Colemak Keyboard Layout
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You may have seen photos floating around of my keyboard that look like this. Your next thought, if you're a discerning touch-typist would either be "hey, the top left keys aren't right." or "hey, he uses Colemak!".
I prefer Colemak for my keyboard layout over QWERTY (what most people use) or Dvorak (the primary alternative other typists use instead of QWERTY).
I won't dive into the history of Colemak (I've included some links at the bottom), but I will summarize what's different about it:
- Ergonomic - The most used keys are on the homerow (better for your fingers if you type a lot)
- Easy to Learn - The most used modifier keys are where they are on a QWERTY keyboard (Q, Z,X,C...all the keys I use for keyboard shortcuts)
Pairing Colemak with my KeyboardIO Atreus (Mechanical Keyboard) (pictured above), I've seen an increase in my typing speed, my ability to type for long periods of time without strain/exhaustion and general use of the keyboard to increase.