Touch typing

I do, but most programmers I know are shocking typists (none of them will ever be secretaries). There isn't really a need to type 90wpm in code... no ones brain ticks that fast.

So no, I don't think it makes a difference.

Scott.

I could touch type at 40 wpm last I knew, but I can do crap-type at like 60-70 so I choose crap typing instead. :)

Touch typing is quite a good skill to have. You can look at what you're writing as it appears on the screen and consequently fix mistakes (and once you get good you don't even have to look at the screen to know you've fucked up) and it's generally quicker than key hunting. I originally taught myself my own style of touch-typing, then they made me learn the proper way at TAFE, so I combined the two and have my own style again. My WPM count could probably go even higher if I touched type normally instead of my half-bodge way, but I'm too deep set in my ways to change now... :P

theres more than one way to touchtype???

i dont know what i type at now it doesnt really matter :)
im a pretty good touchtyper- last time i was clocked it was around 80-90 wpm..

I don't really touch type, but when i want to type something I can do it without looking, simply for the fact that over the *years* I have taught my fingers where the keys are in relation to each other so now I can just type without looking at the keyboard.

I guess practice makes perfect :-)

quote:Originally posted by Daemin

I don't really touch type, but when i want to type something I can do it without looking, simply for the fact that over the *years* I have taught my fingers where the keys are in relation to each other so now I can just type without looking at the keyboard.

I guess practice makes perfect :-)

yeah, that's what I do.. but I always make mistakes..

And rezn0r, If you aren't designing as you are coding you can code alot faster :)

EXTREME CODING!

Scott.

haha whats a design

I can't touch type but, like daemin, my fingers just know where the keys are now, and i can type and only look at the keyboard occasionally. I type fairly slowly though :)
CYer, Blitz

the different styles generally relate to which finger you use to press b

Man, I'd love to work on a DVORAK keyboard now...

That'd be soo much damn faster than this ordinary QWERTY shite.

how so? wasn't qwerty established as the standard keyboard because they had some big competition to see which was the fastest and the guy using qwerty beat the pants off the other guy?

(then stole he stole the pants and ran far far away).

Acutally my opinion on this is you'd be faster with whatever you learned to use best... unless the keyboard is totally useless, but even then skill could compensate.

QWERTY was designed for typewriters so the keys wouldn't get stuck together when typing fast.

Having a DVORAK keyboard is not going to be any different unless you actually learn to touch type

i touch type on a DVORAK

it makes a difference, but i'm no secretary touch typist, i type extremely fast in bursts tho ... perfect for code and IRC ... ;)

so what is the key arrangement on a DVORAK?

You can find them on the net in lots of places, that is DVORAK layouts etc.

The base premise is that it puts the least often used keys on the bottom row of the keybaord, then the most often used keys under your fingers, and then the second most often used at the top (or could be that most often used at the top etc, I can't remember exactly). And they arrange it in such a fashion that your fingers don't move too much when typing. Just looking at my hand now my fingers are jumping all over the keyboard while typeing, on DVORAK they wouldn't barely move from the "initial position".

I guess the battle between DVORAK and QWERTY is like a battle between 80x86 architectures (common as QWERTY, and just as complicated), and faster RISC machines (simpler, faster, although struggling to be seen). But that's another story altogether.

I personally want to get a fancy keyboard that can switch between QWERTY and DWORAK with the hit of a key, now I just have to get the money for it - and find the site again.

umm, if the keyboard has the same physical arrangement and you're running win2k or winxp then you can using the IME shortcut keys

*edit* i just bound it to alt-shift-1
this keyboard is crazy though

Well the point in getting another keyboard is that it has both letters printed on all the keys, and it has an extra light so you don't need to guess where the keys are and which mode you are in.

hmm, nothing that i can't write on myself

Heh, I might try that myself :)

Just get a butter knife an rearrange the keys. [:D]

Scott.

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takes about 2-3 months to switch and get productivity back, but its a lot faster and more comfortable to type than a qwerty

notice all the common letters are in the middle row, and you alternate left/right hands most of the time -- vowels tend to be left, consonants on the right

its an awesome layout

hey glenn, how many people at Irrational use the crazy keyboard layout?
I'm just trying to get an idea of how common it is in the industry.

i dont know anybody else IRL who uses dvorak, except my girlfriend :)

My ex gf used to use it because she was a secretary and her typing speed with DVORAK was quite impressive compared to QWERTY typists. I could never be bothered with it. I type well enough at it is... see? [:D]

Scott.

btw, i dont have an actual dvorak keyboard, i just use a spoon to rip the keys and and rearrange... ;)

i wouldnt mind one of these tho, they come in native programmer dvorak, phwoaar!

http://www.fingerworks.com/ST_product.html

Gaffer: There is a free mouse gesture program called "StrokeIt" http://www.tcbmi.com/strokeit/

bah, but i want to not have to move my fingers off the keyboard ;)

The Mouse is the slowest input to the computer, in terms of doing most things that don't require analog control really.

yeah, well I use the mouse alot, and I've been using that for a day now and it roxxx!

most gestures can be done with a quick flick of the wrist :)