this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2025
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ErgoMechKeyboards

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Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards

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If I'm getting an Orthodox split for the first time would it be worthwhile to learn a different layout at the same time since I've heard the learning curve is already pretty rough? I'm thinking of colemak-DH specifically but if there is a better option I'm open to hearing it.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I already knew how to touch type with QWERTY/AZERTY and I switched to Colemak because it's modern, it seemed good, and it is supported by every OS out of the box (except for iOS and the iPhone which was a problem for me). Colemak-DH should be no different except for the DH keys but I wouldn't worry about it.

It took me one year to be able to type fast in Colemak without making mistakes. It's so fucking worth it!! You can also use https://monkeytype.com/ to train on random texts or words, but I'm a lazy guy and I only did that for 3 months like 10 minutes a day.

Last but not least, put Colemak-DH on your phone (Android only I guess, definitely not iOS) if you can. I had an iPhone before with QWERTY, and I guess it somehow hindered my learning because I was still using QWERTY a lot on that phone and I don't think it's a good thing. When I switched to the Google Pixel, the problems went away because I had Colemak everywhere.

the learning curve is already pretty rough

It's annoying but not that difficult. You have to do that all the time, every day, and forget the pain that is QWERTY.