[pc86]

Is it possible to switch back and forth easily, or is it one of those things where the constant context switching is more trouble than it's worth? I know very little about Dvorak, is it a software setting in the OS (e.g. you can relatively easily switch a single keyboard back and forth) or a hardware/firmware setting in the keyboard itself?

[ggreer]

It's a software setting, though the setting varies in each OS. OS X has my favorite layout: Dvorak with qwerty shortcuts. That gives me normal placement for cmd + x/c/v/etc.

I really like Dvorak. I don't type much faster, but typing requires much less effort. If you know someone who types Dvorak, take a look at the wear patterns on their keyboard. It's pretty much the home row. Contrast that to qwerty, where the top row (especially the E key) gets an inordinate amount of wear.

[metasean]

Most major operating systems have supported Dvorak for well over a decade (I started using it almost 2 decades ago and have never used an operating system that didn't have support baked in).

It does take a minute or two to initially set it up. Here's an old listing of ways to do it on a wide range of operating systems - https://kb.iu.edu/d/aepk And I would recommend setting up a keyboard shortcut to switch between them.

Once you have it set-up, including a keyboard shortcut, switching your keyboard is just a shortcut away.

I only type in Dvorak, so I can't speak to the ease of a single typist switching back and forth. I have pair programmed quite a bit with Qwerty typists and other than occasionally switching keyboards and momentarily forgetting to switch it, it has never been a problem.