https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTY#Hi … d_purposes

The Wikipedia article was fairly murky on this point too. I agree that this is a highly contested point and shouldn't be presented as fact. No need to really, it'll only detract from the credibility of this site.

Whoa, thanks for the quick responses.  I figured it'd take a while on this forum due to the low number of active threads.  Guess I was wrong.  The first sentence of the site hasn't changed yet though.  Any word back from Shai?

I'm bumping this thread again because the problem still hasn't been solved.

Thanks, Shai!

Now, as mentioned in another thread it'd be nice to have someone update the news every once in a while (someone mentioned that the transitional layouts haven't made it to the front page even though some consider them very useful). Have you given that any thought Shai?

If anything, it could've included a little bit about how Colemak was made (both using algorithms and trial, taking polygrams and balance into account). Dvorak didn't have the computing power and most of today's alternative layouts don't get tested and thought through enough before publication. I just saw someone loudly claiming that Colemak is designed from letter frequencies alone and that's a sad misconception!

Casey Johnston on Ars Technica tries to learn dvorak and reaps a comment storm (thanks to Lalop for the links):
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/03/ … ut-part-1/
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/04/ … ut-part-2/

Yes, probably too bastant. I'd use 'more comfortable' I guess. Of course, some people are in pain no matter what layout they use but in a layout discussion context that phrase should be clear enough without overstretching.

> gradual transitioning as a killer feature

For Qwerty users perhaps.

Most of us have a connection to QWERTY no matter what. I do feel that the transition from dvorak may have been harder than had I gone directly from QWERTY to Colemak. Nevertheless, regaining the keys that Colemak don't move felt good. Touch typing or not, most people have an idea of the QWERTY layout either consciously or subconsciously. So the idea of transitional layouts should have a fairly wide appeal I think.

But it's not just designed for QWERTY touch typists. It's designed to be good for touch typing without making unnecessary changes from the well-known QWERTY! So you could be a non-touch typist, or a non-QWERTY typist who wants something that conforms better with what most other people are using (which was my case as a dvorak typist) and Colemak fits your bill.

Other than that, good points. Maybe one could mention the hand rolls, but that's probably too technical for the opening phrases.

And yes, a pretty picture right away please. Feel free to use one of my IBM-style images, or I could make a new one to specifications.

Okay, I'll give it a shot.  I think we have to assume that readers know what "keyboard layout" and "QWERTY" means for any sensible intro.  But at least it can come with a hook:

The QWERTY keyboard layout was designed in the 19th century, predating even the concept of touchtyping.  As such, it came with significant flaws: most obviously, the common Y and extremely common T were placed in awkward spots, while the uncommon K and very rare J were given privileged positions. Though the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard layout corrected some of these flaws, its large deviation from the, by then, de facto QWERTY standard made it difficult to adopt.

Colemak is a modern alternative to the QWERTY and Dvorak layouts.  It is designed for efficient and ergonomic touch typing in English, but in addition, it is designed to provide QWERTY users an easy transition:

• Colemak is similar enough that it is possible for QWERTY touchtypists to learn it 3-5 keys at a time, reducing both the effort and risk normally associated with switching layouts.

• Despite changing only 17 keys from QWERTY (compared to Dvorak's 33), Colemak stands on its own, even beating Dvorak in certain analyses.

• Unlike Dvorak, Colemak preserves most of QWERTY's left-side Ctrl- shortcuts, with destructive shortcuts such as Ctrl-Q, Ctrl-W, Ctrl-X unchanged, and some others (Ctrl-R) even arguably improved.  For more details, see Shortcuts.

Colemak is now the 3rd most popular keyboard layout for touchtyping in English, after QWERTY and Dvorak.  Learning it is a one-time, and unprecedentedly easy, investment for the rest of your typing life.

Tarmak section: TBA

Shortcuts section: TBA

Note: the above compositions may not be accurate; any corrections are invited.

Corrected.

"Stands its own ground" is kind of an awkward idiom in this context; it makes it sound like there's some sort of land war going on.

Serious analyses aren't common, and so far I've only seen that one and I guess MTGAP.  If more are found, maybe they can be put in their own section.

I never learned to touch type using QWERTY.  I chose Colemak over Dvorak when I decided to learn as an undergraduate for three reasons.  As DreymaR said, Colemak was optimized using modern equipment unavailable to Dvorak.  I don't use the Caps Lock key, and an extra Backspace key is useful.  Most importantly, keyboard shortcuts don't change.