Typing speed and key feel

[patrickgeekhack]

Like many, at some point in my life, I wanted to type as fast as possible, each time trying to break my own personal best score.  I managed to move from 75 WPM to about 90-100 WPM. But now, I am doing the reverse. I am focusing more on an average typing speed, but more on acquiring a good rythm.

Why?
I believe that a good rythm with an average WPM count will be better for my long term health than trying to type as fast as I can all the time. One of the benefits I find in doing so was that I enjoyed my keyboards more. Slowing down my typing allowed me to appreciate the key feel each of my keyboards has to offer. This was how I realised that my ABS M1 is a wonderful keyboard to type on. I just could not appreciate it when I was trying to type at my fastest pace.

Does anyone of you feel that a keyboard is best appreciated when typing at an average speed?

I have to admit that consciously trying to reduce one's typing speed is not easy. After all, when practising typing, one is also learning to type on automatic pilot.

[panda-R]

I am averaging 90WPM across all my boards... have yet to find one that makes me type faster yet.

[Konrad]

PS/2 and USB (HID) keyboards impose maximum bandwidth caps, though I think they're close to ~100wpm+, maybe ~115wpm. I could be wrong. Still, no keyboard will improve speed beyond the PC's (integrated keyboard controller) processing capability.
 
A shoddy/cheap keyboard might pack slower controller logic (or inefficient debounce methods) and impose further caps. A better/costly keyboard might promise faster typing throughput, but that's much like advertising claims that a particular pair of athletic shoes will let you run and jump 30% faster and higher than before.
 
Beyond your "comfortable" speed threshold (~90wpm for you, ~75wpm for me) you'll reach a plateau of diminishing returns; constant exercise/practice is necessary to keep the edge on this learned fine motor skill.  It's not just about using it more, it's about pushing yourself faster.
 
[Edit]
 
You can train yourself on more optimized keyboard layouts. DVORAK is perhaps the "fastest", though I went with COLEMAK (easier for a QWERTY typist to learn).  The learning curve for me was about 2-3 months of constant casual practice/use before my COLEMAK speed reached parity with my QWERTY (which now sucks, incidentally); now I type substantially faster than before.
 
Blank keycaps (or keycaps "marked" with textures) speed the learning curve somewhat.  And confuse the hell out of meddling coworkers who cannot make any sense out of unmarked non-QWERTY keyboards, heeheehee.

[Konrad]

PS/2 and USB (HID) keyboards impose maximum bandwidth caps, though I think they're close to ~100wpm+, maybe ~115wpm.  I could be wrong.  Still, no keyboard will improve speed beyond the PC's (integrated keyboard controller) processing capability.
 
A shoddy/cheap keyboard might pack slower controller logic (or inefficient debounce methods) and impose further caps.  A better/costly keyboard might promise faster typing throughput, but that's much like advertising claims that a particular pair of athletic shoes will let you run and jump 30% faster and higher than before.
 
Beyond your "comfortable" speed (~90wpm for you, ~75wpm for me) you'll reach a plateau of diminishing returns; constant exercise/practice is necessary to keep the edge on this learned fine motor skill.

[noctua]

Continous typing is the right way, since 4 months i'm switched from Qwerty to Colemak.
Also i do practice each day (except weekend), the most important point that i have
learned since the switch was to type in an relaxed way. My burst speed is now 88
WPM with Colemak, with Qwerty it was 83 WPM. Last but not least i have build
 my own keyboard from scratch for this reason, so i can varying different
 positions to find my optimal handling..

Continous steady typing rhythm, in an calmer Colemak way ;-)

[patrickgeekhack]

 
Beyond your "comfortable" speed threshold (~90wpm for you, ~75wpm for me) you'll reach a plateau of diminishing returns; constant exercise/practice is necessary to keep the edge on this learned fine motor skill.  It's not just about using it more, it's about pushing yourself faster.
 

It's true that beyond the comfort zone, it's about pushing oneself to go faster. But, I see no benefit in doing so, at least in my case.

[Konrad]

Faster typing speed, of course!

[patrickgeekhack]

Faster typing speed, of course!

LOL. You're right, faster typing is the only benefit.

[Lanx]

chat rooms and IM! Back in the day i'd come home as a teen and like every kid would have like 10/20 IM's open at once we all had AOL at school (cuz aol was the only thing to have). Now I wonder if today's youth is affect by hunt and peck since ppl txt now and you really can't touch type on a smartphone. (worse on iphone)

[patrickgeekhack]

Now I wonder if today's youth is affect by hunt and peck since ppl txt now and you really can't touch type on a smartphone. (worse on iphone)

And I wonder if they know how to print. I am not asking if they know how to write because most don't know this nowadays.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Faster typing can be a benefit in some lines of work, for example when you use long memorised sequences or if you're a translator or obviously in any secretarial job. As a translator, I benefit a lot from typing speed. I also definitely can feel the setback of a poor keyboard or tired fingers.

More on topic, for example my M does not allow me to do the same kind of things I'd do on a scissors board when I hit a typing spree. On the other hand, it feels much more solid. Still, I probably won't be keeping it forever precisely because I'm able to type faster than its key response seems to be making me. Cherry browns were a bit too light and subjectively not so good even though objectively they were producing a noticeable speed bump in my case. Black alps were good except they felt unwieldy (though again objectively nice typing speeds) and I didn't like the typing feel for this reason (and I can totally understand why an AT101W costs far less than a Model M). I suppose Cherry blues will be good when I get some.

The other possibility is that I'll have to get a Model F, which is crispier and lighter than M. I have this old Model C2 (3178 terminal) that feels much better than an M. I guess the feel of a Model F is similar to that.

The fastest thing I've ever typed on, however, has been a rubber dome. IBM SK8820 purchased for $3.5.

On the other hand, a one-minute burst for the purpose of a typing speed test has generally always exhausted me somewhat except for a scissors board from Hama. That thing was wonderful in not tiring my fingers compared to other keyboards. I don't know how it achieved this. I didn't even like it in the beginning.

[Konrad]

As evil as rubberdome keyboards are, some models are made with fairly decent tactile response.  Until they wear out, at least.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

My oh so prospering sole-proprietorship can probably afford a keyboard a year, expensed. On the other hand, a mech board could be depreciated over years. But try depreciating a Model M. Wonder how many 20+ year olds are there in IRS offices.