Why are Computer Keys not in Alphabetical order?

The cause originates from the era of manual typewriters. The keys were originally organised in alphabetical order, however configuration eventually won out over convention.

The QWERTY layout was designed to slow typists down because the more quickly someone typed, the more frequently the typewriter jammed, according to popular belief. In order to slow typists down and try to avoid this issue, it is said that he put the keys with the most common letters in difficult-to-reach places.

That was partially accurate because the "Type Writer's" design problems rendered it subject to jams, and the remedy was to put widely used letter pairs (such "th" or "st") so that their typebars weren't next to each other, preventing jams.

The Great Invention

Christopher Latham Sholes, the creator of the QWERTY keyboard, battled over the following five years to perfect his creation, rearranging the machine's original alphabetical key configuration numerous times through trial and error. However, Sholes' business companion, James Densmore, successfully sold the production rights for the Sholes & Glidden Type-Writer to E. Remington and Sons (a producer of weapons and later typewriters) in 1873. Remington made a number of changes to the product when they bought it, resulting in a keyboard that practically has the current QWERTY layout.

Evolution

The Dvorak keyboard layout is considerably dissimilar from the QWERTY keyboard. The Dvorak keyboard layout seeks to reduce the distance that fingers must travel. Additionally, it makes the typist switch hands as frequently as possible when typing consecutive letters.

Since the Dvorak layout places all of the most frequently used letters in the home row, pressing these keys requires no finger movement at all. The vowels and some consonants are all in the left hand, whereas the consonants are all in the right hand. Consequently, very few words in the English language can be entered on the Dvorak keyboard with just one hand.

Switch-based Keyboard

With the success of the Remington No2, the first typewriter to support both upper- and lower-case letters using a shift key, the QWERTY layout gained popularity. A keyboard should provide the ability for users to switch between their hands while typing. Making the procedure quicker and more effective, one hand can prepare to type the next letter while the other hand types the current letter.

The likelihood of unintentional repetitions rises when a series of letters are written with the same hand, which slows down the process and increases error rates. Many more words in the QWERTY layout can be spelt with just the left hand than the right.

Interesting Fact

The words 'typewriter,' 'proprietor,' 'perpetuity,' and 'repertoire' are the longest English words that can be written using only the top row of keys.