The Dvorak Way. Touchtyping is just one of the benefits of switching to Dvorak. There is no point looking down there since there is nothing useful to see.
I was thinking of Dvoarking, but I use vim. And hjkl gets really confusing.
Poll: Do you touch-type?
61–70 of 78 posts
Re: Poll: Do you touch-type?
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Touch-typing isn't about WPM. It's about the fact that, once you're half-decent at it (and it only takes a few months) the fact that you're typing disappears . So you can write or code without even thinking about typing because the muscle memory turns your verbal thoughts into text. Hunt-and-peck is more than fast enough (30-40 wpm for skilled hunt-and-peck typists) to crank out code but it's a lot easier to lose the…
I still don't understand. Typing takes a definitive amount of time. Touch typing can cut that time significantly. I do agree with that. However, claiming that typing slowly makes you lose your flow appears a bit far fetched to me.
Here's my experience typing on a keyboard (familiar) vs. an iPad (unfamiliar): I can type almost as fast on an iPad, but because of the unfamiliar spacing I have to devote some cognitive energy to the task and occasionally my brain switches from what I'm thinking about (note-taking or programming) to moving my hands to the right place. It does occasionally break my concentration and make it somewhat harder to enter flow. I imagine that I'd have a similar experience if I didn't know how to touch-type.
Re: Poll: Do you touch-type?
#63I've been touch-typing since the 1st grade, one year after I learned to write by hand in English (not my first language). To me, typing is now substantially more intuitive than writing by hand. Most of my peers say that writing by hand is more intuitive and it's easier for them to concentrate, which completely baffles me.
Re: Poll: Do you touch-type?
#64I took a typing class in high school; it was probably the most useful course I took over the entire five years. It has paid for itself literally thousands of times over in increased productivity (my cruising speed is around 100-120 wpm). I'm with Steve Yegge: if you can't touch-type, your productivity will remain stuck under a pretty hard ceiling. http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/09/programmings-dirties...
I did too. I think it's good to invest in 'infrastructure' skills. Learning a good text editor (in my case, Vim) is another thing like this, I think.
Re: Poll: Do you touch-type?
#65A S D F J K L semi! Again! A S D F J K L semi! Again! We will keep doing it until you got it right! A S D F J K L semi! Eddie in Row 3, come on now, keep up! A S D F J K L semi! Mrs. Tomjonovich, I cursed you then. I thank you now.
haha thats classic!
Did you learn typing in school? I wish i did...all my typing is self taught. Doesnt cause me too many issues except my accuracy is lower than i'd like.
Re: Poll: Do you touch-type?
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
I still don't understand. Typing takes a definitive amount of time. Touch typing can cut that time significantly. I do agree with that. However, claiming that typing slowly makes you lose your flow appears a bit far fetched to me.
Here's my experience typing on a keyboard (familiar) vs. an iPad (unfamiliar): I can type almost as fast on an iPad, but because of the unfamiliar spacing I have to devote some cognitive energy to the task and occasionally my brain switches from what I'm thinking about (note-taking or programming) to moving my hands to the right place. It does occasionally break my concentration and make it somewhat harder to enter f…
The problem with iPad keyboards (and all other software keyboards) isn't just that they're unfamiliar compared to physical keyboards, but that they have no tactile feedback.
A touch-typist typing on a physical keyboard will know without having to look that he's pressed the right key and that the keypress registered. On a software keyboard one always has to look.
This makes touch-typing on a software keyboard virtually impossible.
Re: Poll: Do you touch-type?
#67I started programming in high school, and my first job was a programming job. I noticed right away how quickly everyone typed, and not wanting to be left behind I downloaded Klavaro and spent some time learning how to touch-type.
I do it The Right Way, since that's how you're taught in Klavaro. It becomes easier on muscle memory to know that you only have to feel for that bar on the keyboard and then your fingers can do the rest on their own. I think Klavaro is great software if you want to learn it The Right Way. Dedicate 30 minutes to an hour each night, and you'll be uo-to-speed in less than a month.
Re: Poll: Do you touch-type?
#68There should be an option for cleanly, the wrong way. I took a typing class in HS but I don't remember any of the hand positioning from it. I touch type all the time but I have no clue about my positioning.
Years of AIM --> Quick error free typing without looking.
Re: Poll: Do you touch-type?
#69Sometimes. It depends on what I'm typing. Documentation I mostly touch-type. Code, never. Touch-typing is one of those skills that pays with an economy of scale. The time it takes to place both hands on the home keys isn't justified when I will have to remove them too frequently.
Re: Poll: Do you touch-type?
#70Here is a cool trick to learn it:
1) learn the key's by heard for each row from left to right and vice versa until u make no more mistakes.
2) buy an old keyboard and cover the keys with color pads, for each finger_to_key match a different color
3) color your fingernails accordingly.
4) do your typing but now only with fingers of matching colors.
5) Enjoy the fun game
6) Get faster and faster
P.S.: I won the competition of being the winner learning touch typing fastest when I was a kid. The price was .......a new typewriter :-)