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The History Of The QWERTY Keyboard

QWERTY was named after the arrangement of the keys on a keyboard. Now there is more history where that came from because it wasn’t like the keyboard that is common today. It goes all the way back to the late 1800’s when Christopher Sholes invented the keyboard for a typewriter. That original typewriter was not even as proficient as the ones 20 years ago, meaning that not only was the keyboard troublesome, but so was the machine itself! Sholes noted that the keys would hit and stick as they were typed along with a host of other problems, leading him to a mission of improving the typewriter and therefore leading to the universal keyboard that is so commonly used today.

Working On QWERTY Placement

The original design was one where the keys were in alphabetic order. Sholes believed this would simplify a typist’s ability to improve their key strokes. After some keys were rearranged and a new keyboard was invented, a new keyboard was born. What Sholes thought would be achieved by the typist slowing down (to keep the keys from sticking) was corrected by the new positions of the keys themselves. This is where the name came from. The letters were no longer arranged in an alphabetical position, but instead they were arranged as Q-W-E-R-T-Y, therefore leading to the name. This new positioning of the keys better accommodated the natural movement of the fingers and allowed typists to actually speed up their typing as opposed to Sholes prediction of slowing down. This was certainly more efficient and lead to a much better product. Mass typewriters were produced and offered to the public in approximately 1878, thereby starting a trend that made history.

Other Keyboards Have Come & Gone

As with any other product there is always going to be someone that attempts to replicate it as well as build a better one. This happened a number of times for the keyboard and everything from the keys to the overall design was toyed with. Some lasted for a while and others never made it at all. Some of the new designs were popular for a time, however the majority were difficult to learn or use. One of the theories centered on the fact that maybe individuals had learned the QWERTY keyboard and it was simply too difficult to switch to another system. Whatever the cause or reason the original keyboard became known as the universal keyboard and is still commonly used today.

It seems ironic that today’s universal keyboard stemmed from the 1800’s typewriter that was mechanically challenged. Now there have been a few differences to the designs of keyboards to better facilitate hands, wrists and over all typing ability, but for the most part it is relatively similar. The position of the letters and keys are basically the same and are so for a reason. Based on the position and how the hands can work together to find the right key is the critical part of success for the QWERTY keyboard.

About The Author: Storagepipe Solutions privides online backup software for PCs, and online server backup systems as well.