Partly out of concern for my fingers, but mostly out of errant boredom, I have decided to try to learn Colemak. The QWERTY keyboard layout was intentionally designed to slow down typists, lest their typewriters jam. Now that computers have largely replaced typewriters, such a layout is inefficient, but we still use it anyway. Other layouts, such as the Dvorak Simplified Keyboard, just didn’t catch on.
Colemak is another alternative layout that comes to me highly recommended. I can type 100-150 WPM in QWERTY, so why switch? My humourous little sidebar about shift key abuse is the symptom of an underlying problem; all these hours at the computer leave my fingers strained. A more ergonomic layout may be the solution. Besides, if I can type 100 WPM in a layout designed to slow me down, I should be able to type faster and more comfortably in a more efficient layout (once I master it, of course).
This was my first post (of hopefully many posts) composed using Colemak. It took a very long time, and I‘m finding it frustrating, but that’s expected. I haven’t abandoned QWERTY, but the more I practice, the faster I’ll learn. Wish me luck.
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I wanted to add, I see a T9 like typing system emerging in the next 30 years, which is bad for me, since I can’t figure out how to use it.
I‘m both stubborn and lazy (as you know)
I don’t think I could fathom learning two (or three?) keyboard styles - it‘d screw me up at school and such (using their computers)
I think I’m going to grow up to be one of those old folks that goes “back in my day all we learned was QWERTY”
Anyway, good luck to you Ben - keep us updated on how it’s working out for ya 
(If we ever in a million years get together with our computers I’ll have to give it a shot on yours…mostly because I’m too lazy to download the app xD)
Of course there are always those people who wish they could type slower. Neal Stephenson, for instance, reverted back to the use of a fountain-pen so that his writing would more closely correspond to the speed of his thinking in respect to the formation of coherent thoughts.
@Laura: You can try it out with this page.
@Imexius: I think much faster than I can write manually and at least as fast, if not faster, than I can type. The theoretical increase in speed is secondary. Even typing this simple comment is taking soooo long, and once I do master Colemak, my QWERTY skills will have declined. However, I believe that the benefits in efficiency and stress-relief are worth it.
Are you using any software program to teach yourself or are you just doing it by memorizing the layout?
I‘m learning mostly by typing. Unlike Dvorak, Colemak doesn’t differ all that much from QWERTY. I‘m also practicing with TypeFaster lessons, as that’s the program recommended on the website. It’s slow going, but it’s going!
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The Key layout looks to be the same, so if you don’t look at the keyboard to type, I can see this being practical. But, the prevalence of QWERTY seems to make it impractical for people like me who glance down around once a second (but maybe not for hunters and peckers).
Friday, August 29, 2008 at 12:43 AM