December 02, 2005

Typing is a pain in the arse. The techies have been trying to alleviate our pain. They have suggested an alternative keyboard layout, or even a fancy QWERTY keyboard, but to really get going, one needs needs lateral thinking .
  • alternative keyboard layout hotlinked from theworldofstuff.come hotlinking is a no-no!
  • No it's not. Stealing bandwidth may be considered a no-no, but that's not what we're doing. Let theworldofstuff.cum blow it out their arse!
  • ‘No-no’ is a no-no!
  • Incidentally, I decided (randomly) to switch to a Dvorak layout a couple weeks ago. Then I realized, after relabeling all my keys, that the semicolon was in a horribly inconvenient place and I had a project in C++ to finish. So I went back to qwerty. Luckily I touch-type and didn't have to undo all my labeling. But now my boyfriend can't use my keyboard...
  • I personally find typing to be no pain in the arse at all. And it's cool to see kids who have grown up with computers. For them, it's completely fluid, with the keyboard just an extension of their hands. No freaky alternate data entry scheme needed here.
  • I personally find typing to be no pain in the arse at all *weeps, gnashes teeth*
  • I personally don't find typing to be any pain in the arse at all?
  • bees, have you tried any 'learn to touch-type' programs? I just took it up in the last few years and am amazed what this old dog learned.
  • Typing with your arse is a big pain. However, it makes other people keep their darn mitts off your keyboard.
  • I switched to Dvorak seven years ago and have never looked back. But then, I learned to type in AOL chatrooms. (also, high amusement value when new people attempt to use my keyboard - i haven't relabeled the keys.) That Optimus is sexy as hell and I want one.
  • The Optimus keyboard is beautiful. A really cool idea. I'd never get full use out of it, but I think I'd be in the minority. But I can't even imagine training myself to use the Frogpad -- that thing is just too weird for me. I didn't start using computers until I was 17, and I deliberately focused a lot on beefing up my typing speed. I had some cheesy game where you had to zap words out of the sky like Space Invaders, so I can touch-type on a qwerty keyboard quite nicely. Wow, that means I've been computer-literate (or some small amount of such) for twelve years now. A few more years and it'll be more than half my life.
  • I think hotlinking (please to define, and thank you) would be a problem if we were some . . big . . i dunno, blue colored . . filter of . . some sort. But just being a bunch of poo-flingers it shouldn't matter too much.
  • I didn't start using computers until I was 58 -- if ye can call what I do to them 'using' . The computers know this and take revenge on me. Have thought about using Dvorak, but wheever I bring the subject up the others of my household start fretting it will mess up their ability to use the machines where they work/study etc.
  • I hope ya'all realize that I was just reporting on my field experience and was applying no judgment value what-so-ever. And on the point at hand... I love my ergonomic keyboard and can't use a mouse to save my life. I can, however, out-perform just about anyone in a KB vs mouse-off :)
  • applying no judgment value what-so-ever on hotlinking that is...
  • I had some cheesy game where you had to zap words out of the sky like Space Invaders That was the coolest game ever. I had totally forgotten about that. And ergo keyboards are the shiz.
  • Ya know Mavis Beacon is just a model, right?
  • I was born the same year as the personal computer and I'm the daughter of a programmer - I'm much faster with a keyboard than handwriting, and I've got the wrist/shoulder issues to show for it... My roommate's got one of these, but he uses Qwerty - trying to hunt and peck on one of those sucks to the point where I really can't use his computer, and with mine set in Dvorak he really can't use mine, so it's extra security :) Bees - if you use Windows, you can set it up so left alt-shift switches layouts quite easily, and the language bar can show you which one you're currently using.
  • I kinda want one of these.
  • I could type a mean 122 with rare errors, but have lost that talent.
  • bees, the fact that you write such lovely poems for everyone to enjoy while fighting the ol' keyboard to do it makes them even more betterer!
  • I can type pretty fast but I make too many errors to really wiz through. I've been typing since I was maybe 8 or so, but I there are people I've seen who make me feel like a regular sluggard.
  • I can type around 65 wpm, and I can't seem to get any faster than that. At my office I use an old ergonomic keyboard where I covered all of the letters with dinosaur decals so I could learn to touch type. People generally don't use my computer (even though I share an office with 5 others) because they can't figure out how to use the keyboard.
  • <3s Lara.
  • How fast can you type the alphabet?
  • I'm a med scribe who averages 120 wpm and who's been typing since age 8. I love to type and find it relaxing to the point of zen-like serenity. The hilarious thing about the Remington keyboard (the one pretty much everyone uses) is that it was actually designed to SLOW OPERATORS DOWN... the first need for a real workable keyboard was for the hot-type machines that supplanted hand compositors, and someone going too fast on these could cause a costly jam. Hence, the logic of the Remington keyboard layout is completely counterintuitive. Doesn't it seem weird that the most-used letters fall under the weakest fingers? That's why! The Dvorak layout has been around for a long time, but once you've switched to that, it becomes really tough to switch back to a Remington layout. In my business, where flexibility is all, such limitation would be fatal. Still, I can't help wondering how fast I could go on a Dvorak...
  • me too! now.
  • I don't want t' hear this!
  • Click clack Clickety-bang! Ding! zzzZZZZrP! Chick chock Tak tak tak!