Short Computer History: 1830s Analytic Engine, 1936 Turing Machine, 1st PC by Xerox, …
The XPeRT Keyboard is FAST … 83% Opposing keystrokes on XPeRT vs 50% on Qwerty
XPeRT is EASY to learn … Only 2 common keys move: A+N. A 2nd E key (13% of all letters)
The XPeRT Keyboard enables touch typing speeds with no training …
Independent tests by File Cart: 33 wpm on standard keyboard, 68 wpm on XPeRT
Tens of thousands of XPeRT Keyboard Trials in 2004!
Buy XPeRT Keyboard
XPeRT Trial Download
XPeRT Home Page
Keyboard History
Standard Qwerty Keyboard Origin:
Late 1870’s
In 1872, Remington produced the first mechanical typewriter, patented by C. Latham Sholes. Soon typists were going so fast that they were able to jam the keys which flew up to hit the typewriter ribbon. In the late 1870’s: the “improved” Qwerty layout was designed to slow down typing, so those pesky keys would not jam anymore. Here is the speed trap we are stuck with today, 130 years later.
Q W E R T Y U I O P
A S D F G H J K L ;
Z X C V B N M , . ?
In the Standard / Qwerty keyboard layout above, the most frequently used letters in English are shown in red: ETASORNI. How many common letters are at convenient inner finger locations on the middle row? None. Where is A? At the awkward left small finger location. Where are rarely used letters J and K? On prime real estate. No wonder it’s slow: Alphabet soup.
Electric Typewriters: 1930’s
In the 1930’s electric typewriters were invented. What a great opportunity to improve on the keyboard layout. Sadly, effortless action on keys, including shift, was not sufficient to draw new customers. They had to have Qwerty too!
In 1936, August Dvorak patented a new layout to: (a) Reduce finger reach and strain by putting common letters on the home row (in red), (b) Avoid awkward use of key pairs (digraphs), to improve speed. Here’s the Dvorak keyboard:
: , . P Y F G C R L
A O E U I D H T N S
Z Q J K X B M W V –
Design criteria sound good, so what’s wrong with this keyboard? Almost all letters move from their familiar Qwerty locations! (Also, A + S are at a small finger locations. N, R + O are not much better ). Dvorak is superior to Qwerty, but even US Navy typing tests were not enough to convince the world to change. Relearning typing on the Dvorak layout may take a month. Some enthusiasts use it today, but it has not become the standard.
Personal Computers: 1970’s
A lot of things have been invented since the 1800s: Electricity, radio, airplanes, computers. … Slow old Qwerty has survived them all.
Although personal computers now have the power of former mainframes, we continue to be hobbled by an entirely obsolete user interface like the Qwerty keyboard.
Alternative Keyboards: 1990’s
In the 1990’s, at least two keyboards were patented with the aim of reducing finger reach and strain and to a lesser extent, minimizing the effort of change from Qwerty. Unfortunately, the main emphasis was on the middle or home row. Six frequent letters moved from Qwerty locations, making these new keyboards still hard to learn.
The XPeRT Keyboard Solution: 2003
XPeRT is a keyboard Built for Speed ….. AND …… easy transition from Qwerty.
Hunt & Peck keyboard users can reach touch typing speeds with no special training.
The XPeRT Keyboard moves only two high frequency letters, A + N (not six) and adds a second E key (the most common letter at 13%). The change is easy to learn. AND, it optimizes key sequences to be struck by opposite hands, the fastest way of typing. With these 3 elegant moves, the XPeRT keyboard goes from digraph disabled to speed enabled. Check out the Design Concepts or visit XPeRT Home.
X P E R T Y U I O J
Q S D F N H A E L K
Z W C V B G M , . ?
international patent application no. PCT-CA03-01461
Bottom Line: the XPeRT Keyboard layout is much faster than Qwerty AND it is almost effortless to learn. Test Drive the XPeRT Keyboard with the 30 Day Free Trial Offer, now. Info at: TRY or BUY.
Buy XPeRT Keyboard
XPeRT Trial Download
XPeRT Home Page
Independent tests by File Cart: 33 wpm on the standard keyboard, 68 wpm on XPeRT
Online Speed Test. – Less than 40 wpm? … Try an XPeRT Keyboard.
Tens of thousands of XPeRT Trials in 2004!
From What Century is Your Keyboard? and How Fast Does it Go?