Can you Touch type?

[intelli78]

I had mandatory typing class in 1st or 2nd grade (~1994). Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing.

I did a good deed. Ann had a book in bed. Dan ran down Gill Hill.

never looked back. I use 95% standard finger placement, I think. I type Bs with the wrong hand. Also I just recently started learning to touch type numbers and symbols.  It's a lot easier when you're a kid.

I had a type writing class in middle school. with actual type writers. I did fairly well. It also helped that my gf at the time was the T.A. for the next period

Well, you know what they say. Clickity clackity makes the ***** cum.

[Linkbane]

Epzy- sad and desperate. I've broken 150 on typeracer, and either way, I'm better than you. Also, Dvorak isn't why I'm fast. You use it at a much slower pace, as we can see. I just have talent.
Good at everything you've done? Now that's childish. Stop trying to brag, it's pathetic.

I remember you said you averaged way lower on typeracer than 10FF, so please give me a real number, not a once in a lifetime irrelevant number. You typed 80-90 WPM when you used QWERTY, and then you changed to Dvorak to get fast; stop being ignorant. I use what at a much slower pace? I get 120 WPM a few times everytime I go to typeracer, which is once a week or less. So, I get 120 WPM with next to zero practice; vs you who dedicate your life to typing, starting blogs about it, spending hours upon hours practicing and you only get that typing speed (which I still quite don't know how much is, because you just gave me a random max number instead of what you average on TR). You don't have talent. What you have is a lot of wasted time and energy, and a huge chunk of ignorance. I'm not trying to brag, you just said something utterly retarded and I replied.

I've typed for, oh, a year? Better than you in your whole life. It's just like some idiot watching TV saying that he could've beaten Olympians if he tried harder. Get real, you can't. You're talentless and have zero dedication. You act like an inadequate ten year old changing the subject every time you're wrong, dismissing hard evidence, because you're wrong, sad, terrible and want to play with those bigger and better han yourself. You may continue replying if you like, I've already proven you wrong.

[demik]

Stop trying to brag, it's pathetic.

[tp4tissue]

120 = "Scrubb"? Wtf, dawg?

Haha. 120 requires a little bit of skill, but literally anyone, including your grandmother, can reach 100.

120 = "Scrubb"? Wtf, dawg?

It serves as reverse-psych motivation.. to push oneself above the average limitation of 125wpm..


So this way we Generate a collective of ELITE GHers.. all striving for 125 +..

 
Making GH synonymous with elite keyboarding...


It's about building the Brand really..    to do that, we need people who push limits no?

I see. I think you should change 100 WPM to "Unworthy of a mechanical keyboard".

QQQQ I can't type fast so I'll go and make fun of people who can qqqqq

I type faster than you with QWERTY, you mad, bro? Stay low, 80 WPM peasant. If I'd cut off my social life and dedicate myself to getting 170 WPM I'd manage that as well, but I won't. Maybe I'd start a blog about typing, maybe I'd go for a 10FF test during my lunch break @ school, but again - I won't.

Excuses excuses...   

[Binge]

Epzy- sad and desperate. I've broken 150 on typeracer, and either way, I'm better than you. Also, Dvorak isn't why I'm fast. You use it at a much slower pace, as we can see. I just have talent.
Good at everything you've done? Now that's childish. Stop trying to brag, it's pathetic.

I remember you said you averaged way lower on typeracer than 10FF, so please give me a real number, not a once in a lifetime irrelevant number. You typed 80-90 WPM when you used QWERTY, and then you changed to Dvorak to get fast; stop being ignorant. I use what at a much slower pace? I get 120 WPM a few times everytime I go to typeracer, which is once a week or less. So, I get 120 WPM with next to zero practice; vs you who dedicate your life to typing, starting blogs about it, spending hours upon hours practicing and you only get that typing speed (which I still quite don't know how much is, because you just gave me a random max number instead of what you average on TR). You don't have talent. What you have is a lot of wasted time and energy, and a huge chunk of ignorance. I'm not trying to brag, you just said something utterly retarded and I replied.

I've typed for, oh, a year? Better than you in your whole life. It's just like some idiot watching TV saying that he could've beaten Olympians if he tried harder. Get real, you can't. You're talentless and have zero dedication. You act like an inadequate ten year old changing the subject every time you're wrong, dismissing hard evidence, because you're wrong, sad, terrible and want to play with those bigger and better han yourself. You may continue replying if you like, I've already proven you wrong.

[epzy]

Epzy- sad and desperate. I've broken 150 on typeracer, and either way, I'm better than you. Also, Dvorak isn't why I'm fast. You use it at a much slower pace, as we can see. I just have talent.
Good at everything you've done? Now that's childish. Stop trying to brag, it's pathetic.

I remember you said you averaged way lower on typeracer than 10FF, so please give me a real number, not a once in a lifetime irrelevant number. You typed 80-90 WPM when you used QWERTY, and then you changed to Dvorak to get fast; stop being ignorant. I use what at a much slower pace? I get 120 WPM a few times everytime I go to typeracer, which is once a week or less. So, I get 120 WPM with next to zero practice; vs you who dedicate your life to typing, starting blogs about it, spending hours upon hours practicing and you only get that typing speed (which I still quite don't know how much is, because you just gave me a random max number instead of what you average on TR). You don't have talent. What you have is a lot of wasted time and energy, and a huge chunk of ignorance. I'm not trying to brag, you just said something utterly retarded and I replied.

I've typed for, oh, a year? Better than you in your whole life. It's just like some idiot watching TV saying that he could've beaten Olympians if he tried harder. Get real, you can't. You're talentless and have zero dedication. You act like an inadequate ten year old changing the subject every time you're wrong, dismissing hard evidence, because you're wrong, sad, terrible and want to play with those bigger and better han yourself. You may continue replying if you like, I've already proven you wrong.

Lmfao, did you just compare yourself to an olympian athlete? You're a null, zero, nothing. Let me put it to you this way; If I switched to Dvorak, practiced 2-5 hours at home every day (and in my lunch break at school) for a whole year, I'd be capable of getting 160 WPM on 10FF as well. Actually, I'd get more WPM than that. I already type 120 WPM on typeracer using ****ty QWERTY, which means I'm already more potent than you were when you made the switch. I don't lack dedication, I simply spend my time on other, more important stuff. You just need 60 WPM or something for most jobs, and I already have double that, sooo... You still didn't answer my question, what's your avg. speed on TR? I like how you think you are "big", and "better", pretty strong words coming from a skinny little ****kid like yourself. You haven't proven me wrong, you've only proven that you are a waste of space. You are a sad little speciment meant for toilet cleaning. Stay ignorant, son.

[tp4tissue]

is this thread real life

(answer: no. it's the internet)

the internet is as real as any reality..   If anything it's MORE real.. because it is condensed information..

Information is the ONLY reality your brain is capable of comprehending...

All the external provisions we possess are merely sensors to convert energy into electrical information for your brain...

YOU, your consciousness, everything about your reality is only INFORMATION..   

[jwaz]

Okay, funs over. Back to posting childhood stories about learning to type.

[tp4tissue]

Epzy- sad and desperate. I've broken 150 on typeracer, and either way, I'm better than you. Also, Dvorak isn't why I'm fast. You use it at a much slower pace, as we can see. I just have talent.
Good at everything you've done? Now that's childish. Stop trying to brag, it's pathetic.

I remember you said you averaged way lower on typeracer than 10FF, so please give me a real number, not a once in a lifetime irrelevant number. You typed 80-90 WPM when you used QWERTY, and then you changed to Dvorak to get fast; stop being ignorant. I use what at a much slower pace? I get 120 WPM a few times everytime I go to typeracer, which is once a week or less. So, I get 120 WPM with next to zero practice; vs you who dedicate your life to typing, starting blogs about it, spending hours upon hours practicing and you only get that typing speed (which I still quite don't know how much is, because you just gave me a random max number instead of what you average on TR). You don't have talent. What you have is a lot of wasted time and energy, and a huge chunk of ignorance. I'm not trying to brag, you just said something utterly retarded and I replied.

I've typed for, oh, a year? Better than you in your whole life. It's just like some idiot watching TV saying that he could've beaten Olympians if he tried harder. Get real, you can't. You're talentless and have zero dedication. You act like an inadequate ten year old changing the subject every time you're wrong, dismissing hard evidence, because you're wrong, sad, terrible and want to play with those bigger and better han yourself. You may continue replying if you like, I've already proven you wrong.

Lmfao, did you just compare yourself to an olympian athlete? You're a null, zero, nothing. Let me put it to you this way; If I switched to Dvorak, practiced 2-5 hours at home every day (and in my lunch break at school) for a whole year, I'd be capable of getting 160 WPM on 10FF as well. Actually, I'd get more WPM than that. I already type 120 WPM on typeracer using ****ty QWERTY, which means I'm already more potent than you were when you made the switch. I don't lack dedication, I simply spend my time on other, more important stuff. You just need 60 WPM or something for most jobs, and I already have double that, sooo... You still didn't answer my question, what's your avg. speed on TR? I like how you think you are "big", and "better", pretty strong words coming from a skinny little ****kid like yourself. You haven't proven me wrong, you've only proven that you are a waste of space. You are a sad little speciment meant for toilet cleaning. Stay ignorant, son.

Dude..  don't mouth off unless you intend to PROVE it..

I honestly do NOT believe you can become a consistent 160wpm-er  just-like-that...


Lots of people have put time into this keyboarding thing around here.. and 130 is around the cut off..

consistent 130+ is NOT common

[Binge]

c'mon guys be nice... didn't you see the meme??

get it? you're gonna have a banned time??? lol?

[SpAmRaY]

c'mon guys be nice... didn't you see the meme??

get it? you're gonna have a banned time??? lol?

was that about linkbanned?

On topic, I too was forced to use good ole mavis but before mavis we used apple 2e's to do programming our of programming books...those were the days and I wouldn't say I touch type properly but on most of my keyboards and my laptop I don't really look at the keys all that often, of course i spell things wrong on occasion.

[rowdy]

this is why i've never understood the appeal of backlighting on keyboards.

i figured anybody that is that into their keyboard (well at least on gh) already knows how to touch type.. so I dont understand the need for a back light.

My home office and place of work are somewhat dark.  I have backlighting on some keyboards, and a predilection for lighter coloured keycaps on others.

This comes in useful when typing some of the increasingly torturous passwords that are more combinations of special characters than simple words of numbers.

[dorkvader]

Okay, funs over. Back to posting childhood stories about learning to type.

man, in highschool, when I took typing class, I was at a solid 18 WPM.

[demik]

this is why i've never understood the appeal of backlighting on keyboards.

i figured anybody that is that into their keyboard (well at least on gh) already knows how to touch type.. so I dont understand the need for a back light.

My home office and place of work are somewhat dark.  I have backlighting on some keyboards, and a predilection for lighter coloured keycaps on others.

This comes in useful when typing some of the increasingly torturous passwords that are more combinations of special characters than simple words of numbers.

that makes sense, thanks for answering.

[alka5eltzer]

I've just takin it up myself… getting the hang of it.

Its been doing my head in how long its taking me to type using the Hunt and Peck method... I was averaging 30-40Wpm  Hence the reason I need/want to learn.

I've decided to use an old DOS program from the 80′s/90′s called Typing Tutor 5.

I like it… as for its age, it’s pretty intelligent and it can tell what keys you need to work on.. it also shows good reports for progress.
Since its DOS.. it can work in full screen so there’s no distractions for me lol.

I run it through DOSBox on my Windows 7 & 8 machines since my machines are 64bit. But this will work on any 32Bit system without DOSBox.

You can get Typing Tutor 5 here: http://filesmelt.com/dl/TT.zip

And you can get DOSBox there: http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=1

I’ve placed the program file’s in my Google Drive folder… then I get DOSBox to mount this folder as a drive… so if I’m at my work computer, or at my home computer - the program is using the same files… so my progress is updated no matter where I am :-) Call it 80′s meets the cloud lol

[tp4tissue]

I've just takin it up myself… getting the hang of it.

Its been doing my head in how long its taking me to type using the Hunt and Peck method... I was averaging 30-40Wpm  Hence the reason I need/want to learn.

I've decided to use an old DOS program from the 80′s/90′s called Typing Tutor 5.

I like it… as for its age, it’s pretty intelligent and it can tell what keys you need to work on.. it also shows good reports for progress.
Since its DOS.. it can work in full screen so there’s no distractions for me lol.

I run it through DOSBox on my Windows 7 & 8 machines since my machines are 64bit. But this will work on any 32Bit system without DOSBox.

You can get Typing Tutor 5 here: http://filesmelt.com/dl/TT.zip

And you can get DOSBox there: http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=1

I’ve placed the program file’s in my Google Drive folder… then I get DOSBox to mount this folder as a drive… so if I’m at my work computer, or at my home computer - the program is using the same files… so my progress is updated no matter where I am :-) Call it 80′s meets the cloud lol

It doesn't really matter what software you use.. 

but ultimately it comes down to typing as many different combinations as possible.. and putting most of it down in muscle memory..


So variety really helps..

[Rewind]

I touch type, but I only use about 6 out of 10 fingers. I should learn how to type properly. My wpm like this is about 80-90.

The way I learned it is by just forcing myself to do it. Once you can find the backspace key without looking you can just keep trying until you find the right key. 

[lonedruid]

it is actually much easier than you think it is to learn. After a week of practicing you can touch-type easily. i practised with the program downloaded from this site. I had forgotten the name quite a long time ago. But when i saw your post, the name somehow came into mind quickly 

[osi]

Just keep typing away - touch typing comes naturally after frequent use.

[Smasher816]

Okay, funs over. Back to posting childhood stories about learning to type.

Ohhh man, it's story time. Luckily I was able to test out of my high school computer class because I could use word and type fast enough.

They used the oldest typing program I have ever heard of. It's called "TypeRite 2" (I'm pretty sure it was around back when people still used type writers). It's a collection of old executables with 8 character, all capital names (probably from the DOS days). The program will only run on 32bit Windows 7 (64bit fails, so you have to use dosbox).

You could not backspace. In fact pressing the backspace key, the arrow keys, or any other "special" buttons would produce a "√" character, which counted as a mistyped letter. At the end if gave you your raw score and a "net" one. The net score was created by subtracting 5 WPM for every word you typed incorrectly. I can only imagine this was to help instill perfection as a lot of type writers had no way to backspace and correct your mistakes.

Now that time has moved on and all digital programs support backspace I don't see the need for this level of masochism (banning the backspace key completely). I say if you can type 80 wpm with 90% accuracy, and by the end of the test you have corrected all your mistakes then that's great.

If anyone wants to punish themselves by trying this, then I will consider uploading a zip of it and posting a link.

[taylordcraig]

this is why i've never understood the appeal of backlighting on keyboards.

i figured anybody that is that into their keyboard (well at least on gh) already knows how to touch type.. so I dont understand the need for a back light.

My home office and place of work are somewhat dark.  I have backlighting on some keyboards, and a predilection for lighter coloured keycaps on others.

This comes in useful when typing some of the increasingly torturous passwords that are more combinations of special characters than simple words of numbers.

that makes sense, thanks for answering.

I have a code. I keep the back lighting on. I hardly ever look at my keyboard. I just think it looks neat under opaque caps.
I hate translucent or clear caps because they let through too much light and it blinds me.
Right now I've got hyperfuse on it, the white plate makes the glow underneath look like the teal colour of the legends on the dark gray caps.

More

[mouse.the.lucky.dog]

urd@

[Polymer]

Did I just see people arguing and bragging about typing faster?  Making references to practice, olympic athletes and talent? 

If you want to type faster because you enjoy it..that's great.  I applaud anyone that loves an activity/hobby so much that they want to get better at it.  What it doesn't do is give any extra credibility...although some people seem to think it gives them some sort of GH street cred...and it is even sadder if a person thinks that is the case and that is why they want to be a better typist...

I guess this is to be expected being on a forum that is..well...rather geeky/nerdy in nature....you end up with a number of users with severe social issues. It is sad that people like that, who already have real life interaction problems, come on a forum where people share at least one similar interest with them and they still can't interact with those people as a reasonable human being but hey, they can be as big of a keyboard warrior as they want and they don't get beat up...they can give themselves some self confidence while in the protection of their own home. 

[tp4tissue]

Did I just see people arguing and bragging about typing faster?  Making references to practice, olympic athletes and talent? 

If you want to type faster because you enjoy it..that's great.  I applaud anyone that loves an activity/hobby so much that they want to get better at it.  What it doesn't do is give any extra credibility...although some people seem to think it gives them some sort of GH street cred...and it is even sadder if a person thinks that is the case and that is why they want to be a better typist...

I guess this is to be expected being on a forum that is..well...rather geeky/nerdy in nature....you end up with a number of users with severe social issues. It is sad that people like that, who already have real life interaction problems, come on a forum where people share at least one similar interest with them and they still can't interact with those people as a reasonable human being but hey, they can be as big of a keyboard warrior as they want and they don't get beat up...they can give themselves some self confidence while in the protection of their own home. 

IDK... you seem to be the elitist here..

as if what YOU do is better than what GEEKs do.




Bragging about typing faster...? how is that different than bragging about anything else, if anything I've always been realistic about the limits of ability around wpm.. where 120 is possible for anyone, hence scrub level..


How is it that you perceive that anyone here has Severe-Social issues..


Internet behavior is very different from AFK..  TRUTH comes out here..  If I think ur full of BS.. I say it..  AFK in your REAL WORLD,   you might think ur the **** all the time,  but guess what, most people probably still think you're full of BS, they just wouldn't bother to confront you about it.



as to WHY is it that they don't confront you..  talking AFK is much slower than typing this out, which takes all of 10 seconds for me at 130WPM,  full circle...!!...

So, you see...  the Internet is the Golden road of conversation and socialization..

[BulletKandy]

I touch type OK but sometimes I have to take a glance 

Doesn't make my spelling any better though....

[Kagusaki Wolf]

Oh man I was laughing so hard after reading all these posts about who has the fastest wpm.  Nerd rage all the way   but come on this isn't a Lakers/Celtics match.  I can type 80wpm (90 max) on a QWERTY layout.  I can't try any faster otherwise my hands start to cramp up.  Anyone else has this issue?  I might try out Dvorak and see if it'll make it much easier.  Small asian hands sucks lol 

Anywho I first learned to type back when I was a wee little pup in the 80s on my Apple II GS.  I had an avg of 40 wpm throughout the late 80s/early 90s.  Then we got AOL.  I started to learn to touch type fully by then thanks to aol chat and IM's (gotta type fast when you rp).  Even though I type at 80 wpm, I am the fastest typist at work lol

[Oobly]

I don't touch type on a "normal" keyboard. I sort of float type and need legends to get my bearings now and then. It's better for your wrists / tendons / whatnot. I tried learning to touch type and decided I don't need the pain it will produce long term.

I DO, however, touch type on my ergonomic DIY keyboard with custom layout. I started out with blank keys on it (partly due to the weird layout) and although I am still a little slower than on a normal keyboard, I don't have to move my hands or fingers nearly as much and it feels nice to never have to look at the keyboard Once I'm as fast on both I'll build a 2nd board for work and switch permanently.

I don't see any real benefit or need (at least in my life) to type really fast (say, above 80wpm), but I do see the benefits of touch typing and also using a well designed ergonomic board rather than the horrendous mess that is a normal qwerty. Easier to remain focused on what you're working on / typing, since your attention isn't so divided between display and keyboard and MUCH better for the long term health of your hands / wrists / forearms / shoulders / neck.

[Glenn315]

I learned to touch type from playing games.

[Justintoxicated]

I'm forcing myself to.  I'm faster when I don't use my pinkies but I'm working on typing properly now and I'm already back up to around 45 wpm, although I'm about 30% faster doing what I have always done.  I sort of hit a wall doing it improperly so I think I will be able to get much faster once I get the hang of the proper technique and get some muscle memory into my pinkey fingers.

Numbers and some characters I do have to look down a bit though, especially since I'm not using the 10 key anymore

[demik]

this is why i've never understood the appeal of backlighting on keyboards.

i figured anybody that is that into their keyboard (well at least on gh) already knows how to touch type.. so I dont understand the need for a back light.

My home office and place of work are somewhat dark.  I have backlighting on some keyboards, and a predilection for lighter coloured keycaps on others.

This comes in useful when typing some of the increasingly torturous passwords that are more combinations of special characters than simple words of numbers.

that makes sense, thanks for answering.

I have a code. I keep the back lighting on. I hardly ever look at my keyboard. I just think it looks neat under opaque caps.
I hate translucent or clear caps because they let through too much light and it blinds me.
Right now I've got hyperfuse on it, the white plate makes the glow underneath look like the teal colour of the legends on the dark gray caps.

More

(Attachment Link)

i've been thinking about getting a code with mx greens.

I learned to touch type from playing games.

holy hell @ your avy.

[Polymer]

Did I just see people arguing and bragging about typing faster?  Making references to practice, olympic athletes and talent? 

If you want to type faster because you enjoy it..that's great.  I applaud anyone that loves an activity/hobby so much that they want to get better at it.  What it doesn't do is give any extra credibility...although some people seem to think it gives them some sort of GH street cred...and it is even sadder if a person thinks that is the case and that is why they want to be a better typist...

I guess this is to be expected being on a forum that is..well...rather geeky/nerdy in nature....you end up with a number of users with severe social issues. It is sad that people like that, who already have real life interaction problems, come on a forum where people share at least one similar interest with them and they still can't interact with those people as a reasonable human being but hey, they can be as big of a keyboard warrior as they want and they don't get beat up...they can give themselves some self confidence while in the protection of their own home. 

IDK... you seem to be the elitist here..

as if what YOU do is better than what GEEKs do.

What do you mean?  I'm a geek.  I'm on Geekhack.  I like geeky things.  I'm not applying what I said to the whole board..that is obvious..I even said "a number of users" meaning some...

Bragging about typing faster...? how is that different than bragging about anything else, if anything I've always been realistic about the limits of ability around wpm.. where 120 is possible for anyone, hence scrub level..

How is it that you perceive that anyone here has Severe-Social issues..

Because they do....There are trolls, there are people that will be a bigger jerk online than in person because you don't have to face the social stigmas from being a jerk....and then you have people that have obvious social issues...

As far as bragging about WPM..it isn't bragging about it that is a problem..If you type fast great...But is that a launch pad to throw insults at people?  Hell no..does that give anyone anymore credibility?  Does it make them more knowledgeable about keyboards?  A better member on GH?  Not at all..it does none of that...

[C5Allroad]

Okay, funs over. Back to posting childhood stories about learning to type.

man, in highschool, when I took typing class, I was at a solid 18 WPM.

Dude, I was a solid 10! Get on my level! 

[nubbinator]

Does it count as touch typing if you mainly use your index finger, middle finger, thumbs, and, on rare occasion, ring finger and pinky?  Somehow I still get 70-90WPM on average with normal typing with only those three digits doing most of my typing.

[Tony]

Firstly I learned to touch type 20 years ago in Qwerty. Speed 60wpm

I relearned to touch type again 3 years ago, this time with Colemak layout. Speed 70wpm or so.

For anyone who don't know what Colemak is, here is a picture

[maatmouse]

Yes, I can.

I learned from doing typing classes on an old Adler electric typewriter, the hard way. ASF and all that. Then I switched to using a manual typewriter. Hard going.

[maatmouse]

I started typing in the 1980s in the sixth form, in the days when keyboards weren't the flat, rather dull things they are now. I have typed on an Adler electric keyboard, an Olympus manual (hard going), a BBC keyboard (the beginnings of computing), a Commodore 64 (very nice), Golfball typewriter (noisy), old Spectrum (ouch), portable typewriter (more ouch), various typewriters, UNIX computer keyboard, old Apple iMac, then IBM Model M (the original and noisy), and various Fujitsu ones, Apple iMac (current effort) and Apple laptop keyboards.

Quite a list.

And those who say a mechanical keyboard is a noisy thing, haven't been in a room full of professional typists using IBM Model Ms! Now thats noise.

[MyersKL]

I took typing classes as a freshman in high school (1966). We learned on Underwood manual typewriters. I later graduated to an IBM Selectric (non correctable and then correctable) and then to an IBM XT (early 1980s). My introduction to an Apple Mcintosh in the late 1980s was my first encounter with a "mouse. ("What the heck is this?"). It was a blessing to be able to cut, paste and copy without memorizing and using a bunch of key commands. The technology advances through the decades have been remarkable.

Through the years, typing has been a skill that has helped me keep bread on the table.

[System32]

Kinda... I can type without looking at the keyboard just fine, but I don't do the whole traditional "hands on the the home-row" thing that everyone else seems to. Dunno how I can touch type either, I never really actively tried, it just kinda...happened.

Anyone else have a similar experience? It makes me feel odd

[Smasher816]

Kinda... I can type without looking at the keyboard just fine, but I don't do the whole traditional "hands on the the home-row" thing that everyone else seems to. Dunno how I can touch type either, I never really actively tried, it just kinda...happened.

Anyone else have a similar experience? It makes me feel odd

You're not alone.

[ynrozturk]

I've been touch typing for a long time now, but I would only use 6-7 fingers. Totally wrong technique. Now I am using proper technique and I am up to 111 WPM. I'm still working on my right hand pinky - for some reason it just doesn't want to hit the P key. So still working on it.

[acsim]

I learned how to touch-type only after getting my first mechanical keyboard. I didn't know why it hadn't occurred to me before especially when I do a lot of programming. The enjoyment from typing on the cherry browns put me so deep into the "zone" while coding sometimes that I found myself coding into the night and that my room was completely dark. Without knowing how to touch-type meant that reaching for keys like the parenthesis, square brackets and numbers from 6-9 was very difficult. So I decided that I need to know my way around the keyboard. After tons of practice and typeracer in the dark, I finally mastered it. And bought myself a blank HHKB as a reward. 

[Tony]

I've decided to use an old DOS program from the 80′s/90′s called Typing Tutor 5.

You can get Typing Tutor 5 here: http://filesmelt.com/dl/TT.zip

And you can get DOSBox there: http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=1

Hi, another Typing Tutor user here. The version I use is Typing Tutor 7. The program is so good even now that I use it for weekly drills.

The program supports Qwerty and Dvorak as well as numpad, so you guys and learn how to touch type on numpad! How awesome!

Although I am a Colemak user, I find this program very useful for drills when you have learned the whole keyboard, regardless of the layout.

For anyone wants it, please search its name with torrent sites. You will get an ISO file so that you need a virtual drive software to run it.

[davkol]

Yes, I can. Learned it about a decade ago by going cold turkey and didn't even know what 'wpm' meant for many years.

[Frenir]

I primarily learned it from playing MMO's where looking at your keyboard could mean failure, however I've refined it completely after I decided to get blank keycaps for my filco   

[mickyman]

Trying to learn, got the hang of it, and reaching around 50 WPM although I want to get higher, around 80 - 100 WPM. I'm open to any tips at all, because all I'm doing right now is just using Ten Fast Fingers over and over again.

[demik]

Trying to learn, got the hang of it, and reaching around 50 WPM although I want to get higher, around 80 - 100 WPM. I'm open to any tips at all, because all I'm doing right now is just using Ten Fast Fingers over and over again.

ask linkbane for tips.


oh wait.. nvm.

[tp4tissue]

Trying to learn, got the hang of it, and reaching around 50 WPM although I want to get higher, around 80 - 100 WPM. I'm open to any tips at all, because all I'm doing right now is just using Ten Fast Fingers over and over again.

sign up to use their higher difficulty levels.. with more words..

Practicing the same thing over and over makes you faster (with that specific setup)

Practicing with MORE words, and variety is what makes you -consistently- faster.

[mickyman]

sign up to use their higher difficulty levels.. with more words..

Practicing the same thing over and over makes you faster (with that specific setup)

Practicing with MORE words, and variety is what makes you -consistently- faster.

I'll try that, and hopefully see some improvement. Another question, should I start off just trying to get the words correct then start to go faster?

[Tony]

Accuracy go first, speed will increase eventually. Join Typeracer.com to compete with typists all over the world.

[Premonition]

Trying to learn, got the hang of it, and reaching around 50 WPM although I want to get higher, around 80 - 100 WPM. I'm open to any tips at all, because all I'm doing right now is just using Ten Fast Fingers over and over again.

Hey! I would suggest trying to use what tp4tissue said, using more words. Although the site is great for testing raw speed, a site like typehero is really useful and shows error types.