LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.
OWC: Top Quality Memory for Faster Mac Performance 1GB/2GB/4GB Kits from
$23.99/$47.99/$94.99 Expert Support, Free Installation Videos & Guides,
Lifetime Advance Replacement Warranty - www.MacSales.com
My Turn is Low End Mac's column for reader-submitted
articles. It's your turn to share your thoughts on all things
Mac (or iPhone, iPod, etc.) and write for the Mac web. Email your
submission to Dan Knight
.
Is it butchery to take apart a perfectly working Mac and rebuild
it for your own needs? (I'm not talking about trashing a compact Mac
and making a *gasp* Macquarium!)
No, no, this is much more sinister - I'm talking about removing
the keys from my perfectly serviceable iceBook and putting them back
in the wrong order! Of course I'm talking about changing the keyboard
from Qwerty to another configuration, specifically to Dvorak.
Dvorak, as most enlightened users will know, is a superior
keyboard combination which allows much faster typing speeds than
Qwerty. Qwerty was developed after it was found that the original
keyboard layout caused the hammers on mechanical typewriters to jam
because the operator typed much too quickly! Qwerty was created to
slow the typist.
Unlike most computer users, I have used non-Qwerty configurations
before, and, although it took a while to learn, it has become quite
natural. During my final year at university, I built a wearable
computer for my dissertation, which required some sort of input
device other than a trackball. The standard keyboard, it seems,
amongst the MIT academics who possessed wearable computers, was the
Twiddler controller, a one handed multikeyed device which also
incorporated a tilting mouse controller. I wanted one. However, the
price of the controller seemed too steep for my meager student means,
so I searched and found an alternative. I ordered a CyKey keyboard,
based on the concept of MicroWriting, a chording keyboard with seven
keys - and half the price of the Twiddler.
Well, let me tell you, the first few days of using the chords of
the CyKey were pretty much hell. I enforced upon myself the routine
of using the CyKey for all my word processing, browsing, data
entry - everything - but it didn't work out quite that way. I would
eventually, after a matter of minutes, yank out the CyKey and plug in
the Qwerty, ignoring the pangs of failure poking at my conscience. It
took me two weeks of intensive use for me to become proficient at
using the chording keyboard, meaning I no longer had to look up key
combinations from the manual, and I was attaining a workable typing
speed that didn't impinge on what I was typing. Still, I was only
getting a maximum of 20 words a minute - deathly slow, as I can
touch type at about 36 wpm.
However, one had to place into context the use of the keyboard.
One handed use meant I could use my left hand for other purposes, but
it would inevitably slow down my typing average as one of my
appendages was removed form the equation. The fact that I was
probably reaching as fast a speed as I could attain on the one handed
keyboard is testimony that the standard of Qwerty is not the one and
only.
Thus far I haven't encountered any mass consumerism of Dvorak
keyboards, despite the availability of the switchable keyboard,
nor is it looking too likely to happen in the near future. However,
there is always the option to remove the keycaps of your keyboard and
replace them in the Dvorak arrangement, remembering to setup the
keyboard layout in the OS.
Does this invalidate the Apple warranty? Probably, but you can
always refit them in the Qwerty layout if you ever have to send it in
for warranty service. Besides, the first Mac I ever bought, a
Performa 630, came with the
Dvorak layout file installed in the System, although I never tested
it.
So why is it I want to rearrange the keys on my brand new iBook? I
want to try Dvorak. Is it really a faster typing layout? Is it just
as easy to learn as Qwerty? This is what I want to discover. In
reality, I'll get an external USB keyboard and reconfigure the keys
rather than pull all the little white keys off my iBook (they're
fiddly!) - at least until Mac OS X supports Dvorak.
How is this ever going to benefit me other than (perhaps) a
greater typing speed? There is always the satisfaction of knowing
that I dare to Think Different.
P.S. Does anyone know how to switch keyboard layouts in Mac
OS X?
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
Recent My Turn articles
Using Low End Macs for Internet Radio, 08.18.
When the local public radio station moved classical music to HD radio, it was time to find another way to listen. An old iMac with iTunes solved the problem.
'That's Not a Computer', 07.30.
Salvaging a broken PowerBook by turning it into a desktop computer.
My 4 favorite PowerBooks, 05.28.
The PowerBook 150 has a big screen for a vintage PowerBook, the 165c has color, the 100 is diminutive, and Lombard has USB and a great keyboard.
Mac of the Day: iMac Core2, Sep. 2006 - Apple introduced the biggest screen ever in an iMac with a 24" Core2 Duo model at 2.16 GHz.
List of the Day: MacBook List for those using a MacBook or MacBook Pro.
September 6 in LEM history: 99: G4 vs. Pentium III - 00: Setting up a server - 02: Norton Utilities warning - 10 greatest computer annoyances - 06: iMac Core2 Duo - Mac mini Core Duo - The iMac Core2 value equation - 07: Apple seduction - Why I really want an iPod touch - iPod history, 2005 to present - Upgrading a Power Mac G - Apple intros iPod touch, classic, and video nano
Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05.
Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
Best iPod touch Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Refurb 8 GB, $199; new, $284; refurb 16 GB, $299; new, $370; refurb 32 GB, $399; new, $453.
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
Best iMac G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.05.
Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $279; 800 Combo, $300; 1 GHz $390; 17" 800 MHz SD, $439; 1.25 GHz, $449; 20", $569.
Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04.
Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 867 MHz Combo, no APX, $490; 1 GHz, $550; SuperDrive, $625; 1.5 GHz w/o APX, $660; w/APX, $675.
Best Mac mini Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 1.25 GHz G4 SD, $549; 1.42 Combo, $409; new 1.83 Core2 Combo, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 after rebate.
Best 17" PowerBook G4 Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.04.
Used 1 GHz, $779; 1.33 GHz, $799; 1.5 GHz, $859; 1.67 GHz, $910.
11 Mac Browsers Compared, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 09.03.
The latest versions of Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, Shiira, iCab, Radon, Firefox, Netscape Navigator, SeaMonkey, Flock, and Camino tested in Leopard.
Best eMac Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Used 700 MHz Combo, $120; 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $150; 1.42 GHz, $349.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Mac OS X 10.5, single user, $99; 5 users, $140; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $395; unlimited, $850.
Best MacBook Air Deals, Low End Mac Deals, 09.03.
Refurb 1.6 HD, $1,499; new, $1,690 after rebate; refurb 1.8, $1,699; new, $1,919 a/r; refurb 1.6 SSD, $2,099; new, $2,294 a/r; refurb 1.8, $2,299; new, $2,400 a/r.
Psystar Strikes Back, Countersues Apple, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 09.03.
Psystar is trying to paint Apple as a monopoly and force it to license the Mac OS.
All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For
price quotes and advertising information, please contact
at BackBeat Media
(646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.
Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer
5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We
recommend Firefox
for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more
secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox
than any other browser.
