Learning to Touch Type Again
deusinmachina.net
Learning to Touch Type Again
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Re: Learning to Touch Type Again
#2keybr.com is a neat site. Used it a lot when I was working hard on fixing my typing posture (don't knock it, it'll save you from a lifetime of RSI ;v;).
Re: Learning to Touch Type Again
#3Another upvote for keybr here, a couple of weeks last year half an hour a day got me touch typing.
Also recommended: typelit.io, where you type books out.
For a small subscription you can upload your own books, convenient for bookclub/typing practice killing-two-birds efforts.
Re: Learning to Touch Type Again
#4Tipp10 is great: https://www.tipp10.com/en/index/
Re: Learning to Touch Type Again
#5I bought a split keyboard but when I realised I had to relearn everything after trying to use it, I abandoned it. I once used DVORAK but I abandoned that too (not overlapping the split key keyboard).
I also really liked vimperator, the firefox plugin that let you manipulate firefox and click links through the keyboard and scroll with vim bindings.
My tastes have completely changed. I no longer want to optimise how I do the work that I do do, but innovate or learn brand new things.
Switching machines is painful and jarring when you swap from a custom configured machine to a default configuration machine. So things like keybindings, tmux bindings, zsh customisations, ssh shortcuts. I just decided to remember how to use -W so I wasn't dependent on ssh shortcuts.
I am just keenly aware that the profit I get from tweaking everything has diminishing returns. I would rather spend that time learning a new algorithm or playing with some code on repl.it.
There is a case for avoiding syntax highlighting too, learn how to setup a codebase from scratch, not use autocomplete so you really learn how to read and write code. Those I agree with.
I use a trackball out of inertia.
Please note this comment is NOT against tweaking or optimising, it's just I think it's fine to not want to do certain things. I don't think it's obviously superior or worse, it's just not for me.
Re: Learning to Touch Type Again
#6For emacs, I've found that putting the modifier keys on home row works well. i.e. tapping the key works as normal, and holding the key acts as Alt/Win/Ctrl/Shift.
An advantage to doing things this way is reducing hand movement/stretching.
Another advantage to that technique is it'd work with pretty much any keyboard. (Even keyboards which have large spacebars).
Re: Learning to Touch Type Again
#7“As someone who easily spends more than 60 hours a week at the keyboard gaming, coding, working, and writing, I am no stranger to wrist pain. Particularly the part where my thumb and wrist meet on my right hand.”
Patient: “Doctor, doctor, it hurts when I do this.”
Doctor: “Then don’t do that!”
Perhaps it would be a good idea to reduce typing in general?
We’ve got voice input that’s getting much better.
We had this a decade ago:
Some sort of gesture based input? AR/VR has helped improve this?
Hopefully a combination of keyboard, voice, and gestures could reduce RSI issues.
Re: Learning to Touch Type Again
#8I started touch typing with keybr too, took almost two months to get to my usual 90 wpm.
I remember practicing for an hour a day, it is fun after you nail the first 4 letters so don’t give up too early.
Now I am using a Corne v3 which I built myself and I am considering investing more time switching to another keyboard layout like dvorak or colemark, can anyone recommend it? Was it worth it?
Re: Learning to Touch Type Again
#9I bought a split keyboard but when I realised I had to relearn everything after trying to use it, I abandoned it. I once used DVORAK but I abandoned that too (not overlapping the split key keyboard). I also really liked vimperator, the firefox plugin that let you manipulate firefox and click links through the keyboard and scroll with vim bindings. My tastes have completely changed. I no longer want to optimise how I…
[deleted]
Re: Learning to Touch Type Again
#10I started touch typing with keybr too, took almost two months to get to my usual 90 wpm. I remember practicing for an hour a day, it is fun after you nail the first 4 letters so don’t give up too early. Now I am using a Corne v3 which I built myself and I am considering investing more time switching to another keyboard layout like dvorak or colemark, can anyone recommend it? Was it worth it?
Dvorak is much more comfortable to use than qwerty.
The main cost is the fingers needing to re-learn motor memory. Likely with QWERTY your fingers 'knew' where the letters where. When I learned to touch-type Dvorak, my fingers took some time to adjust, and I had a hard time typing on QWERTY.
With a separate column-staggered keyboard like the Corne, I imagine it's easier to retain the row-staggered QWERTY on standard keyboards, & touch-typing whatever on the Corne.