Why is the fastening mechanism on the B-key different?

[ihoss.com]

I rearranged my keyboard to Dvorak today, and I ran into a strange problem. The fastening mechanism for the the B-key on my laptop is upside down, compared to the fastening mechanism for all the other keys. That means that only the B-key fits in that spot, and the B-key won't fit any other place. I have an HP laptop, and a friend of mine has a Dell laptop, and both have a retarded B-key. The Fujitsu-Siemens keyboard does not though. This only applies to laptop keyboards.

Does anyone know why this might be, or could you check with your keyboard. Try comparing the backside of the B-key and the N-key, or swapping them, and you'll probably notice if there is a difference.

[hanratty21]

My B key is different anyway, because the mouse-nubbin/nipple thing is there so there is a cutaway on that key.

[ihoss.com]

ah, that might be why. I don't have a nipple (on my keyboard ), but hp probably haven't changed the inner workings of the keyboard in the last 30 or so years.

[jasonsplace]

I have an HP laptop and I switched those 2 keys with no problems.

[ihoss.com]

Yeah, we found an old HP keyboard where it wasn't a problem

[pooon]

Dvorak, eh? Hows that working out for you?

[ihoss.com]

I've been using for a few years now, and it works perfectly. I don't think I type any faster, but it feels a lot more comfortable. The only problem I had with Dvorak is that Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+X and Ctrl+Z are now scattered on the keyboard. But I found a great tool Microsoft made, called Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator, which I used to create a keyboard that changes whet the Ctrl key is pressed.

[jAQUAN]

seems like you're just running with weights on then no?

[ihoss.com]

What do you mean by running with weights on? To me it is the exact opposite; writing with Dvorak is like dropping the weights.

[jAQUAN]

I don't think I type any faster

[ihoss.com]

but it feels a lot more comfortable

I didn't say i typed any slower either.

[WannaBe_80z]

What exactly did you do?

Just looked up the layout- why would you choose to type like that? Are there other layouts out there people use?

[ihoss.com]

Most people can't understand why I use Dvorak, especially when I hadn't rearranged my keys. But the argument that the keys are in the wrong spot doesn't make a lot of sense. I suspect most of you can touch type, and so you don't need to see the keyboard to type. So it doesn't matter if the character on the key is the same as the key that appears when I type. Next, qwerty was originally made for typewriters, and was designed so the typer would type slowly. Dvorak is designed for computers so the typer can type fast.