Use "xmodmap" to remap some of the DvortyBoard's annoying keys. See my ~/.Xmodmap file for commands and comments.
To remap the laptop's keys to the Dvorak layout, I use the handy command provided by the X system to do most of it: "setxkbmap dvorak". To switch back to the standard layout, use the "setxkbmap us" command. I created two shell scripts to handle the details, and aliases named "us" and "dv" to invoke the scripts. See "~/bin/us.sh" and "~/bin/dvorak.sh" for details.
To see what X sees when you strike a key, use the Unix "xev" command.
To see what XEmacs sees when you strike a key, use the XEmacs view-lossage function.
See Customize Keyboard on my Windows page.