Thread: Do You Touch-Type or Hunt-and-Peck

Originally Posted by Chimensch

Wow, a brave man! I've heard that the Dvorak keyboard is much more efficient. What do you think? I never tried because I was afraid that I would run into problems if I had to work on a computer that didn't have the Dvorak keyboard layout.

I would say that it is much more efficient. Not that I ever had repetitive motion injuries from typing, but you definitely don't need to move your hands as much on a dvorak board. I also find the layout to be much faster, my WPM's are higher now than they ever were on a QWERTY board. If you google the Dvorak layout, you'll see that QWERTY was reverse engineered to slow down typists and Dvorak was engineered to make typing faster.

As for having to use a QWERTY board, yes, that can be annoying. I can no longer touch type on a QWERTY board, but I do think that I could re-learn and maintain my abilities on both if I wanted to (I've read that it's not all that hard to do both). I'm pretty sure the only reason I can't do both is that I completely dropped QWERTY. This is really an issue when the computer you're going to be using is not one that you regularly use.

If you have a computer you use regularly, such as "your" work computer, you can set it up in Dvorak. (The specifics vary by operating system, but in Windows you do this through the language bar.) Pretty much what this option does is software re-map your keyboard. So, you would press "qwerty" on your board, and the computer would receive "qwerty", but the computer would switch that to "',.pyf". (I know I didn't use the " correctly, but that was to avoid confusion). That was actually what I used to do in my desktop computers, and that is still what I do on my laptop. (On my laptop, a Dell Inspiron 6000, I've actually popped off the key caps. I had no use for them since they were QWERTY, it looks very cool without them, and it's silent while typing. Having smaller keys also made me a more accurate typer, though it causes some issues when switching back and forth with my TypeMatrix, which I will describe below).

Once I decided I wanted to stick with Dvorak (I tried and failed a few times because I got frustrated), I set out looking for a keyboard that could do hardware Dvorak (meaning the keyboard has a different physical arrangement and the computer, on "normal" settings, would not have to reinterpret anything). I ended up with a TypeMatrix 2020 keyboard (Product Overview of the TypeMatrix keyboard), which can do hardware Dvorak and hardware QWERTY. It also has a different layout and scissor keys (laptop style) that I've come to love.

Sorry, that's a bit of a long answer.

You forgot voice input! Some people swear by it. I have a decent microphone on order so I might try it out sometime.

Originally Posted by Rajagra

You forgot voice input! Some people swear by it. I have a decent microphone on order so I might try it out sometime.

...not to mention the hand-write-with-stylus-and-convert-to-text option. I have heard that the voice input is getting a lot better and stylus conversion is hit or miss (depending on your handwriting).

I touch-type..though not in the fashion of the computer-nerds
I just learnt it succesively when as I used the computer more and more to write..at first by chatting and MSN etc. but nowdays more through writing papers,essays and thesises (what's the plural of thesis anyway?) and what ever..

Touch-type - I learned on a manual in HS way back when. I took the class because it was full of girls!

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

...not to mention the hand-write-with-stylus-and-convert-to-text option. I have heard that the voice input is getting a lot better and stylus conversion is hit or miss (depending on your handwriting).

At one time I had a Palm Pilot. It had its own "alphabet" which was surprisingly easy to learn -- simplified versions of the regular letters. Overall I found a simple little notebook and planner (pocket sized from Day-Timer) to be much more convenient. But the Palm Pilot's text input was remarkably effective.

Taught myself

hunt and peck my bigest problem is spelling i never had to spell or wright for 40 years then all of a sudden bam i have to start over again.

I was a hunt & peck typist for a few years and than gradually taught myself. I only look at the screen when I type. At first it was difficult and frustrating but once I got the hang of it I would find it harder to look at the keyboard and type.

Same here though I've been a keyboard jockey for most of my life so it is more touch typing with fingers that don's sit on the home keys. My fingers go where they need to and I hardly ever look at the keyboard. It is a bit tough when I use a different size or style keyboard but as much as I bounce between computers (consultant/IT manager) I've gotten used to most all styles of keyboard.

I actually type pretty damn fast, faster than most everyone I meet.

Originally Posted by TexasBob

I hunt and peck but my hunting is really good.

Still mostly need to look at the keyboard but that is because I am not very accurate at hitting the keys even though I know where they are. I use both hands but finger selection is focused on first two or three fingers of each hand and thumb for space bar -- usually.