Wednesday, December 27,2006 @ 10:40am
MacBook owner opts for Dvorak layout
One enthusiastic Apple owner has physically modified his MacBook keyboard to utilize the Dvorak keyboard layout. Seeking the more modern Dvorak layout -- which is faster than the antiquated QWERTY style still in widespread use today -- resulted in the exchange of several keys using a standard mini screwdriver to produce the desired effect, according to Newlaunches.com. Most modern operating systems -- including Apple's Mac OS X -- ship with built-in support for the Dvorak keyboard layout to accommodate customers who need or desire a faster means of typing text on a regular basis. The original QWERTY keyboard layout was invented in the 1860s by newspaper editor Christopher Sholes in Milwaukee, who also invented the modern typewriter. The aged QWERTY typing style was engineered to place the most frequently-pressed keys as far apart as possible to prevent mechanical bars in original typewriters from becoming entangled with one another, ultimately slowing down typing speed.