Why are qwerty keyboards in that order?

The QWERTY keyboard layout was designed so that successive keystrokes would alternate sides of the keyboard so as to avoid jams in manual typewriters. Is frequently said that the design was also created to make people type slower.

First designs of manual typewriters using keyboards with letters on alphabetical order could not keep up with the speed of fast typers and the QWERTY keyboard layout was designed to reduce jamming.

Later, a layout called Dvorak was introduced to allow faster typing and reduce fatigue but has never got widespread use.

The QWERTY keyboard layout survived the era of electrical typewriters and the digital age because it was the first standard design. Being first counts.

Why are keyboards not in alphabetical order?

The QWERTY keyboard layout was designed so that successive keystrokes would alternate sides of the keyboard so as to avoid jams in manual typewriters. Is frequently said that the design was also created to make people type slower.

First designs of manual typewriters using keyboards with letters on alphabetical order could not keep up with the speed of fast typers and the QWERTY keyboard layout was designed to reduce jamming.

Later, a layout called Dvorak was introduced to allow faster typing and reduce fatigue but has never got widespread use.

The QWERTY keyboard layout survived the era of electrical typewriters and the digital age because it was the first standard design. Being first counts.

Should I leave my computer on all the time?

I contacted several experts on this one and they all agreed that you won’t hurt your computer by turning it off when you’re not using it.

Dean Gallea, test program leader for computer technology at Consumer Reports, says “it is no more strain on a PC to shut it down and restart than it is to put it into standby mode and resume.”

The U.S. Department of Energy’s “Energy Star” Web site states, “The less time a PC is on, the longer it will last.” They recommend turning off both the CPU and monitor if you're not going to use your PC for more than 2 hours.

John Frey, HP’s Manager for Environmental Strategies, told me there is no reason to keep a computer running all the time and every reason to turn it off when it’s not in use for extended periods.

Turning off an unused computer will not only reduce your energy bills, he says, it will reduce system-wide energy demand, which will help cut carbon dioxide emissions.

Frey says HP ships all of its desktop computers and monitors with the energy-saving setting enabled. Just one PC with the power saving setting enabled, he says, saves enough energy to power a 75 watt light bulb continuously for over a year.

For every 12 machines left in this mode, Frey says, the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions (needed to generate electricity) is equal to taking one car off the road for a year.

By the way, screen savers do not save energy. They can actually result in greater energy use if they keep the power-down feature from activating.

Why are Apple computers so expensive?

OS X computers don't have multiple hardware manufacturers competing to make cheaper hardware, they single source the hardware from Apple. So it is more expensive. Basic economics.

There was a huge debate within Apple in the late 80s and 90s about whether to license the Mac OS to others. They started to, and had one other manufacturer making Macs. Steve Jobs shut it down when he returned to Apple.