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Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

vice.com

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Re: Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

#231

Post by meltedcapacitor »

Accacin wrote: post #226
zck wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet the 76% accuracy is coming from the CharaChorder's input method. From its website ( https://www.charachorder.com/product-page/charachorder ): > CharaChorder’s internal processor arranges the letters on-screen in real time faster than the human eye can perceive. So if it inputs one word, deletes it, and writes a new word every time you press a new letter, that would result in some decreased accuracy, even if the…

Yeah, this thread is full of people who didn't take enough time to read anything. We're all too quick nowadays to get angry and type without thinking, sadly.

They're typing too quick with their CharaChorder. :-)

Re: Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

#232

Post by darkwater »

Accacin wrote: post #226
zck wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet the 76% accuracy is coming from the CharaChorder's input method. From its website ( https://www.charachorder.com/product-page/charachorder ): > CharaChorder’s internal processor arranges the letters on-screen in real time faster than the human eye can perceive. So if it inputs one word, deletes it, and writes a new word every time you press a new letter, that would result in some decreased accuracy, even if the…

Yeah, this thread is full of people who didn't take enough time to read anything. We're all too quick nowadays to get angry and type without thinking, sadly.

> We're all too quick nowadays to get angry and type without thinking, sadly.

Well, CharaChorder won't exactly help with that...

Re: Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

#233

Post by kmonsen »

zck wrote: post #154
bastardoperator wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say it's a lot suspect. Couple this with the fact that he scored 267 WPM with 76% accuracy in another competition. Until we see more and it gets more accurate I'm not sure typing this fast is very meaningful if I'm going to have to fix 24% of what I just typed.

I bet the 76% accuracy is coming from the CharaChorder's input method. From its website ( https://www.charachorder.com/product-page/charachorder ): > CharaChorder’s internal processor arranges the letters on-screen in real time faster than the human eye can perceive. So if it inputs one word, deletes it, and writes a new word every time you press a new letter, that would result in some decreased accuracy, even if the…

could they not do that on device and only spit out the correct characters when it feels certain?

Re: Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

#234

Post by Arisaka1 »

This is interesting to me not because of the typing speed but because of something almost everyone will find weird: As a developer I'm not a fan of typing due to health reasons.

The long story: I have an undiagnosed disease/syndrome which, among other things, makes my fingertips become red and cold during winter season, and it gets worse when I'm typing. So in the summer I can pretty much type all day. It's not that my hands don't get cold while playing video games on my Playstation controller, they just get worst. I assume that the impact on every finger makes it worse, because I can wear all the layers of cloth in the house + have the air condition turned on and all I can get is my face and ears all red, but the fingers still cold as ice cubes.

From my standpoint, I see the potential use as an accessibility tool. If I can write words and avoid the step where my fingers suffer the impact of every keypress that's a big win for me. It's not like I can't type (obviously) but I'm wondering if I could train myself to code using something like this to avoid discomfort. I once entertained the idea of using my PS4 controller since Steam uses something similar.

Re: Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

#235

Post by userbinator »

bradlys wrote: post #127
300bps wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I type ~80WPM with 90%+ accuracy, but I don't find that typing speed is my blocker, rather the speed of a coherent thought I’m on typeracer.com with an average typing speed of 154 WPM with 99% accuracy. I don’t find my thoughts to be limiting for typing purposes.

I don't really know how people get past 120-130wpm with sustained accuracy. I find that I trail off around 100-110wpm. It really depends on the text too. Some text with a lot of difficult double repeated letters, fancy punctuation, etc. in a row or hard to read words - not so great. I just did the practice twice. Once at 100wpm (keyboard twister kind of text). Once at 130wpm (easy sentences). So much variation just f…

I don't really know how people get past 120-130wpm with sustained accuracy.

Speaking as someone who can type in the 130-140 range and has gone over 200 in short bursts --- the keyboard makes a huge difference. Look for one with a low actuation force, short distance-to-actuation, and a "bouncy" feeling that helps your fingers return. I'm using a cheap no-name rubber-dome keyboard, but it's definitely on the softer side compared to most others I've used.

Unfortunately, the only searches on Google for its model number (KM-2601P) are the posts here where I've mentioned it on other keyboarding articles: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24761580 (Don't you find it disturbing that a keyboard which was probably manufactured in the millions of units has literally only one person on the whole Internet mentioning it!?)

I also have a mechanical keyboard with clicky Blue Alps switches, which is impressively loud and satisfying to type on, but reaching 120 on that one is far more difficult; and I've also typed on a Thinkpad (pre-island style) keyboard, which has been praised as one of the best laptop keyboards, but maintaining even 100 on that one is very tiring --- it has far too much actuation pressure.

Re: Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

#236

Post by xupybd »

Xevi wrote: post #220
xupybd wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah but you are not going to get the speeds they boast about without steno.

I'm not the one you responded to, but I just wanted to add that it's still not steno. CharaChorder just has chording, but no theories, or whatever you call them for steno. You basically have to memorize every single chord on the CharaChorder afaik.

Ah thanks for clarifying.

I had thought that chording to produce a words was enough to qualify as steno.

Happy to be corrected :)

Re: Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

#237

Post by periheli0n »

jaqalopes wrote: post #225

A lot of people are expressing doubt about the utility of faster typing speed--rightly so, since that is the focus of the article. However, as a prose writer, I'm actually quite excited about this kind of device. When I'm typing 50,000+ characters of prose per week, every week, that's a lot of finger strain with a QWERTY keyboard--and I feel it. If a device let me accomplish that work with less net impact on my hands…

Split keyboards have done wonders for me. But a different keyboard alone won't solve the strain problems. A combination of using an ergonomic typing device, exercise, regular breaks and time off the keyboard are essential.

When you already feel the strain it's high time to do something against it, damage might already be done. Carpal tunnel or other inflammations are really painful and can take months to recover, during which your productivity will be quite low. Better to type only 40,000 characters a week and give your hands some rest, than squeeze 50,000 out of them until the damage is done.

Re: Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

#238

Post by fouc »

umvi wrote: post #7

The "500 WPM" video is a little suspect. He types literally one memorized sentence and extrapolates a WPM from that one 10 word sentence. I'd like to see him actually type 500 meaningful words in under 60 seconds. Anyway, this is cool but basically just a modern stenography device. Steno has a learning curve problem that makes it so most people won't use it.

This article reads as a PR piece to promote that specific product.

No mention of Plover or http://www.openstenoproject.org

Re: Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

#239

Post by fivea »

tambourine_man wrote: post #19
umvi wrote: post #7

The "500 WPM" video is a little suspect. He types literally one memorized sentence and extrapolates a WPM from that one 10 word sentence. I'd like to see him actually type 500 meaningful words in under 60 seconds. Anyway, this is cool but basically just a modern stenography device. Steno has a learning curve problem that makes it so most people won't use it.

QWERTY has a steep learning curve as well, it’s just that it’s so ubiquitous that most people don’t question or remember the work that was put into.

> QWERTY has a steep learning curve as well, it’s just that it’s so ubiquitous that most people don’t question or remember the work that was put into.

This assertion ignores crucial differences in the basic mechanics of typing in a standard QWERTY keyboard (i.e., look at the keyboard, press one key, get the desired character) and using a stenograph/chorded keyboard. A standard keyboard's discoverability makes it incomparably easier to ramp up than guessing which key combos get you a specific character combo/word.

Re: Keyboard lets people type so fast it’s banned from typing competitions

#240

Post by ghostly_s »

DrBoring wrote: post #38

I wonder how effective this CharaChorder is at preventing RSI (repetitive stress injury). It still seems to have the same flaw as QWERTY in that it requires you to use your small finger muscles, which are more prone to RSI than say your biceps. ps: Ugg, vice.com. I don't care for them.

twitching your fingertips left and right seems like a terribly unnatural repetitive motion to me, I would be concerned.
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