So, code larnin’ is going well! I’ve been spending a few hours every couple of days at the local coffee shop, sans-internet, buckling down and studying :D A lot of it is sticking, I think!
However, I’ve noticed a glaring weakness in my abilities: I type slower than our grandmothers. Yeah, I still type with one, two, rarely three fingers per hand on the keyboard as my eyes shift back and forth from keyboard to screen. Pathetic! :D
Any programmers, data entrants, or fast typers out there have any secrets? Anyone know of any software or sites that’ll help me speed up my WPM? Keeping my eyes on the screen would definitely make me more productive! :D
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It’s never too late to learn touchtyping. I even know a good game for you to learn it from :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNfQ_B6_xy8
I learnt how to type from from just talking to my friends online. To be perfectly honest, I rarely use anything other than my index fingers to type (well, except my thumbs for spaces), my hand just blurs across the keyboard. Pretty soon you don’t have to look at the keys anymore, or type with your eyes closed :D. The only problem is getting a new keyboard with a slightly different layout as it means every time you go to type something, you’ll mess up the whole sentence before you’ve even realise. Anyway, I hope you master the arts of super speedy typing and all the best! :D
There are plenty of software to help you type faster Joe.
My only tip is, don’t give up, you will be slower at first, but when you get past this you will feel like Bernie using a rifle.
I never thought I could learn typing fast without looking from a book. And luckily I didn’t had to, because I picked it up over the years :D Today I barely look at the keyboard. Only when I have to use an English one or I need a special character.
Typing code is really different than typing while talking to a friend.
Even as a programmer, I type with just my index fingers and not as fast as I want. Typing faster come with practice : the more you’ll type code the faster you’ll type code.
But, which code are you learning? Some ActionScript? :)
Good luck with your learning ^^
You may wish to check out a fun piece of software called The Typing of the Dead. It’s much like any other touch-typing software, but with zombies to give you a bit more incentive to get your butt in gear :D
Hate to be so boring but really it’s largely just practice – I learnt when at uni just typing up notes on a daily basis (due to handwriting so bad that even I struggle to understand it!) . Then, when I lost use of my left hand I taught myself to touch type one-handed almost as fast as I used to be again just by doing it over and over. Boring answer I know but it works!
@Joe what is your wpm when typing to friends, or just for fun? How much higher is it than your coding wpm?
The answer to this would determine whether you would need:
a ‘learn to type’ program, or;
a ‘coding crash course’ reference/training binge.
Oh yeah I should probably use/find my old ‘learn to type program’ it’s been to long since I had the practice…
try this: http://www.typingweb.com/tutor/courses/
Joe this website is for the software that made it a little more fun to learn to type. It incorporates learning to type with “mini games” and makes it a little less, well repetitive. http://www.mavisbeacon.com/
I know how hard it is to learn to touch type without looking at the keyboard. What my teacher did was cover the keyboard with a piece of cardboard that your hands could fit under, while still preventing you from reading the keys. When you practice, you are forced to remember where the keys are instead of reading them.
I actually type the same way you do at around 3-5 keys per second, the reason I type like that is I know about where each key is but I look at the keyboard to make sure I hit it otherwise I end up hitting an adjacent key and it’s easier and quicker for me to just remember the keyboard layout and just use my index fingers than it is to remember the layout and remember which finger to press it with.
Um is it just or did that person look a lot like bug? I know he’s more then likely dead, but why was he helping Joe? Or maybe it was Sam playing manipulation again who knows, plus it seems like Bernie has a personal vendetta against Andy too, but Bernie did make a point in survival and that was why he was kicking Joe out, but I think there is more to it then that perhaps. Also on typing real Joe I had the same problem and I took a typing course and got a little better at and sure its a little rough and I really only use a few fingers but it does get easier with time trust me on this.
Never look down, it’ll come naturally after a while. If you force you to make alot of typos, and after a while you’ll have at least the backspace key memorized solid. Then later your homerow, as you have to keep traveling there after pressing backspace, and eventually everything else. My current WPM is around 97, but I’d say it’s more important to just be able to type as quickly as you can gather your thoughts.
I’ve never really bothered with any learning programs, and I’d say the best way to type is to do it comfortably, as I mostly use the first three fingers on each hand to type too! I regularly spend 12+ hours a day on the computer being a programmer/gamer, and I haven’t had any problems.
I suggest that you play an online multiplayer game that requires teamwork and communication but instead of using a microphone to communicate quickly type everything as fast as you can. this may only be good advice if you already are a moderately fast typist….so you may have to keep this in mind for later
Here’s a tip, but don’t use this unless nessecary. Just type like you would, but keep your eyes on the keyboard, when you’re finishd, adjust your eyes to the screen and check what you wrote. This works fast, but it’s makes a bad habit. Be careful if you use this method!
typing method i use mostly is to glance down and then type i often only have to use it once or twice per hour, not sure what my wpm is as i never checked it.
hey joe you should look at this http://studios.amazon.com/ anyways awesome scene as always joe!
I have used one software to help me with it back in my school days, recommended by one my teachers. TypeFaster is its name, and it’s actually pretty good. You have different levels of learning and it’s easy to configure. It is also easier with a soft keyboard, and when you are used to a keyboard the keys kinda come to your mind automatically. Good luck ;)
Get yourself a pack of coloured stickers and the Touch finger map. Choose one colour per finger, begin by covering F and J, then add one or two letters per day. Also, begin placing your fingers on ASDF and JKL: respectively, move only one finger at a time whilst typing, then return it. Just don’t rush it, covering too many at a time, or too quickly.
Remember, the keys are static, they never move about. Once you remember the location of a few keys, try avoiding looking at the keyboard when using them. You’ll find, remembering the rest to be quite easy.
I keep my keyboard under my desk and in my lap, out of the way. I only bring it out when the batteries need replacing. The more space I have for my mouse and arm.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! (Typed that without looking at the keyboard! :D) I’ll keep practicing! Can’t find a Mac version of Typing of the Dead, but I really wanna get my hands on it!
@mouseman – Awesome! Writing a script for a The Pocalypse movie would be a lot of fun, but I don’t know how to write a script nor do I have time to take on another project right now :D Perhaps one day! Thanks for the link as it may serve as a launch pad for such an ambitious endeavour! :D
Learn the keyboard and where the keys are. Less time is spent when you need a hint og glimpsing the keyboard. Do that less likely and that way your “WPM” (Words Per Minute) will rise.
WahH ! Next Scene ! ^0^
My daughter and I had a lot of fun with typingtest.com a couple years ago. Might be worth a shot.
A program called “type to learn” came preinstalled on all the macs at my elementary school, and that’s how I learned to type. I also tend to keep my keyboard close to my monitor, so I can see them both at once and don’t need much effort to switch my line of sight between the two.
Sounds stupid, but honestly, it’s how I learned to type. Cheat codes. Find a game that requires quick thinking and strategy (I learned through Starcraft) and do NOT touch the pause button. Executing a cheat code as fast as possible in the midst of an emergency, especially if it’s complicated, gets you some practice. Of course, I only used them so I could *learn* the game. What works vs what, and so forth. Anyways, great comic! I can’t get enough. :3
@anonny where those pre-osx computers? I had that same program on my old G3 macintosh (os8-9). If they updated it for osx I would think it a good program. My typing speed has gone down to a quarter of what it was when I used that program.
@Matthew I could see one doing that sort of thing to force speed. Starcraft is fairly competitive.
http://www.typeracer.com
type 1 word -> type this word again and repeat 10 times -> do the same with others -> type 2 words -> repeat -> do the same with others -> type 3 words -> so on->
-> type 1 sentence -> repeat -> do the same with others -> type 2 sentences -> so on ->
My first time I played there I got 49 wpm, but, currently, I get 83 wpm
I actually learned to type through a combination of programming/scripting and instant messaging. I think the thing that did it was that I learned to use linux, and then did everything I could using the command line or perl scripts. also when I code smaller projects I try to also only use the command line (and terrifying text editors like vim). I never use an IDE unless it’s a giant project. once you pound a few common words into muscle memory, you’ll be shocked at how fast you start to improve. one final tip is to use whole phrases for passwords. you type your passwords more often (and necessarily more accurately) than anything else, so they will go straight to muscle memory. if you have enough different passwords with enough words each that can make for a sizable foundation of freebies.
Can’t say I blame you for being slow… I usually type with 4 fingers in each hand, but only am able to write fast if I preceed to not look a the screen until I have finsihed writing… I look only at my key board until I am finished.
I learned touch typing by chatting online a lot. It might be slower than a class, but it’s free and it’s something I wanted to do anyway. After awhile your hands start “remembering” where keys are.
If you need to learn touch typing fast though, you’ll prolly want a class.
Joe,the secret of typing fast ( I rarely watch the keyboard and I use,like,8 fingers or so ) is typing alot.
Typetypetypetypetypetypetype.. memorize key locations.. typetypetypetypetypetypetype.. try using more fingers.. and that’s all I can tell you :P
And secondly,after watching the episode..
..FUCK OFF,MUTANT
Awesome tune, even if the moment involving it was brief!
Just practice typing something NOT looking at the keyboard. Make sure you DON’T look at it; if you make an error, go back and correct it without looking! Soon enough your “fingers” will remember where the keys are. Try using at least three fingers in each hand. But the programs out there where you progressively learn one key at a time and force you to use all four fingers will definitely give you the potential to type really fast; it’s just a pain in the ass, though. Type Racer is also quite fun, I spent hours just doing one race after the other, trying to win them all :D
Mavis Beacon 30 minutes per day.
Immm BACK!!!! Its already spring back here in Canada, and we only hade to deal with a week of -35C here in saskatchewan. The best way to learn to type I find is to get a phone with a qwerty keyboard, and text with it. Alot. Eventually you will start to memorize the more commonly used keys, and wont have to look down at the keyboard anymore. However, this doesnt realy help with useing your whole hand to type, I still mainly only type with 2 fingers on each hand XD