:)

Increasing returns is not about luck, it’s about the lock-in of sufficiently good systems. Windows/Intel outdid MacOS/Macs early because it was a sufficiently better standard in the beginning, not because it was first or lucky. If MacOS becomes much better than Windows now, because it costs a lot to switch standards, it may not attract as many customers as it could have by being the better standard originally.

Likewise, QWERTY outdid other typewriter layouts because it had a real advantage in the typewriter era when drum jams impeded typing speed. QWERTY wasn’t designed to impede speed to avoid drum jams, it was designed to distribute keypresses along the typing interface to avoid them, while still maintaining speed. Now that solution is locked in however, we’re stuck standardising a layout that’s meant to prevent drum jams rather than present an ergonomic and efficient keyboard layout in an era without typing drums.

That said, I thoroughly accept that Dvorak is not a significant enough gain for most people to want to switch for it, and that there haven’t been sufficient studies to prove any significant gain*. I switched because I figure I’ll be spending enough time typing that I might as well be comfortable while I do it. This is what the economics of increasing returns means: In markets where a standard is important, you don’t need to be the best product. Just a sufficiently good product that meets a standard, and continue to be good enough to discourage any significant switch. If Dvorak were really that good, we’d have all switched anyway despite QWERTY’s market penetration.

* I don’t think the gain has been sufficiently disproven, either. This question is ripe for further study.

>footnote 12
This is the amazing self-referential footnote (Footnote

Never have I read truer words on the Internet. Have any of you tried typing “Velma” from Scooby-Doo into GIS?

Windows Remote Desktop causes issues for other users when using a different keyboard layout (Dvorak user (me) might disconnect instead of log off, QWERTY user takes over session and finds their keys all bungled). Because of the frustration it caused for my colleagues and because of the relatively insignificant speed improvement, I’ve given up when working. As Lily said above, it needs to be an order-of-magnitude improvement to be taken seriously.

I still believe Dvorak is technically superior vs QWERTY however I do not believe that the benefit is worth the costs of retraining. If anything at all (insignificant, remember?) it should be phased in over a long period of time as long as it doesn’t interfere with normal operations.

>footnote 12
This is the amazing self-referential footnote (Footnote 12)

>_