” in a snappily and dainty way.
It seems that Christopher Sholes, one of the inventors of typewriters, had no idea that the arrangement of letters on the keyboard was to become his most enduring contribution to human communication, which has survived even the revolution of touch screens.
If 10 Years in Tech are Equal to a Geezer, What About +200?
Although the distribution of the letters does not make any sense (or maybe marketing purposes of the period like the one which relates that from the top row of the keyboard could quickly type “typewriter” –Did you check your keyboard, huh?– which supposedly astonished to potential buyers when the sellers showed the equipment) why QWERTY?
Another of the objectives was to create a typing system that used both hands in a balanced way —Here’s the part where you realize you usually type with only a couple of fingers from each hand.
However, that is why August Dvorak, an educational psychologist who was convinced that this disposition could be improved, is among his opponents: he noticed that frequently used words like “was” and “were” were almost completely on the left side of the keyboard —I found it funny the next revolutionary of the ‘writer’s piano’ to be named similarly to the great czech, music master Antonín Dvořák, coincidence?
QWERTY Family Tree
On the fly, it has not changed much over time, but it did with the location: each language has its most common words so the keys are repositioned according to their needs. In French-speaking countries the AZERTY distribution is used (A and Z substitute Q and W), in German-speaking QWERTZ (Z replaces Y), and in Portugal the HCESAR keyboard was implemented for a time.
Are You Using Your Keyboard Properly?
When an automated movement, for six or eight hours a day, is performed without the necessary precautions, it causes injuries and pain in the hand, wrist and forearm that are altering the normal functions of the hand.
So is there a correct, healthy way of using our keyboards? Totally! And that’s what QWERTY in its deepest intentions were looking for.
Let me give you a hand, literally: typing like a pro.
Other New Systems
However, now that we write so much with our thumbs, waves of alternative systems are making themselves known in the market.
Among them is the Hero Keyboard, which looks like the dial of a retro phone; Or the TouchOne, specializing in keyboards for smart clocks.
It also counts PopKey, a keyboard where the entire alphabet is replaced by Gifs! (Graphic exchange formats, used for both images and animations) —That would be such a Tumblr or Pinterest style keyboard, full of all our favorites mims to express ourselves, ha!
The common feature of all these flashy systems is the speed they allow their users, but could this be considered a virtue? According to Truman Capote: “That’s not writing, it’s just typing.”
What’s the future of keyboards? If they are not about to disappear, there are some keys that are laying aside on the past, like our favorite ESC one, scary for some!
