Have you ever stopped to wonder if Qwerty keyboards really make any sense? I hadn't until just now, and yet, whenever I was confronted with a non-Qwerty keyboard, I become personally offended, as if the very core of my being as a person with excellent typing skills was under challenge and being ridiculed. And my initial response to an alternative keybaord was: So what if Qwerty makes no sense? The English language itself makes no sense (for instance, why is "read" the past tense of "read", only pronounced differently, and is anyone trying to change that?).

Yet, despite my right index finger's long-ingrained wiring that connects it to the letters h, j, y and u, now that the idea has hit a nerve in me, I feel that I must try this new keyboard, the New Standard Ergonomic Keyboard. What's the innovation? The keyboard follows the order of the alphabet rather than the non-sensical, but now deeply entrenched, placement of the letters starting with ones that spell out the word "typewriter" at the top row (thanks to ZDNet UK for pointing out this fact hidden in plain view). Unlike learning on a Qwerty keyboard, those coming to the New Standard Keyboard for the first time can easily remember the placement of the letters by simply singing the alphabet song.