Not touch-typing

[mtbc]

I have avoided split keyboards because I rather like my qwerty typing as it is so, last time a split keyboard was required of me, I used a Programmer Dvorak layout at work, and continued with my odd qwerty typing at home. Among other things, I have been somewhat aware that my choice of finger is not independent of the other letters I type, that my fingers are trying to find paths that will keep them out of each other's way while leaving the next letter near the position some finger is in already. For example, the is a one-handed word with my middle three fingers, my little finger can handle shift for the initial capital if need be. Recently, I discovered a specific example of the inconsistency: when I type depending, I use my right index finger for the first n and my second index finger for the second n. However I type is probably consistent over whole words, just not in mapping of finger to key.

Comments

[thewayne]

I've never used Dvorak. I used a Microsoft Natural keyboard for quite a number of years, but stopped using those a few years back. Two of my main keyboards have issues, one I've turned the repeat rate down to its lowest setting and that's helped it: it's pretty old but not made anymore. The other I need to check YouTube vids and see what the difficulty factor is in replacing it, then see if Asus will sell me one. But first I should take some canned air to it.

[mtbc]

The canned air's well worth a try and fair chance you can get a replacement keyboard and install it without great pain. Also definitely worth buying new ones when it's time.

Programmer Dvorak's interesting. Among other things, the numbers along the top are all reordered and on shift, without shift it's all punctuation as you might find in code.

[emperor]

I learnt touch-typing largely doing a summer job with a lot of data-entry, and find a split keyboard keeps my wrists at a more sensible angle. I'm not saying I wouldn't learn another layout, but I think I'd need convincing it would really be better in the long term to go through the pain :)

[mtbc]

The pain's not too bad, though one sure has a few slow days at first! But, yes, if you're decently fast on qwerty or suchlike, frankly I doubt you'd gain enough from a switch. Despite using it every workday I was never as fast on Programmer Dvorak as on qwerty. So far my main RSI win was dumping the mouse for a large trackball, I think the lifting was bothering me.

[wpadmirer]

I am definitely a touch typist, which can get me into trouble if I happen to fuck up and start on the wrong keys. (I've done that a couple of times and it's VERY annoying.)

[mtbc]

Haha, I do that too. Sometimes just on the one hand so around half the letters are correct.

[mellowtigger]

I've also never tried Dvorak, but I desperately want a more efficient data input standard. This weird new device is the most recent to attract my attention. I want to try it.

[mtbc]

While I wonder about the apparently-guessing aspects of that one, I can indeed imagine a big win from chording.