Is there a reason for the way the letters are situated on the keyboard?

Answer 1

Originally, the characters on the typewriters he invented were arranged alphabetically, set on the end of a metal bar which struck the paper when its key was pressed. However, once an operator had learned to type at speed, the bars attached to letters that lay close together on the keyboard became entangled with one another, forcing the typist to manually unstick the typebars, and also frequently blotting the document. They solved the jamming problem by rearranging the keys. Hence the qwerty arrangement.

Answer 2

The QWERTY keyboard layout was devised and created in the 1860s by the creator of the first modern typewriter, Christopher Sholes, a newspaper editor who lived in Milwaukee. Originally, the characters on the typewriters he invented were arranged alphabetically, set on the end of a metal bar which struck the paper when its key was pressed. However, once an operator had learned to type at speed, the bars attached to letters that lay close together on the keyboard became entangled with one another, forcing the typist to manually unstick the typebars, and also frequently blotting the document. [1] Sholes solved the jamming problem by rearranging the keys. A disputed issue is the effect this rearrangement of letters had on maximum typing speed. Some sources assert that the QWERTY layout was designed to slow down typing speed to further reduce jamming.[2][3] [4] Other sources assert the rearrangement worked by separating common sequences of letters in English.[citation needed] Ostensibly, the hammers that were likely to be used in quick succession were less likely to interfere with each other.[4]

Above information quoted from the following link:

Answer 3

In computing, a keyboard is an enter gadget partly modelled after the typewriter keyboard which makes use of an association of buttons, or keys which act as digital switches. A keyboard oftentimes has characters engraved or imprinted on the keys, and each and each press of a key oftentimes corresponds to a unmarried written image. although, to supply some symbols demands pressing and conserving countless keys concurrently or in series. jointly as maximum keyboard keys produce letters, numbers or signs and warning signs (characters), different keys or simultaneous key presses can produce strikes or laptop instructions. In usual utilization, the keyboard is used to style textual content textile or numbers right into a be conscious processor, textual content textile editor, or different application. In a fashionable laptop the translation of keypresses is extra often than not left to the utility. a working laptop or laptop keyboard distinguishes each and each actual key from another and comments all keypresses to the controlling utility. Keyboards are additionally used for laptop gaming, the two with common keyboards or via making use of particular gaming keyboards that can expedite in many situations used keystroke mixtures. A keyboard is extensively utilized provide instructions to the working gadget of a working laptop or laptop, such because of the fact the administration-Alt-Delete mixture, which brings up a job window or shuts down the gadget. i'm hoping this enables :D

Answer 4

Yes.

Believe it or not, the original design was intended to slow people down when typing on typewriters... because if you typed too fast, the keys would smash into each other. The layout was aimed to minimise the risk of a typewriter jam.

Alternatively, it's so when you are touch typing the keys you need most often are near the fingers and the ones you use less often are harder to reach. So mxz are down a row, q and p are at the ends but siouaer fall easily to your fingers.

take your pick, I've heard both put forward as reasons for the design of keyboards.

Answer 5

Yes with the old typewriters the print head was on a long strip of metal. Maybe you've seen one? Anyway, if you typed too fast the strips could get tangled up and you'd have to fix them. So they devised an arrangement to slow down the typing and also keep the balance between the two hands (for english I believe) as far as common letters evenly distributed between the two sides. No lie.

Answer 6

this explains it a lot better than I can:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTY