Is this typing speed ok?

[Deleted member 2090406]

when i was on my mac scissor switch keyboard i got 85-93 wpm when i was at peak performance, but now on my new mechanical mx black [60g weight until key activation] the full stops and slashes are in a slight different position because it's a normal keyboard layout, and also a bulkier keyboard.

so when i'm not using those buttons i got 120wpm, and i use my indexes [2 fingers]. would you say that is good? any tips to improve? i've tried using all my fingers but it takes some getting used to... keep in mind i use my middle finger as well as my indexes, just hardly near as much.

when i use the full stops and commas on my new keyboard, and other punctuation i have few mistakes still, but just because im not used to the size of the keyboard and the key positioning.

what im really looking for an answer to is...

1. any tips on getting better?
i think i've reached my limit on just using my indexes and middle fingers, but i dont think the transfer of strategy will be easy.

if you need to know any more info just ask and i will respond within a day.

EDIT: when im typing quite fast, i'll be 100-120 wpm and when im trying hard i would be around 110-120. it's quite late right now, but i'll throw in some typingtest results if you wish.

thanks for the help.

 

[Gamer1985]

Focus on doing it without any errors. Your wpm is great. Anywhere from 75-120 wpm is considered fast, but most importantly is 0 errors during your test. Most tests will deduct the errors from your wpm

 

[Deleted member 2090406]

Focus on doing it without any errors. Your wpm is great. Anywhere from 75-120 wpm is considered fast, but most importantly is 0 errors during your test. Most tests will deduct the errors from your wpm

alright, thanks... but any tips on using all fingers?

 

[Gamer1985]

It just takes practice, refuse yourself from using just your index fingers and place your hands in a comfortable position to allow your fingers to familiarize the movement to each key. Even if you can type faster doing it your way, avoid doing so. After a while it becomes second nature. I used to type the same way with just my index pointers but once i was able to use all of my fingers as its meant to be, my typing improved drastically. Thats really all it takes is practice and proper positioning and motion of your hands/fingers. Good luck.

 

[musikman3]

RE: Using all five fingers

Hop on amazon and look for a used copy of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. That's a curriculum based course to teach the full "touch typing" method. I took "touch typing" in high school (back in nineteen-seventy - mumblemumblemumble..) on Underwood manual typewriters, and it's stuck to me today. Right now I'm typing just looking at the screen, not the keys. And I use Cherry MX Green keys (80cN), and if I can find a HARDER touch keyboard, I'll get it. I'm a piano/conductor for musical theatre for 40+ years, and I have a heckuva hard touch. If I could find an ORIGINAL IBMPC keyboard (gen1) that had the metal keycaps and that nice firm touch using buckling springs instead of mechanical switches, I'd be in heaven! The Unicomp keyboards "claim" to make a buckling spring keyboard, but it's NOT the same as the original PC version.

But like piano, the name of the game is practice, practice, practice. And using an award winning software package like Mavis Beacon will take you step by step. First, you learn the home keys (asdf and jkl for your four fingers, then you'll learn one by one which finger touches which key.. There are a ton of exercises to plot your successes and where you might need remedial work.

Eventually, you'll start relying on the new "finger feel" on the keyboard, and then the speed will pickup.

WAR STORY: When I was taking touch typing class in high school, the basketball coach was our instructor (Catholic Boy's High School). He was pretty good at teaching the class, and we indeed got the basics of the touch system, and then gradually got more proficient.. One day I went down to the coach's office to ask about something or the other, and saw him at his typewriter (no computers in those days, the IBM-PC wasn't invented for another 10 years..!) actually hunting and pecking with his two index fingers.

He could TEACH the class, but never by example, always referring to the curriculum text during class. I got a "grin" out of watching him type..lol! And that was the only class that he "taught" other than being the basketball coach. (Eventually he left us and went to head coach a local State University for 20+ years. His JV coach didn't go with him, but JV's son is now the head coach of the Univ/Cincinnati Bearcats basketball program.)

BACK TO THE TOPIC:

There are probably more software packages on the market these days, but Mavis Beacon held practically 100% of the market in the early days of IBMPC-XT running at that blazingly fast 4.77MHz, and our early school "typing labs" had PC's with the necessary allotment of memory for the typing class (320kb). The program was on a 5.25" SSSD (Single Sided, Single Density 330kb) floppy disk, and only required the one disk program. Oh, and MS-DOS 2.1 also came on a single 5.25" SSSD floppy. In those days, the computers had dual floppy drives, hard drives were WAY too expensive to use in a high school typing lab, and even then the "state of the art" was a Seagate ST-506 5MB 5.25" full height format. Starting in 1980, the Apple ][ had its own proprietary hard drive sold by Apple and called the Profile. It, too was a 5MB hard drive (who would EVER need more than that?).

I still have a couple of the Seagate ST-506's around here. During summer picnics, we geeks have "hard drive throwing contests," (rather than shotput) using the full height 5.25" drives. They weigh in about about 6-7#, and make a pleasant "clanging" sound when they hit the dirt. (smile)

Please pardon my "trip down memory lane!"

Cheers!

mm3

 

[Deleted member 2090406]

RE: Using all five fingers

Hop on amazon and look for a used copy of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. That's a curriculum based course to teach the full "touch typing" method. I took "touch typing" in high school (back in nineteen-seventy - mumblemumblemumble..) on Underwood manual typewriters, and it's stuck to me today. Right now I'm typing just looking at the screen, not the keys. And I use Cherry MX Green keys (80cN), and if I can find a HARDER touch keyboard, I'll get it. I'm a piano/conductor for musical theatre for 40+ years, and I have a heckuva hard touch. If I could find an ORIGINAL IBMPC keyboard (gen1) that had the metal keycaps and that nice firm touch using buckling springs instead of mechanical switches, I'd be in heaven! The Unicomp keyboards "claim" to make a buckling spring keyboard, but it's NOT the same as the original PC version.

But like piano, the name of the game is practice, practice, practice. And using an award winning software package like Mavis Beacon will take you step by step. First, you learn the home keys (asdf and jkl for your four fingers, then you'll learn one by one which finger touches which key.. There are a ton of exercises to plot your successes and where you might need remedial work.

Eventually, you'll start relying on the new "finger feel" on the keyboard, and then the speed will pickup.

WAR STORY: When I was taking touch typing class in high school, the basketball coach was our instructor (Catholic Boy's High School). He was pretty good at teaching the class, and we indeed got the basics of the touch system, and then gradually got more proficient.. One day I went down to the coach's office to ask about something or the other, and saw him at his typewriter (no computers in those days, the IBM-PC wasn't invented for another 10 years..!) actually hunting and pecking with his two index fingers.

He could TEACH the class, but never by example, always referring to the curriculum text during class. I got a "grin" out of watching him type..lol! And that was the only class that he "taught" other than being the basketball coach. (Eventually he left us and went to head coach a local State University for 20+ years. His JV coach didn't go with him, but JV's son is now the head coach of the Univ/Cincinnati Bearcats basketball program.)

BACK TO THE TOPIC:

There are probably more software packages on the market these days, but Mavis Beacon held practically 100% of the market in the early days of IBMPC-XT running at that blazingly fast 4.77MHz, and our early school "typing labs" had PC's with the necessary allotment of memory for the typing class (320kb). The program was on a 5.25" SSSD (Single Sided, Single Density 330kb) floppy disk, and only required the one disk program. Oh, and MS-DOS 2.1 also came on a single 5.25" SSSD floppy. In those days, the computers had dual floppy drives, hard drives were WAY too expensive to use in a high school typing lab, and even then the "state of the art" was a Seagate ST-506 5MB 5.25" full height format. Starting in 1980, the Apple ][ had its own proprietary hard drive sold by Apple and called the Profile. It, too was a 5MB hard drive (who would EVER need more than that?).

I still have a couple of the Seagate ST-506's around here. During summer picnics, we geeks have "hard drive throwing contests," (rather than shotput) using the full height 5.25" drives. They weigh in about about 6-7#, and make a pleasant "clanging" sound when they hit the dirt. (smile)

Please pardon my "trip down memory lane!"

Cheers!

mm3

thanks for the help. using two fingers is still fast for me, but im afraid its slowing me down.

 

[Gamer1985]

If your typing at 120Wpm, you have nothing to worry about, but think about how much faster you could be!