QWERTY

KB United States

QWERTY is a keyboard layout for Latin script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard (Q W E R T Y). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to E. Remington and Sons in 1873. It became popular with the success of the Remington No. 2 of 1878, and remains in widespread use.

History

The QWERTY layout was devised and created in the early 1870s by Christopher Latham Sholes, a newspaper editor and printer who lived in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In October 1867, Sholes filed a patent application for his early writing machine he developed with the assistance of his friends Samuel W. Soule and Carlos Glidden. The first model constructed by them used a piano-like keyboard with two rows of characters arranged alphabetically. The construction of the machine also caused characters to jam when typed in quick succession. To solve the jamming issue, Sholes looked into the letter-pair frequency of English. By rearranging the keys, he could reduce the jamming. Thus, the QWERTY layout emerged.

Design

The QWERTY layout was designed to reduce the likelihood of jamming, with the placement of keys being particularly important in achieving this. The layout places letters commonly used together far apart to avoid jamming. This design choice was crucial for the success of the typewriter, allowing for faster typing speeds without mechanical failures.

Adoption

After its development, the QWERTY layout was quickly adopted by other typewriter manufacturers. The layout became standardized when Remington started mass-producing its typewriters. With the widespread adoption of the typewriter, QWERTY became the de facto standard for keyboard layouts.

Impact

The QWERTY layout has had a significant impact on the development of computing and keyboard design. Despite the advent of digital keyboards that do not require mechanical movement, the QWERTY layout remains the most common keyboard layout. Its design has influenced the development of other keyboard layouts, such as Dvorak and Colemak, which claim to offer more efficient typing.

Criticism and Alternatives

The QWERTY layout has been criticized for its inefficiency and the strain it can cause on the fingers due to the placement of commonly used keys. Alternatives like the Dvorak and Colemak layouts have been developed to address these issues, offering layouts that claim to increase typing speed and reduce finger strain. However, the widespread use and familiarity of QWERTY have made it challenging for these alternatives to gain significant traction.

In Popular Culture

The QWERTY layout has transcended its practical application to become an icon of modern writing and computing. It is often used in popular culture as a symbol of writing, typing, and the evolution of technology.

See Also

• Typewriter
• Keyboard (computing)
• Dvorak Simplified Keyboard
• Colemak
• Keyboard layout

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