Keyboard layout modifications are back to (almost) normal – but instead of using /etc/X11/xorg.conf, we’re now using /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/90-keyboard-layout.conf.

To change your keyboard layout from US to GB (for example):

Modify the file to replace:

Option “XkbLayout” “us”

With:

Option “XkbLayout” “gb”

.. just as you would have done a few years ago with xorg.conf.

On my desk, I have two machines, both with identical Big Ol’ Dell Keyboards. But I have swapped the keys around on the one on the left to make it a Dvorak-UK layout. The box on the right is my main working desktop (Slackware-13.0) and the one on the left is mainly for IRC run out of tty2 although I also use it for live testing when writing code. Because the IRC box is the Dvorak box, all I do is type which gives me a lot of practice.

I got past the hunt-and-peck stage in about 6 weeks, and slowly started getting better from there. I still have trouble with M and W being next to each other, and I often grab the wrong vowel, but other than that I’ve gotten pretty good. Sometimes I get so comfortable I reach over to the QWERTY keyboard and momentarily forget how to type; but that’s only occasionally. I think I do pretty well swapping between the two.

I now have a new skill for my CV and the ability to fend off RSI later in life. I feel I have accomplished something.

Some notes:

• Do not bother trying to find a Dvorak keyboard – people just don’t sell them – rearrange one you have.
• Pick a good keyboard to re-arrange. Try to find one that has no curvature so the keys are all the same dimensions and set at the same angle.
• In a linux console: `loadkeys dvorak` will give you a Dvorak (US) layout instantly.
• In Slackware 13.0, tell hald about your new keyboard as in my earlier post so it works in X.

I urge everyone to spend a little time reading DVZine to rid you of fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) about Dvorak. There’s a lot of misinformation out there and DVZine will put you straight.

Have fun.

With reference to my earlier post about Xorg + Hal, by default, Xorg in Slackware 13 gets its hardware information from hald instead of an xorg.conf file. If you have no xorg.conf file and hald is not running, your keyboard and mouse will not work when you start X.

• The Cause: You disabled or broke hal.
• The Solution: Darwinist Determinism.

Failing the first solution:

Then restart X or reboot (probably easier to just reboot and it clears any anomalies).

If it still doesn’t work, check that your /etc/rc.d/rc.hald script is not empty (I don’t know how he did it, but I did see someone who’d zeroed his script during an upgrade).

If it still doesn’t work, then you probably actually have a problem rather than just a failure on your part and it’s time to go searching for likely causes. Best place to start would be to google your specific hardware in relation to hal.