Well, I sort of learned (as one does) in about 1986 or so, on an Atari of some sort or an IBM clone or just one of those computers that used to be around back then. Not my own.

I’ve naturally been going on that and probably typed countless lines in Usenet, IRC, web, notes, code, configs and whatever files. But it always bugged me that it’s just kind of ballistic hammering with any and all fingers that happen to be near the next key.

So, I went and got a very minimal split keyboard to see if I can learn something new. The setup and layers and all that has not really been dull, but I’ve been pecking away slowly at typing.com and trying to keep my hands on the home row like it’s 1989. I thought that might balance it out.

I just got the first unit certificate at 25 wpm. And, hey, I managed to type this post. Maybe I’ll get better with time.

  • litchralee@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    6·
    4 hours ago

    For folks not willing to make the full leap away from QWERTY, there’s also Colemak that preserves the common key combos, such as Ctrl C and Ctrl V.

    Also, a word of advice: all the keyboard formats which minimize finger reach compared to QWERTY (which essentially maximized finger reach to accommodate mechanical typewriters) will cause poor word prediction on Swype-style virtual keyboards on mobile phones. This is because optimized keyboard formats try to keep words as close to the home row as possible, so many words using Swype will just be sliding your finger left and right over the home row, which destroys accurate prediction. This is why I’m QWERTY on mobile but Colemak on desktop.

        • zero_spelled_with_an_ecks@programming.dev
          1·
          2 hours ago

          Interesting. When I switched to Dvorak it only took a week to stop feeling weird and another two or three to get up to speed. Maybe it being very different helped. Sometimes when I’m learning something that’s close to what I already know in other areas of life it can be more difficult. What I could never quite get set as far as typing goes was backspice layout on a twiddler. Never got over the hump from learning to functional.