This is incorrect for reasons of both touch typing and ergonomics. And now you, the designer of an ergonomic keyboard that is supposed to reduce strain and repetitive injury want me to reach even further for the 6 key. Your design choice adds 6 to the reach of the left index finger and leaves a blank space where the 6 key should be for the right index finger. All eight of these keys are struck by the left index finger. Move one column to the right and you get b, g, t, and 5. On the left hand, v, f, r, and 4 are all in the same column. All eight of these keys are struck by the right index finger when touch typing. Now move one column to the left and you get n, h, y, and 6. Now that we’re in the 21st century, observe how the m, j, u, and 7 are all in the same column. Second, take the angle away from the keyboard layout so that keys are in their proper columns instead of at an angle which was made necessary by the mechanics of the old manual typewriters. I don’t just say things and walk away, so here’s my proof:įirst of all, I am from Canada and yes, I was taught to strike the 6 key with my right hand. If it is actually true, they are ripe for repetitive strain injuries from their poor technique. I don’t really care how people in the Netherlands are taught to type. I suspected that it had something to do with aesthetics and people not knowing how to touch-type properly. Many times I have wondered why people keep getting this wrong. Those folks know a thing or two about the ergonomics and history of keyboards. There's even more to this topic You're welcome to read the relevant thread on Deskthority which I started a while back when thinking about this issue. It's apparent that the former layout is way more symmetric. Here's the actual UHK layout where the "6" key is on the left keyboard half.Īnd here's the alternate layout featuring the "6" key on the right keyboard half. Now let's take a look from an aesthetic standpoint. As you can see, the bright red line is rightward of the center of the "6" key which means that given its position, it's more ergonomic to press it with the left index finger. There's a bright red line exactly between the left and right block of these keys. On the following picture, the keys of the home row on which our fingers reside are painted in red. Let's examine this issue from an ergonomic standpoint. For example, in Hungary, we're taught to press "6" with our left index finger. US people are taught to press the "6" key with the right index finger, but not all countries are created equal. In reality, the situation is more nuanced than that, and the placement of the "6" key was a conscious design decision on our part. Some of you have told us that we're doing it wrong, because the "6" key should be on the right keyboard half, not on the left.
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