Why are the keyboard keys of a computer not simply arranged in alphabetical order?

Answer 1

The keyboard design is known as the QWERTY design was created for typewriters by Christopher Sholes in 1868 when the keys were alphabetical keys kept sticking together which was a nuisance as the typist had to manually unstick the keys and also frequently blot the document. So qwerty layout was created so frequently used pairs of letters were separated in an attempt to stop the keys from intertwining and becoming stuck.


i do not know why we still use them i guess it has just become standard and people are now used to this layout

Answer 2

It's awkward, inefficient and confusing - people have been saying that for 124 years, but although other keyboards have been experimented with, none proved to facilitate speed as well as the QWERTY. Those keys made their first appearance on a device marketed as the "Type-Writer" in 1872. Today the keyboard is a universal fixture even on the most advanced and sophisticated computers and word processors. The keyboard name, QWERTY, comes from the first six letters in the top alphabet row (the one just below the numbers). It's also called the "Universal" keyboard and was the work of inventor C. L. Sholes. Before QWERTY, he'd arranged the keys in alphabetical order in two rows, but when people tried to type with this assembly, the typewriter continually jammed due to its internal set-up and typing was, by necessity, very slow. He understood that he needed to place the most used keys at safe distances from each other, in order to prevent jamming and speed-up typing, thus our keyboard was invented. An expert typist can type 100wpm, and maybe faster, with this set-up.

Answer 3

It goes back to the time of typewriters, origionally the keys were in alphabetical order but typists be came so fast that the keys were going to the paper simaltaneously and jamming, so someone came up with the idea of moving the keys into an order wear it would slow the typists down just a little.
It doesnt matter so much now everything is electronic but the qwerty keyboard had become the norm by then and is here to stay.

Answer 4

Hey, a question I know the answer to! I remember this from typing class. It's because the computer keyboard is the same one we used on typewriters. The first typewriters had arms that rose from the keys to imprint the letter onto the paper when you pushed the key. If you put the letters in alphabetical order, the keys we use most are right next to each other, so the arms would get all jammed together if anyone tried to type fast. They rearanged the keyboard into the qwerty model, and thats what we have now. (qwerty is the letters in the top left row)

Answer 5

It started when the typewriter was invented. The first keyboards were layed out in alphabetical order. However, when people learned to type at a good speed, the metal bars on which the actual letters were attached would easily become entangled, forcing the user to spend time manually untangling the bars. Setting the keyboard layout in a way other than alphabetical alleviated that problem.

Answer 6

it is historical............as others have noted........a development for mechanical keyboards to stop the keys constantly jamming. It was used in computers so that typists could make the transition easily from mechanical to electronic keyboards.
there are other types of keyboards available.For example, the dvorak keyboard has been used for years and is quite popular (the american author Piers Anthony is a big fan of dvorak keyboard layout)
here's what it looks like http://www.ninomiya.org/otherstuff/qwerty_sucks.html

Answer 7

They were originally set out alphabetically. But on the manual typewriters of the time, touch typists were so fast that the keys were often getting struck. So the QWERTY keyboad was designed to slow the typists down! History of qwerty here: http://home.earthlink.net/~dcrehr/whyqwert.html

Answer 8

There are two schools of thought. Some people think it is because it is easer it touch type if keys like e, d etc are close together.

The other theory is that manual typewriters were laid out in this way so the mechanical 'arms' that used to print the letters would not jam.

Answer 9

It is a copy of the keyboard developed for manual typewriters. The layout was chosen so the mechanical linkages did not jam when typing. Here's some more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qwerty

Answer 10

apparently the way they are set out make it easier to learn to touch type. I think it would be much harder in alphabetical order coz they have grouped the letters most often used together, in a group together. Does that make sense?