Why are the keys of a keyboard not in sequence of ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP et all???

Answer 1

Some people are close, but no one really has it.

The arrangement is used because it was done that way on typewriters, and since much computer work was data entry it was felt best to keep the arrangement most people were used to.

And why were typewriters done that way? You need to remember how old typewriters worked (have you ever seen a manual typewriter?) Pressing a key lifted a rod with a template of the letter to strike the paper. If you typed fast it was very likely that 2 of these rods would be in motion at the same time and jam, making the typist stop to fix it. The qwerty keyboard was specifically designed to be hard to use - it separated the common keys as much as it could, reducing jams at the cost of forcing the fingers to move greater distances for normal typing.

There have been many suggestions for new keyboard arrangements, though I have net seen alphabetical seriously suggested (though that is what is used on mobiles, essentially). The most common replacement is the Dvorak method, you can google it to learn about it.

Now, with programmable keycodes, if there is a system you prefer it is not hard to reprogram your keyboard to let you use any system you like.

Answer 2

I used to teach typing, and this is what I remember from what I told my kids:

Typewriters were originally designed so that each letter was on the end of a separate bar of metal. As you hit the letter on the keyboard, the corresponding metal bar swung forward and pressed an inked ribbon onto a sheet of paper, placing an image of that letter where you wanted it.

The first keyboards were alphabetical, but since we use some letters more than others, often-used letters close to each other would jam each time their bars collided, making typing a very slow process.

The forerunner of our current typewriter was invented after the American Civil War. A man named Christopher (?) figured out which letters were used the most, and rearranged the sequence on the keyboard, so that when folks typed 'ing' or 'th' or other common letter combos, the keys would be further apart so that there was less chance of jamming.

I had a chance to use an alphabetically-arranged keyboard machine when I visited a hands-on children's museum. I discovered what long-ago typists had to deal with: constantly jamming keys, so no way to increase speed while typing.

(By the way: My high school typing teacher told us that another reason that our keyboard letters were arranged non-alphabetically was because they were arranged so that your 'strong' fingers (index, middle and ring) could touch the most-used keys and your 'weak' fingers (pinkies) would only be needed for the keys used less often. It seemed like a logical explanation at the time.)

Answer 3

Key Board is invented after The Type Writer.
Earlier people were using Type Writer for DTP purpose in Many Places.
Keeping the Same Thing in Mind they designed Key BOard.

Answer 4

Early typewriters tried that, but the keys had a nasty tendancy to logjam at the platten.

By spreading the keys about, jamming was reduced significantly

Answer 5

it was a long time ago, they researched and they know that

asfghjkl are the most common letters to come out of a words.

so they line up that that. i mean what are teh chance of me using the letter Q or Z ? or even V?

it was first implented in your old typewriter :) it's call QWERY keys format btw
learn in Psy1001 :)

Answer 6

it was designed based on how words are usually arranged. see how most of the consonants are grouped together.

here's a lil' trivia, the longest word you can come up using the top most letter keys would be typewriter.

Answer 7

You used to be able to get typewriters with many different layouts, but the QWERTY layout was chosen by the masses to be more intuitive and quicker to type on than having them arranged alphabetically.

Answer 8

Becuase it is easier that way.

You have the most used letters at the convience of your figures.

See how you use Ts and Ns more than Qs and Zs???

Answer 9

they're apparently arranged so taht the more commonly used ones are easier to access. Which is why z and x are out of the way.

Answer 10

that is an awesome question? i wish i could answer that one!