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Version #1 - With source annotations
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The Qwerty Keyboard Layout

Keyboards are a common gadget used by billions of people every day. Richard Hearty,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK Computer keyboards are derived from old typewriter
keyboards. The original typewriters were for slow and fast typists and the keys for
slow typists. [Sources: 3, 10]

Non-QWERTY layouts are used on specialized machines such as the 90-button Linotype
typesetting machine. The logic of the QWERTY layout is based on the use of letters
in the English alphabet. Some keyboard layouts for non-Latin alphabetic fonts (e.g.
Greek layouts) are based on this layout, in which the characters are assigned to
keys with sounds similar to those on the characters of QWERty as often as possible.
[Sources: 3, 14]

Peter Brooke, Kinmuck, Scotland The arrangement of the QWERTY keyboard comes from
mechanical typewriters. The main difference between the three keyboards was the
position of the keys Q, W and Z. The keys were arranged in such a way that fast
typing was made more difficult, so that older typewriters could clamp more easily.
[Sources: 3, 12]

The Dvorak keyboard layout puts the most commonly used letters in the home line so
that fingers do not move to hit them. This layout tries to get the typist to print
consecutive letters as often as possible. [Sources: 2]

It can be argued that the Dvorak keyboard layout could not replace the QWERty
keyboard pattern without QWERTY. In fact, Dvorak's claim that his keyboard was
faster was widely criticized. The QWERTY standard has been set by people who are
very used to using it, but many people are not aware of the optimized layouts of
Dvorack and Colemak. [Sources: 0, 10]

There are a large number of keyboard layouts that use languages written in the
Latin alphabet, and most of them are very similar. They can be divided into three
main families depending on where the keys A, M, Q, W, Y and Z are located on the
keyboard. Check out the history of optimized layouts like Dvorak and Colemak to see
the differences, how to configure your keyboard for them, and how to learn which of
them to switch to. [Sources: 0, 14]

QWERTY (pronounced KWERTY-TEK) is the standard for typewriters and computer

keyboards in countries that use a Latin alphabet. QWERTY refers to the arrangement
of the letters on the keyboard and is named after the first six characters in the
upper left column of letters. The most popular keyboard layout for the Latin
character became popular when it was released as part of Remington No. [Sources: 4,
13]

A recent article in the Smithsonian news blog Smart News describes an innovative
new keyboard system that provides an efficient alternative to the ubiquitous
universal keyboard QWERTY (named after the first six letters of the top-left row of
keys). Anthony "Chak" Ermolin, winner of the Ultimate Typing Championship in 2020,
taps the fastest tipper in the world using the Qwerty standard on a keyboard. A new
keyboard, known as KALQ, is designed to tap with the thumb on today's smartphones
and tablets. [Sources: 0, 6]
Today's computer keyboards use the QWERTY layout because it is the most widely used
and readily available. If you look at the list of things to look for on your
keyboard, you will find that the home line of this layout contains the letters A,
S, D, F, J, K, L, colon, and semicolon. This layout is the main reason why other
layouts have not become popular and are unknown to the general public. [Sources: 0]

The QWERTY keyboard was created at a time when telegraph operators were using
machines to transcribe Morse codes. The layout changed from an earlier alphabetical
order to the final configuration that emerged. The keyboard did not come out of
nowhere, but was created after Christopher Sholes was the first to apply for a
typewriter patent for such a layout. [Sources: 11]

Sholes was granted a patent for an early typewriter in 1868, and he continued to
tinker with the first piano keyboards to find a more efficient way to organize the
keys. Shole's typewriter used a keyboard that resembled a piano, with 28 keys
arranged alphabetically. The idea was that this would be the most efficient
arrangement, because the user would know where to find each letter. [Sources: 10]

One of these inventions was the early typewriter for politicians, printers and
newspaper people, which was developed by an amateur inventor from Milwaukee named
Christopher Latham Sholes together with Samuel W. Soule, James Densmore and Carlos
Glidden and patented in 1868. The Sholes-Glidden typewriter or QWERTY keyboard was
renamed Remington No. [Sources: 6, 10]

Early typewriter keyboards resembled pianos and were built with an alphabetical
arrangement of 28 keys. By 1873, typewriters had 43 keys, and the intuitive
arrangement of the letters helped prevent even the most expensive machines from
breaking down. A prototype typewriter had a completely different keyboard, which
was replaced at the last minute. [Sources: 6]

A 2011 study by researchers at Kyoto University suggests that the QWERTY keyboard
layout was developed from input from telegraph operators, who were then largely
keyboard users. I know there is a rich history behind the QWERTY keyboard layout,
but there are conflicting stories about mechanical keylocks and the Bigram
frequency of key pairs. In fact, it is easy to lock a key for most of the history
of typewriters, from the IBM Selectric to the Ball system. [Sources: 8, 10]

The QWERTY keyboard has had a profound and lasting impact in a number of non-
intuitive areas. In fact, moving just a few keys on the keyboard can cause
noticeable trauma to typists in research tests. [Sources: 8]

We have argued that no other keyboard layout is as convenient as the sequential

alphabetical Dvorak layout. Some have also argued that many other keyboards have
type bar layouts that result in fewer keystrokes being locked out. However, the
most significant market force resulting from this change is the introduction of
QWERTY in Turkey, as non-core keys are more susceptible to changes in their use and
must be locked while typing touches. [Sources: 8, 14]
##### Sources #####

[0]: https://www.daskeyboard.com/blog/qwerty-vs-dvorak-vs-colemak-keyboard-layouts/

[1]: https://www.cnet.com/news/a-brief-history-of-the-qwerty-keyboard/

[2]: https://computer.howstuffworks.com/question458.htm

[3]: https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-27297,00.html

[4]: https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/QWERTY-keyboard

[5]: https://www.technologyreview.com/2018/10/13/139803/why-we-cant-quit-the-
qwerty-keyboard/

[6]: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/fact-of-fiction-the-legend-of-the-
qwerty-keyboard-49863249/

[7]: https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/qwerty-keyboard

[8]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/01/10/why-was-the-qwerty-keyboard-
layout-invented/

[9]: https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-qwerty-keyboard-definition-layout-
quiz.html

[10]: https://interestingengineering.com/history-and-evolution-of-qwerty-keyboard

[11]: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/05/the-lies-youve-been-
told-about-the-origin-of-the-qwerty-keyboard/275537/

[12]: https://www.typingpal.com/en/news/what-is-the-difference-between-QWERTY-
QWERTZ-and-AZERTY-keyboards

[13]: https://www.webopedia.com/definitions/qwerty-keyboard/

[14]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout

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Version #2 - Without source annotations
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------

The Qwerty Keyboard Layout

Keyboards are a common gadget used by billions of people every day. Richard Hearty,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK Computer keyboards are derived from old typewriter
keyboards. The original typewriters were for slow and fast typists and the keys for
slow typists.

Non-QWERTY layouts are used on specialized machines such as the 90-button Linotype
typesetting machine. The logic of the QWERTY layout is based on the use of letters
in the English alphabet. Some keyboard layouts for non-Latin alphabetic fonts (e.g.
Greek layouts) are based on this layout, in which the characters are assigned to
keys with sounds similar to those on the characters of QWERty as often as possible.

Peter Brooke, Kinmuck, Scotland The arrangement of the QWERTY keyboard comes from
mechanical typewriters. The main difference between the three keyboards was the
position of the keys Q, W and Z. The keys were arranged in such a way that fast
typing was made more difficult, so that older typewriters could clamp more easily.

The Dvorak keyboard layout puts the most commonly used letters in the home line so
that fingers do not move to hit them. This layout tries to get the typist to print
consecutive letters as often as possible.

It can be argued that the Dvorak keyboard layout could not replace the QWERty
keyboard pattern without QWERTY. In fact, Dvorak's claim that his keyboard was
faster was widely criticized. The QWERTY standard has been set by people who are
very used to using it, but many people are not aware of the optimized layouts of
Dvorack and Colemak.

There are a large number of keyboard layouts that use languages written in the
Latin alphabet, and most of them are very similar. They can be divided into three
main families depending on where the keys A, M, Q, W, Y and Z are located on the
keyboard. Check out the history of optimized layouts like Dvorak and Colemak to see
the differences, how to configure your keyboard for them, and how to learn which of
them to switch to.

QWERTY (pronounced KWERTY-TEK) is the standard for typewriters and computer

keyboards in countries that use a Latin alphabet. QWERTY refers to the arrangement
of the letters on the keyboard and is named after the first six characters in the
upper left column of letters. The most popular keyboard layout for the Latin
character became popular when it was released as part of Remington No.

A recent article in the Smithsonian news blog Smart News describes an innovative
new keyboard system that provides an efficient alternative to the ubiquitous
universal keyboard QWERTY (named after the first six letters of the top-left row of
keys). Anthony "Chak" Ermolin, winner of the Ultimate Typing Championship in 2020,
taps the fastest tipper in the world using the Qwerty standard on a keyboard. A new
keyboard, known as KALQ, is designed to tap with the thumb on today's smartphones
and tablets.

Today's computer keyboards use the QWERTY layout because it is the most widely used
and readily available. If you look at the list of things to look for on your
keyboard, you will find that the home line of this layout contains the letters A,
S, D, F, J, K, L, colon, and semicolon. This layout is the main reason why other
layouts have not become popular and are unknown to the general public.

The QWERTY keyboard was created at a time when telegraph operators were using
machines to transcribe Morse codes. The layout changed from an earlier alphabetical
order to the final configuration that emerged. The keyboard did not come out of
nowhere, but was created after Christopher Sholes was the first to apply for a
typewriter patent for such a layout.

Sholes was granted a patent for an early typewriter in 1868, and he continued to
tinker with the first piano keyboards to find a more efficient way to organize the
keys. Shole's typewriter used a keyboard that resembled a piano, with 28 keys
arranged alphabetically. The idea was that this would be the most efficient
arrangement, because the user would know where to find each letter.

One of these inventions was the early typewriter for politicians, printers and
newspaper people, which was developed by an amateur inventor from Milwaukee named
Christopher Latham Sholes together with Samuel W. Soule, James Densmore and Carlos
Glidden and patented in 1868. The Sholes-Glidden typewriter or QWERTY keyboard was
renamed Remington No.

Early typewriter keyboards resembled pianos and were built with an alphabetical
arrangement of 28 keys. By 1873, typewriters had 43 keys, and the intuitive
arrangement of the letters helped prevent even the most expensive machines from
breaking down. A prototype typewriter had a completely different keyboard, which
was replaced at the last minute.

A 2011 study by researchers at Kyoto University suggests that the QWERTY keyboard
layout was developed from input from telegraph operators, who were then largely
keyboard users. I know there is a rich history behind the QWERTY keyboard layout,
but there are conflicting stories about mechanical keylocks and the Bigram
frequency of key pairs. In fact, it is easy to lock a key for most of the history
of typewriters, from the IBM Selectric to the Ball system.

The QWERTY keyboard has had a profound and lasting impact in a number of non-
intuitive areas. In fact, moving just a few keys on the keyboard can cause
noticeable trauma to typists in research tests.

We have argued that no other keyboard layout is as convenient as the sequential

alphabetical Dvorak layout. Some have also argued that many other keyboards have
type bar layouts that result in fewer keystrokes being locked out. However, the
most significant market force resulting from this change is the introduction of
QWERTY in Turkey, as non-core keys are more susceptible to changes in their use and
must be locked while typing touches.