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For even better typing feel, you may try a mechanical keyboard. For typing, brown/blue switch is most preferable.
For information on mechanical keyboards
http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mecha … oard-guide
I switched to use Colemak full time when my speed is 30wpm. Then my speed increases to 70wpm now.
To increase speed further, you need to use Colemak full time. That will solidify the muscle memory.
For sharing PC you can use the Colemak portable file
http://www.ryanheise.com/colemak.exe
Ideally for every person with different finger lengths and different hand muscle strengths there should be several unique optimized keyboard layouts for that individual. The possibility is endless.
I hope that there will be a software that can handle the key position significance factors that Workman author have shown (each person enters his/her own numbers) and it can quickly calculate the optimized layouts for that person.
For now, Colemak can be 98.0143453% efficient for most of us.
Also, a question about PKL configs. When trying AHK, I noticed it would occasionally miss keys, especially when I was typing quickly. Is this still an issue with compiled AHK scripts?
AHK scripts is only usable at speed lower than 60wpm. More than that and you will occasionally see Qwerty keys.
Wow, another success story, excellently written.
You're right. Usually one hand reacts faster than the other, so you have to type in rhythms (typing each key with the same time) to correct that mistake.
Typing test is just a simle translation of text into your muscle typing memory.
Typing what you think is another link from muscle typing memory to another thinking part of your brain. It is harder for two different parts of your brain to work together.
Keeping both Colemak and Dvorak at the same time? Your brain must be good at multitasking.
The annoying feel will diminish in about another 4 weeks. It's time for you to use Colemak full time, which is essential for your brain and your muscle to do fine tuning.
According to your current speed, your speed will reach your old Qwerty average in 3-4 months. So keep going, the hardest time is well past over.
When I type I usually either think too fast to read too fast and that results in me typing the next bit even though I haven't finished typing the word I currently type. I also tend to mix up the order of the letters I type. Does anyone have any advice for me on this to stop these kind of issues?
Type slowly to get accuracy at least 98%. Then try to increase speed bit by bit. If your accuracy falls below 98%, slow down to a comfortable pace.
Besides, is low viscosity good on Amphetype?
Yes, it means you type in rhythms.
The impatience is quite normal for you guys. You certainly want to type really fast as soon as possible. But if your accuracy is not up to par, you will only make mistakes faster. For the worse, the mistakes imprint in your muscle memory and let you repeat the mistakes again and again.
So the keyword is accuracy. You have to keep the accuracy above 98% most of the time, and the average speed will steadily increase, on its own accord.
I agree with paftaka90. Accuracy is the keyword. You should not move to the next keys before reach 95-98% accuracy with the learned keys.
R-S confusion is common with newcomers like you. It happens to us all. It will be diminished after a few weeks of practice.
So keep on practising and focus on better accuracy instead of speed. The speed will increase on its own accord.
1. Are there any modifications to the standard way of typing that can make it even better (other than ergonomic keyboards or physical changes to the keys)?
Normal mechanical keyboards, or better, a Kinesis mechanical keyboard.
2. Is there any benefit to retaining my ability in qwerty?
The benefit is too small compared to the maintenance cost.
3. And if you are typing a long series of characters in uppercase, do you repeatedly switch from left to right shift and back as the actively typing hand changes from right to left and back? It feels a bit awkward to me.
I use AutoHotKey so by using a script I can turn on/off Capslock when typing in Colemak (Shift-Capslock or Control-Capslock toggle Capslock).
4. Also, how do you type the right shift without moving your wrist or feeling awkward?
The awkward feel will be diminished after two weeks of practising.
5.And should I change to Colemak on my phone as well?
Not necessary, since on the phone we use only two fingers to hunt and peck.
6.Thanks!
You are welcome!
Relearning muscle memory takes time. A few months are not enough to completely remove Qwerty from your brain.
You should practise with slower speed but 100% accuracy so that your brain can register the correct key repeatedly.
It's really hard to improvise from here. In order to get a few WPM more you have to drill on common words a lot as well as to know when to speed up with such common words and when to carefully type some difficult words in between.
Any typing program would be good. I use Typeracer, Typing Tutor and Amphetype.
For accuracy, I use Typeracer accuracy universe. This website require 100% accuracy, so it is quite challenging at first.
http://play.typeracer.com/?universe=accuracy
When I started to learn Colemak layout, I had to remember exactly the place of each key. Then after a month, I forgot all the key positions but I can type them blindly.
Similarly, I now forget all easy words I can type. I just type them.
Since most of Colemak users are in this forum, you can conduct a research on your own based on the Experiences forum.
My observation is 5-10wpm gain from Qwerty to Colemak. Right now I am typing 15wpm faster, but some of the gain is due to the mechanical keyboard I am using.
I put the layout paper right under the display for two weeks. Oh such difficult days when I had to type in Qwerty as well...
After being fluent in Colemak, it took me about four weeks to be fluent in shortcuts too. It's all muscle memory so you will get used to it after a while.
I suppose it is from Amphetype typing tutor. Like mine.
It took me 2 months to reach half my Qwerty speed, when I can type comfortably. From then on it would be very relaxing and beautiful journey.
Thanks pinkyache, I mean nubs, not numbs.
You made me remembering the switching days...
My next step when I was confident enough was to pull out all keys to put them back to Qwerty positions. Ah it was a relief when the numbs were back...
You can set password full of common keys, qwahzxcvbm, and numbers