| Old Keyboards were somewhat
difficult to use, just for the sheer pressure necessary to strike a key. Take LC
Smith & Corona Typewriters: they were HEAVY black monsters that didn't even
have the number one (1) because they figured you could just use the lower case
"L". Typing on "word processors" of yesteryear took considerably more
effort to operate, much more than today's PCs require. The typewriter
was invented in 1872 by Christopher Sholes; and it was significantly
flawed --because when typists worked up any speed --the keys would jam!
To remedy, Sholes repositioned keys: frequently used letter combinations
were placed as far from one another as possible. Early on "learning keyboarders"
frequently ask why the keys don't read in alphabetical order. By design, Mr. Sholes
eventually also assigned disproportionate workloads to the weakest fingers.
These "improvements" slowed keyboarding but eliminated the key-jamming
glitch. This is why the computer keyboard's top lettered line reads:
Q W E R T Y U I O P
Since then, many have tried to introduce more convenient keyboards but
none have gained acceptance.
Though University of Washington professor, August Dvorak,
reworked it in 1932 claiming his refinements could speed typing by 35% --it never replaced
the standard used today.
From On Keyboarding
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Contact Online!
Update 
In
our computer lab we've been working on keyboarding, with emphasis on
accuracy, speed and proper reference to the "home row". Today's
high-tech keyboards provide the letters "F" and "J" in a notched
fashion, so that users can know without looking, that they are properly oriented on the
row, by placing the index fingers of the left and right hands, on these two keys.
