5 ms·

It really sucks that I type "Y" with my left hand's index finger. It makes a wide variety of interesting keyboard layouts infeasible without going in cold turke

by baddox 12y ago

It really sucks that I type "Y" with my left hand's index finger. It makes a wide variety of interesting keyboard layouts infeasible without going in cold turkey.

lp251 12y ago
I had the same habit. My typing speed fell dramatically when I first got my Kinesis, but after a week or so I was above 80 WPM again. I just noticed I still use my left index finger to type "y" on a non-Kinesis keyboard. Strange.
- technomancy 12y ago
  I know someone who uses Colemak on matrix keyboards and Qwerty on conventionally-staggered keyboards and has no problem keeping them separate. Muscle memory is a weird thing.
- davegauer 12y ago
  I'm a little late to the party, but I had to pipe in: my experience is identical to yours. I used the Kinesis for about two years. Further, I did NOT use my Kinesis for eight years (it sat in its box after a move) and then I plugged it into a laptop the other day and... was astounded to find that I didn't even have to look at it to start typing immediately, even the thumb keys!
O____________O 12y ago
Any significant keyboard change will require some adaptation time. For example, I went from a traditional keyboard to a Kinesis Maxim, which was a traditional layout but split. That required a bit of typing adjustment, like what you mention. Then I switched to a Kinesis Classic (old version of the Advantage, PS/2 port). Now that was a pain, literally. Having to interrupt decade-old touch-typing muscle memory was annoying, and I actually experienced slightly increased pain (tendinitis) for the first several days. Within two weeks, though, I was automatically using the new arrow key position and thumb keys (Ctrl, Alt, Home, End, PgUp, PgDn, Backspace, Delete, Enter, and Space) smoothly. My change from QWERTY to Dvorak was even more troublesome and a bit painful. I would say it honestly took me about two weeks to become even barely functional, and a year to become completely proficient. I'm skeptical that I've ever hit the same WPM that I had on QWERTY, which I mastered while still an adolescent. Not that it matters, I just think a bit more and type a bit less now. :-) Edit: for the record, I absolutely DO NOT advise learning Dvorak. Its ergonomic benefits pale compared to the mechanical keys, split wells, etc. Also, it means lots of key remapping for games, copy/paste shortcuts become kind of arbitrary, and so on. Stick with QWERTY, but use better keyboard hardware. Learn Colemak if you absolutely insist on the 1337-ness of 'superior' layouts.
- to3m 12y ago
  So you switched back to QWERTY, and/or now type Colemak, I take it? I do agree about the time it takes to get all of your old speed back. When I learned Dvorak, it took me two years to get back to full speed. But once I was there, I was there, and with surprisingly little effort. I have a couple of victories on typing tests that I was actually trying to lose to prove it.
  - O____________O 12y ago
    So you switched back to QWERTY, and/or now type Colemak, I take it? Nope. I still type Dvorak. One switch is enough. I can type QWERTY, too. If I use a different machine, I'm able to switch over with surprisingly few errors. Also, strangely, I can't tell you where the keys are on a Dvorak layout without mentally typing the letter. I used to know the QWERTY layout by heart, but never reached the same level of mental mastery with Dvorak. The only reason I suggest Colemak is that I've heard it's optimal for programming. I still don't think it's worth learning, though, if you already touch-type QWERTY.
    - technomancy 12y ago
      My understanding is that Colemak isn't any more effective than Dvorak; it's just closer to Qwerty, which makes it easier to learn up-front. But honestly once you get away from Qwerty there's a law of diminishing returns. The differences between non-Qwerty layouts are pretty miniscule compared to the difference between Qwerty and good layouts.
- baddox 12y ago
  I've never had any computer-related pain (well, not since the lengthy gaming sessions of my youth), and my current typing ability is more than sufficient, so I guess my impetus to switch is tiny.
  - O____________O 12y ago
    In my opinion, it's good preventative care. The problem with tendinitis, carpal tunnel, bulged neck discs, and health issues that afflict programmers is that you don't know you're susceptible until you already have the problem. Then you're looking at months or years to fix it and learn techniques and equipment to avoid its return.

by baddox 12y ago

It really sucks that I type "Y" with my left hand's index finger. It makes a wide variety of interesting keyboard layouts infeasible without going in cold turkey.

lp251 12y ago

I had the same habit. My typing speed fell dramatically when I first got my Kinesis, but after a week or so I was above 80 WPM again. I just noticed I still use my left index finger to type "y" on a non-Kinesis keyboard. Strange.

technomancy 12y ago
I know someone who uses Colemak on matrix keyboards and Qwerty on conventionally-staggered keyboards and has no problem keeping them separate. Muscle memory is a weird thing.
davegauer 12y ago
I'm a little late to the party, but I had to pipe in: my experience is identical to yours. I used the Kinesis for about two years. Further, I did NOT use my Kinesis for eight years (it sat in its box after a move) and then I plugged it into a laptop the other day and... was astounded to find that I didn't even have to look at it to start typing immediately, even the thumb keys!

O____________O 12y ago

Any significant keyboard change will require some adaptation time. For example, I went from a traditional keyboard to a Kinesis Maxim, which was a traditional layout but split. That required a bit of typing adjustment, like what you mention. Then I switched to a Kinesis Classic (old version of the Advantage, PS/2 port). Now that was a pain, literally. Having to interrupt decade-old touch-typing muscle memory was annoying, and I actually experienced slightly increased pain (tendinitis) for the first several days. Within two weeks, though, I was automatically using the new arrow key position and thumb keys (Ctrl, Alt, Home, End, PgUp, PgDn, Backspace, Delete, Enter, and Space) smoothly. My change from QWERTY to Dvorak was even more troublesome and a bit painful. I would say it honestly took me about two weeks to become even barely functional, and a year to become completely proficient. I'm skeptical that I've ever hit the same WPM that I had on QWERTY, which I mastered while still an adolescent. Not that it matters, I just think a bit more and type a bit less now. :-) Edit: for the record, I absolutely DO NOT advise learning Dvorak. Its ergonomic benefits pale compared to the mechanical keys, split wells, etc. Also, it means lots of key remapping for games, copy/paste shortcuts become kind of arbitrary, and so on. Stick with QWERTY, but use better keyboard hardware. Learn Colemak if you absolutely insist on the 1337-ness of 'superior' layouts.

to3m 12y ago
So you switched back to QWERTY, and/or now type Colemak, I take it? I do agree about the time it takes to get all of your old speed back. When I learned Dvorak, it took me two years to get back to full speed. But once I was there, I was there, and with surprisingly little effort. I have a couple of victories on typing tests that I was actually trying to lose to prove it.
- O____________O 12y ago
  So you switched back to QWERTY, and/or now type Colemak, I take it? Nope. I still type Dvorak. One switch is enough. I can type QWERTY, too. If I use a different machine, I'm able to switch over with surprisingly few errors. Also, strangely, I can't tell you where the keys are on a Dvorak layout without mentally typing the letter. I used to know the QWERTY layout by heart, but never reached the same level of mental mastery with Dvorak. The only reason I suggest Colemak is that I've heard it's optimal for programming. I still don't think it's worth learning, though, if you already touch-type QWERTY.
  - technomancy 12y ago
    My understanding is that Colemak isn't any more effective than Dvorak; it's just closer to Qwerty, which makes it easier to learn up-front. But honestly once you get away from Qwerty there's a law of diminishing returns. The differences between non-Qwerty layouts are pretty miniscule compared to the difference between Qwerty and good layouts.
baddox 12y ago
I've never had any computer-related pain (well, not since the lengthy gaming sessions of my youth), and my current typing ability is more than sufficient, so I guess my impetus to switch is tiny.
- O____________O 12y ago
  In my opinion, it's good preventative care. The problem with tendinitis, carpal tunnel, bulged neck discs, and health issues that afflict programmers is that you don't know you're susceptible until you already have the problem. Then you're looking at months or years to fix it and learn techniques and equipment to avoid its return.