Editing 554: Not Enough Work
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | In some companies, programmers can find themselves under-employed. This may be because these companies have little programming work until something breaks or needs upgrading, or perhaps they are between projects, or simply waiting for a go-ahead. Coders still need to make themselves available to perform emergency fixes, but they may have no other assigned work. This requires them to find constructive ways to spend their time. Or unconstructive, if that is more fun. | + | In some companies, programmers can find themselves under-employed. This may be because these companies have little programming work until something breaks or needs upgrading, or perhaps they are between projects, or simply waiting for a go-ahead. Coders still need to make themselves available to perform emergency fixes, but they may have no other assigned work. This requires them to find constructive ways to spend their time. Or unconstructive, if that is more fun. |
| − | {{w|Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak}} is a keyboard layout that was proposed in 1936 as an alternative to the existing, entrenched {{w|Qwerty keyboard|QWERTY}} layout, developed in the 1870s. The QWERTY keyboard is the standard in the US, but its | + | {{w|Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak}} is a keyboard layout that was proposed in 1936 as an alternative to the existing, entrenched {{w|Qwerty keyboard|QWERTY}} layout, developed in the 1870s. The QWERTY keyboard is the standard in the US, but some features in its layout are based on mechanical considerations rather than the optimum placement for typing speed. For example, common letter combinations such as 'st' and 'th' had to be arranged so that their operating levers were separated from each other, lest they cause jams and slow down the typist. More than sixty years later, such mechanical considerations could be overcome, and the DVORAK keyboard layout was made with typing efficiency in mind. |
| − | The Dvorak keyboard was ultimately unsuccessful. It persists today, but has never threatened the dominance of the QWERTY keyboard. Even if the Dvorak layout is more efficient (which is still a matter of debate, see the uncomfortable truth in [[561: Well]]), QWERTY was and is the standard. This means that every keyboard user has to learn QWERTY anyway, and there is insufficient benefit in spending the time to learn a new layout, especially when you would have to switch back and forth between Dvorak and QWERTY as the situation demands. | + | The Dvorak keyboard was ultimately unsuccessful. It persists today, but has never threatened the dominance of the QWERTY keyboard. Even if the Dvorak layout is more efficient (which is still a matter of debate, see the uncomfortable truth in [[561: Well]]), QWERTY was and is the standard. This means that every keyboard user has to learn QWERTY anyway, and there is insufficient benefit in spending the time to learn a new layout, especially when you would have to switch back and forth between Dvorak and QWERTY as the situation demands. |
| − | Therefore, even seriously considering the switch is a sign that you have nothing better to do. Another joke is that even though the coder has plenty of spare time on his hands to practice on Dvorak, he has only been able to 'almost' match his old typing speed. | + | Therefore, even seriously considering the switch is a sign that you have nothing better to do. Another joke is that even though the coder has plenty of spare time on his hands to practice on Dvorak, he has only been able to 'almost' match his old typing speed. |
This was the first comic to refer to Dvorak, but since then it has become a [[:Category: Dvorak|recurrent theme]] on xkcd. A later comic, [[1445: Efficiency]], mentions, in the title text, how you could waste lots of time testing to see if Dvorak is faster. | This was the first comic to refer to Dvorak, but since then it has become a [[:Category: Dvorak|recurrent theme]] on xkcd. A later comic, [[1445: Efficiency]], mentions, in the title text, how you could waste lots of time testing to see if Dvorak is faster. | ||
