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    Placement of D and G

    • Started by SpeedMorph
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    • Registered: 08-Mar-2008
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    It seems to me that D and G are placed oddly. If G was left in its original position, it would be easier to learn. Also, some people find that the top row is easier to hit than the center, especially on ergonomic keyboards.

    q w f d p j l u y ;
    a r s t g h n e i o
    z x c v b k m , . /

    So why move G to put D in a position that's arguably not any better?

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    • Shai
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    • Registered: 11-Dec-2005
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    Because on a staggered keyboard, I don't think that the QWERTY "R" position is very good because it requires arching back the index finger, which I find quite uncomfortable.

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    Shai said:

    Because on a staggered keyboard, I don't think that the QWERTY "R" position is very good because it requires arching back the index finger, which I find quite uncomfortable.

    As mentioned in the wrist strain thread, I wouldn't put d on qwerty-r, rather on qwerty-e.  Thus:

    q w d f p ...
    a r s t g ...

    This is essentially the polygon connecting Colemak d-f-p-g rotated one unit clockwise.  qwerty-e and qwerty-i positions are very easy to strike (I would call them virtual home), because of the long middle finger.   d is the most frequent letter among d-f-p-g, and it stands to reason that it should get the easiest strike.  The other three also get positions corresponding to their frequency, with the least frequent p getting the worst spot.  I really couldn't find a downside to this rotation after keeping at it for many days.

    A bonus is this strengthens the claim that the layout that is easy to migrate to from Qwerty, since g stays put, and d and f stay on the same hand, same finger, moving only a row up.

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    Shai said:

    Because on a staggered keyboard, I don't think that the QWERTY "R" position is very good because it requires arching back the index finger, which I find quite uncomfortable.

    Well then you could switch D and P, so it's Q W F P D. I like Ds26's version though, it keeps more stuff in its original column plus it's better IMO. A S-R switch could make it easier still, but would increase same finger because of DR.

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    • Shai
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    That QWERTY "T" position isn't that much better than the QWERTY "R" position, as it requires a higher finger distance. The only key outside the home row that I consider to be as comfortable would be the QWERTY "U" position, where I already put "L", the 11th most frequent letter that follows the 10 most frequent letters in the home row.

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    Shai said:

    That QWERTY "T" position isn't that much better than the QWERTY "R" position, as it requires a higher finger distance. The only key outside the home row that I consider to be as comfortable would be the QWERTY "U" position, where I already put "L", the 11th most frequent letter that follows the 10 most frequent letters in the home row.

    What about E and I? I find those comfortable.

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