Support for 'two fingered typists'!

[TopSecret]

There are those who can touch type and those who can't. For those who can't, like myself, typing is a mixture of checking the screen and looking at the keyboard to find the right key, also known as 'hunt & peck'. A QWERTY keyboard isn't helpful to those who lack the ability to touch type. Now there may be help at hand from a US company, Fast Finger Keyboards, who have developed a different keyboard layout.

Read the full article here.

 

[monkey7]

Hmm blind ten finger typer with around 300-350 chars/min here so not really interested. Curious to see if this actually works for the peckers though.

 

[TopSecret]

In all honesty, I can't see it taking off. The QWERTY keyboard is much too established and widely used. I couldn't change now to a different layout, and I remember where the keys are, but I still have to check every now and then.

 

[Bungral]

Well actually qwerty isn't so they can type faster is it?? I thought it used to be abcdefg but people were typing too fast on it at the time so they changed it all to slow them down a bit...

Is this just utter ball crap that I picked up somewhere years ago and it's just lingered in my head ever since?

Edit:

Ahhh it aint far off... Typewriters used to jam when they were all next to each other and typed on quickly so this dude changed it to lower the chances of collision.

"As the letter-keys were attached to levers that needed to move freely, inventor Christopher Sholes developed the QWERTY layout to reduce the likelihood of jamming. With the advent of computers, lever jams are no longer an issue, but nevertheless, QWERTY layouts were adopted for electronic keyboards because they were widely used. Alternative layouts such as the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard are not in widespread use."

 

[TopSecret]

I just checked on Wiki too, seems you are right mate. Thanks for that and I have duly modified the article. I could have sworn that a QWERTY layout had something to do with speeding up typing too

 

[Bungral]

Crikey! Can't believe that turned out to be a good bit of knowledge.

Dunno when I picked that up. Not like I was around then (only 23 now) to notice.

 

[Socks]

Touch typing is one of the easiest things in the world. I can now even touch type on my blackberry...rofl...

I dont think i could adapt to using a new layout, would be too weird...

 

[rrjwilson]

There are those who can touch type and those who can't. For those who can't, like myself, typing is a mixture of checking the screen and looking at the keyboard to find the right key, also known as 'hunt & peck'. A QWERTY keyboard isn't helpful to those who lack the ability to touch type. Now there may be help at hand from a US company, Fast Finger Keyboards, who have developed a different keyboard layout.

Read the full article here.

LMFAO

Back to the old days eh?

Typical we ge settled in our ways and the old'un days come back. The very first keyboards (non computer) were like that although no random symbols and shift keys back when my dad was printing the Times. The reason qwerty was inverted was for a standardised alphabet form to slow typists into checking their work when writing up for papers as they made so many mistakes using the system Fast Fingers are trying to bring back. :nono:

 

[Mr. Mom]

I could have sworn that a QWERTY layout had something to do with speeding up typing too

The Dvorak keyboard is the one that is supposed to be a faster system. Incredibly, on one of my other forums, there are actually some people that use Dvorak! Back in Jr. High, my Apple //c used to have Dvorak as an option. QWERTY seems fast enough, though. I don't know, it seems like the keys are all in the right place, when I'm typing.

 

[Diablo]

I'm only on about 300 chars/min, but never the less that's basically touch typing (with a lot of mistakes). Even when I was a hunt'n'peck ist, I still struggled adjusting from QWERTY to anything else (try AZERTY on the continent for a really wierd email)

 

[TopSecret]

Well I have been a two finger typer for over 20 years now, so why change the habits of a lifetime. I am pretty quick to say I only use two fingers though

 

[Mr. Mom]

What's with the character's per minute measurements? Don't people measure in words, anymore? Is the standard conversion still 5 characters per word? At any rate, I'm still typing between 80 and 85 WPM, correcting as I type.

 

[monkey7]

Chars is european, words is for the Americans who have to be different for some reason And I don't think the standard conversion is 5 per word, as all Americans would be typing lightning fast then. At my top of 400cpm most people start glancing at me like I'm on fire *whistles*

The QWERTY is designed to have the keys most spread around all your fingers. In mechanical typewriters this would indeed mean you spread the hits around the different levers, in digital writing this means you spread the hits around your different fingers. This has the advantage you can type faster, try typing a word which only has letters in the left side of your keyboard. You can't do that fast, especially if you have a string of letters on the same finger.

Other countries have other layouts because different letters are used. Like the QWERTZ of germany and the AZERTY of belgium.

 

[qisback]

Well I have been a two finger typer for over 20 years now, so why change the habits of a lifetime. I am pretty quick to say I only use two fingers though

You probly don't hunt and peck, you'll know the layout of the keyboard and just peck at the keys.

I have a friend like this, he knows exactally where every key is on the keyboard but still has to peck because he has stubby little fingers.

Although on a slightly different note, there is a SMS keyboard which will atleast mean that every kid in the UK would be able to touch type. Would post a link but I can't currently roll on the posts.

-={Q}=-

 

[TopSecret]

I never learned to touch type when I was a kid because it wasn't an option for lads back in the day (well not a safe one anyways). We done woodwork, metalwork and all the usual man-stuff. The girls done typing, cooking and all that mallarky. How times change, eh?

 

[Kerotan]

I do touch type- but I just realised I'm only using one or two fingers from each hand at most! I kind of put my fingers near where the letters are that I know I'm going to be hitting next in the word- but only ever one or two letters ahead, so my little fingers never touch the keyboard at all! Might try learning to use all my fingers but when I try putting index on F and J and going from there I always go back to two fingers from each hand again lol.

This keyboard is more logical, but like imperial and metric- just because something is better, doesn't mean it will prevail. [In America at least- surely they should be using SI units in the 21st century LOL!].

 

[kataras]

all we need now is for them to develop a NIA for typing, now that would be awesome, think of characters and it types it out. Fantastic.

 

[Freak]

I have to look whe I stat to type but then I am able to just type away, tis wierd. I use thumb and the next two fingers with the thumb for space with sometimes using my left, erm, ring finger.

At a job interview I was tested on touch typing. 24 words per min dropping slightly to 23 words without mistakes. This is in the uk so i dont know what the difference between chars and words is ;D

 

[zak4994]

I thought the QWERTY was invented so not all the keys you need for everyday words are stuck together (I have no idea on how they came up with such an excuse...).

 

[Freak]

Read up, I have been told about the typewritter typists getting too fast.

So it was spread around so that the hammers woud not hit each other and cause a jam.