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[[image:qwertyloughborough_echo.png|260px|thumb|The QWERTY Layoutright]] __NOTOC__
'''QWERTY''' (pronounced "kwerty" or "Q-werty") is the most common modern-day layout of [[letter]]s on most [[English language]] [[computer keyboard|computer]] and [[typewriter keyboard]]s. It takes its name from the first six letters shown on the keyboard's top row of letters. The QWERTY design was [[patent]]ed by [[Christopher Sholes]] in [[1868]] and sold to [[E. Remington and Sons|Remington]] in [[1873]], when it first appeared in [[typewriter]]s.
The '''''Loughborough Echo''''' is the only paid-for local [[newspaper]] based in the town of [[Loughborough]] in [[Leicestershire]], [[England]] and the surrounding area. There is a special [[Shepshed Echo|Shepshed]] edition serving the nearby town of [[Shepshed]]. It is owned by [[Trinity Mirror]] Group limited, and published on a weekly basis. It is published on [[Friday]] mornings and costs £0.45.
== Purpose ==
Frequently-used pairs of letters were separated in an attempt to stop the [[typebar]]s from intertwining and becoming [[stuck]], thus forcing the typist to manually unstick the typebars and also frequently blotting the document. The [[home row]] (ASDFGHJKL) of the QWERTY layout is thought to be a remnant of the old alphabetical layout that QWERTY replaced. QWERTY also attempted to alternate keys between [[hand]]s, allowing one hand to move into position while the other hand strikes home a key. This sped up both the original double-handed [[Hunt and peck typing|hunt-and-peck]] technique and the later [[touch typing]] technique; however, single-handed words such as ''stewardesses'' and ''monopoly'' show flaws in the alternation.
The newspaper is known for stimulating debate concerning the controversial introduction of "[[wheelie bin]]s" into the [[Charnwood]] Borough Council area, and the merits of the increasing number of students enrolling at [[Loughborough University]]. Debate takes place through the letters page. Regular contributors include a local [[vicar]], and [[David Girdler]]. Frequently, issues such as [[creationism]], the existence of [[God]] and the value of the senses are debated.
It has often been noted that the word ''typewriter'' can be typed entirely using the top row of the QWERTY keyboard: it has been speculated that this may have been a factor in the choice of keys for ease of demonstration. However, it was not planned that way!
{{newspaper-stub}}
== Languages other than English ==
[[Category: TypewritersLeicestershire]] ▼[[image:Matra_Alice.jpg|260px|thumb|left|This French [[Matra Alice]] uses the AZERTY layout]]
[[Category: Computerbritish keyboardsnewspapers]] ▼
Minor changes to the arrangement are made for other languages; for example, [[German language|German]] keyboards add [[umlaut]]s to the right of "P" and "L", and interchange the "Z" and "Y" keys both because "Z" is a much more common letter than "Y" in German (the latter appearing seldom except in borrowed words), and because Z and A often appear next to each other in the [[German language]]; consequently, they are known as [[QWERTZ]] keyboards. French keyboards interchange both "Q" and "W" with "A" and "Z", and move "M" to the right of "L"; they are known as AZERTY keyboards. Italian typewriter keyboards (but not most computer keyboards) use a QZERTY layout where "Z" is swapped with "W" and "M" is at the right of "L". [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] keyboards maintain the QWERTY layout but add an extra key: the letter C with [[cedilla]] (Ç) after the L key. In this place, the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] version has the letter N with tilde (Ñ) and the Ç (which is not used in Spanish, but is part of sibling languages like [[French language|French]], Portuguese and [[Catalan language|Catalan]]) is placed at the rightmost position of the home line, beyond the [[diacritic]] [[dead key|dead keys]]. Other languages that use the [[Latin alphabet]] have other small variations on QWERTY. See [[Keyboard layout]] for more information on this topic.
Norwegian keyboards inserts [[Å]] to the right of P, [[Ø]] to the right of L, and [[Æ]] to the right of Ø, thus not changing the appearance of the rest of the keyboard. The [[Danish language|Danish]] layout is like the [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], only switching [[Æ]] and [[Ø]], and [[Swedish language|Swedish]] has their [[umlaut]] letters [[Ä]] and [[Ö]] in those places.
== Alternative keyboard layouts ==
Because modern keyboards do not suffer from the problems of older mechanical keyboards, the QWERTY layout's separation of frequently used letter pairs is no longer strictly necessary. Several alternative keyboard layouts, such as [[Dvorak Simplified Keyboard]] arrangement (designed by Drs. [[August Dvorak]] and William Dealey and patented in [[1936]]), have been designed to increase a typist's speed and comfort, largely by moving the most common letters to the home row and maximizing hand alternation. The effectiveness of these layouts is disputed, but it is often claimed that world records for typing speed are usually set on Dvorak layout keyboards. Some studies [http://www.visi.com/~pmk/evolved.html] have shown that alternative methods are more efficient, but Dvorak and other alternative typists most often cite comfort as the greatest advantage. QWERTY's inventor, Christopher Sholes himself patented a key arrangement similar to Dvorak's, but it never became [[popular]].
Some researchers claim that QWERTY is really no less efficient than other layouts, such as economists Stan Liebowitz at the [[University of Texas at Dallas|University of Texas]] at [[Dallas, Texas]], and Stephen E. Margolis of [[North Carolina State University]]. Other opponents claim that August Dvorak stood to gain from the success of his layout, and that he perpetuated his "efficiency myth" to increase his financial gains. Other QWERTY advocates claim that for a QWERTY typist to switch to Dvorak or another layout requires more effort than initially learning to [[touch-type]], because of having to retrain the [[finger]]s' [[muscle memory]]. Computer users also need to unlearn the habit of pressing key-shortcuts (for example: ctrl-c for copy, ctrl-x for cut), though some programs and operating systems allow the use of alternate layouts combined with QWERTY shortcuts.
However, opponents of alternative keyboard designs most often point to QWERTY's ubiquity as a deciding factor, because the costs incurred by using the supposedly inefficient layout are much less than those of retraining typists. In fact, the Dvorak layout is sometimes used as an example in businesses to illustrate the difficulty of change. It is not unusual to find Dvorak typists who also touch type the QWERTY layout, for convenience owing to QWERTY's ubiquity.
The [[XPeRT]] Keyboard alternative was designed to try to overcome the problem of resistance to change, by minimizing change from Qwerty. It moves only two common letters, A+N, and adds a second E key (13% of all letters); Dvorak moves 24 letters. Dvorak has five frequently used letters at outer finger locations (A,S,O,R,N); XPeRT has only one (S) and others are central. XPeRT increases opposing hand key sequences (digraphs) from 50% on Qwerty, to 83% on XPeRT, to increase typing speed. Dvorak was designed this way too, and scores 80% for opposing hand digraphs. The Dvorak keyboard focusses on the home row, reducing finger reach and travel; the XPeRT keyboard does not take this approach, choosing to minimize change from Qwerty instead. Digraph statistics listed here are derived from the [http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=2,040,248.WKU.&OS=PN/2,040,248&RS=PN/2,040,248 Dvorak keyboard US patent] of [[1936]].
==Trivia==
* The word ''QWERTY'' was the first message ever sent by [[e-mail]].
* The longest common [[English language|English]] word that can be typed using only the left hand (using conventional hand placement) is '''stewardesses'''. The words '''sweaterdresses''' and '''aftercataracts''' are longer and can also be typed with only the left hand, but they are not in all [[Dictionary|dictionaries]].
* The longest [[English language|English]] word that can be typed with the right hand only (using conventional hand placement) is '''[[viola (plant)|johnny-jump-up]]''', or alternatively '''[[polyphony]]'''.
* '''[[Typewriter]]''' is the longest word that can be typed on only one row, which might be no coincidence as some believe that Christopher Sholes deliberately placed all its letters in the top row when designing the layout in order to ease demonstrations. '''Proprietory''', '''protereotype''' and '''rupturewort''' are sometimes conjectured as the longest words but these are not available in most dictionaries.
==See also==
* [[Ergonomics]]
* [[Fitts' law]]
* [[Dvorak Simplified Keyboard]]
* [[Maltron keyboard]]
* [[Path dependence]]
* [[DHIATENSOR]]
* [[XPeRT]] Keyboard
* [[Asdf]]
* [[WASD]]
* [[QWERTZ]]
==External links==
*[http://www.geocities.com/malibu_malv/curse_qwerty.html The Curse of Qwerty] by Jared Diamond.
*[http://wwwpub.utdallas.edu/~liebowit/keys1.html The Fable of the Keys] Refutes ''The Curse of Qwerty''
**[http://www.dvorak-keyboard.com/dvorak2.html Article disputing the validity of ''The Fable of the Keys'']
*[http://www.independent.org/tii/news/990403Liebowitz.html The QWERTY myth]
*[http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/index.html ''The QWERTY Connection'', historical information]
*[http://www.mwbrooks.com/dvorak/ Introducing the Dvorak Keyboard]
*[http://www.visi.com/~pmk/evolved.html A study on the theoretical efficiency of keyboard layouts]
*[http://members.aol.com/gulfhigh2/words8.html Typewriter Words]
*[http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/whyqwert.html "Why QWERTY was Invented"]
*[http://www.xpertkeyboard.com/history.htm Short Keyboard History: Qwerty, Dvorak & XPeRT Keyboards]
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