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    Acquired Speed

    • Started by Golden_Hammer
    • 20 Replies:
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    • Registered: 17-Nov-2006
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    I think a thread like this could be of some use. I know when I started learning Colemak, I wanted to see how fast people were compared to their original speed, but there simply was no information on it.

    For this thread, post which keyboard you've used in the past. Post the corresponding speed, accuracy, and length of use. Do the same for Colemak.

    QWERTY
    -7 years
    -80 wpm
    -Horrible accuracy (85%-94%)

    Dvorak
    -10 months
    -70-75 wpm
    -Excellent accuracy (it fluctuated a lot, but mostly 94%-100%)

    Colemak
    -1 year
    -80-85 wpm
    -Excellent accuracy (same as Dvorak)

    In my experience, Colemak and Dvorak were great for me accuracy wise, but I _could not_ type as fast as I do on Colemak with Dvorak. With Dvorak, I had a semi-staccato type of typing, but with Colemak, my typing is a lot more fluent.

    As for QWERTY, there really isn't too much to say about it. I was extremely fast using QWERTY, but I spent most of the time hitting backspace.

    Last edited by Golden_Hammer (26-Nov-2007 18:45:24)
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    • From: Houston, Texas
    • Registered: 03-Jan-2007
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    At the risk of embarrassing myself after those stats, (I am hardly the poster boy for Colemak)

    QWERTY
    -30 years not touch typing
    -5-30wpm  (upper speeds could not maintain very long, typing tests are making me appreciate just how much time I spent in the lower part of the range)
    -Excellent accuracy (90%-100%)

    Dvorak
    -1 months
    -5-20wpm  (but I hated all the movement of my right hand pivoting for L)
    -Fair accuracy (it fluctuated a lot, but mostly 80%-95%)

    Colemak
    -4 months
    -30-40wpm 
    -Excellent accuracy (90%-100%)

    Last edited by keyboard samurai (03-May-2007 18:03:21)
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    • From: Köln, Germany
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    I don't know about my QWERTZ hunt and peck skills and I have not used Dvorak, but those are my statistics:

    colemak-
    *2 months
    *35 words per minute
    *sucky accuracy/88%

    I feel, that in order to type faster, I need to drastically improve my accuracy. Well I've only used  colemak for 2 months so far, with a week of holidays in between, which is a good excuse for my sucky accuracy and speed... not.

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    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
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    QWERTY:
    * 25+ years
    * 55-60 WPM on a good day
    * I think about 90% accuracy; less on a bad day

    Dvorak:
    * 2 years 3 months
    * About 55 WPM on a good day
    * 97% accuracy

    Colemak:
    * 5 months (started during the Xmas holiday -06)
    * 49 WPM consistently (doesn't seem to improve fast now, but I'm not training either)
    * 98% accuracy

    (TypingMaster online test; 3 min)

    Last edited by DreymaR (04-May-2007 11:40:53)

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

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    QWERTY:
    *7+ Years
    *65-70WPM
    *97% accuracy

    Colemak:
    *5 Months
    *80 WPM
    *97% accuracy

    I did a few TypeMaster online tests before I started Learning Colemak.

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    • Registered: 04-May-2007
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    This thread is very interesting.  I have only done a couple of lessons of Colemak, but here's my baseline:

    Dvorak:
    10 years
    53 WPM
    93% accuracy

    QWERTY:
    25 years
    41 WPM
    92% accuracy

    (TypingMaster 3-minute test, back-to-back)

    You won't be surprised that, being better at Dvorak, I'm finding Colemak a bit challenging.

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    QWERTY:
    10-15 years - SemiTouch
    60 WPM
    90% (?) accuracy

    Dvorak:
    2 months
    10 WPM
    No accuracy

    Colemak:
    8 months
    80 WPM
    90-95% accuracy

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    • From: Houston, Texas
    • Registered: 03-Jan-2007
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    New Year, time to update

    Colemak
    -12 months
    -40-45wpm  (bursts of 55-60 wpm of up to 30 sec. but can't maintain it yet for 2 min. typing tests)
    -Excellent accuracy (90%-100%)


    keyboard samurai said:

    At the risk of embarrassing myself after those stats, (I am hardly the poster boy for Colemak)

    QWERTY
    -30 years not touch typing
    -5-30wpm  (upper speeds could not maintain very long, typing tests are making me appreciate just how much time I spent in the lower part of the range)
    -Excellent accuracy (90%-100%)

    Dvorak
    -1 months
    -5-20wpm  (but I hated all the movement of my right hand pivoting for L)
    -Fair accuracy (it fluctuated a lot, but mostly 80%-95%)

    Colemak
    -4 months
    -30-40wpm 
    -Excellent accuracy (90%-100%)

    Last edited by keyboard samurai (04-Jan-2008 18:40:02)
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    QWERTY
    - Roughly a decade
    - 96 wpm at last test.
    - Very accurate, maybe 90%

    Colemak
    - 4 weeks, 3 days, 17 hours and 57 minutes (believe me, I keep a timer)
    - 83 wpm.
    - About the same in accuracy, perhaps a bit higher.

    And some random facts based on a little letter frequency script I made for my own messages on IRC that updates as I enter messages:

    - Hand usage difference, Colemak:     ∆5.7% (Somewhat more towards the right)
    - Same statistics, applied to Dvorak: ∆8.602% (Again, to the right)
    - Again, same statistics, for QWERTY: ∆13.054% (Left)
    
    - Row usage statistics (with Colemak) Top: 19.353% Middle: 71.872% Bottom: 8.775%
    - Row usage statistics (with Dvorak)  Top: 20.422% Middle: 70.059% Bottom: 9.519%
    - Row usage statistics (with QWERTY)  Top: 52.573% Middle: 33.51%  Bottom: 13.917%
    Last edited by Kupari (04-Jan-2008 20:17:09)
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    Qwerty
    15 years touch typing
    Never check the speed

    Colemak
    1 year
    Tested at Ryan Heise site: 57 wpm (I feel it is the same or slightly faster as my Qwerty speed back then).
    Comment: much more comfortable typing with Colemak than QWERTY... :-)) And that makes me able to sustain longer typing session. It is a two dimension productivity increase, plus I think, it's better investment for the future of my arms and fingers... :-))

    Last edited by zuluindia (08-Jan-2008 18:50:55)
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    Wow. I read this thing online that said the acceptable error rate was 1 error per minute. Is that true? I make about 10 errors per minute, which is about 97% accuracy. But if that's true, I have 10 times the acceptable error rate.

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    • From: Viken, Norway
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    Hmmm... I've heard that anything above 95% accuracy is fair as long as your speed is good. Earlier, correcting a mistake would take long and be imperfect so naturally a much higher accuracy would be worth striving for.

    Then again, there's the "beautiful typing" school that strives for as close to 100% as possible just because they feel it's the best way to learn and do. Perfection in all you do, Asian-philosophy-style. I learnt not to rehearse in mistakes when I learnt to play the piano, so I see what they mean. If you get too sloppy, you get trouble.

    My own opinion is that 97% is a nice accuracy. My old QWERTY accuracy was much worse, and my Dvorak accuracy comparable to that. I have a feeling that as I keep training (Colemak now) I can do even better, but not at the moment.

    [update 081125: After switching to essentially the standard Colemak ('comfort') layout, I've gone through the TypingMaster course to get used to the new stuff and learn the old stuff properly, focusing mainly on accuracy. (Unfortunately, there's no material made for Colemak in TypingMaster, but I like the program so that's what I used.) I managed to get 98% accuracy in most lessons, but only with dedication. I noted how the early lessons were very hard but after 8-10 lessons it started getting easier to keep up accuracy. I'm already reaping the benefits: My highscore on hi-games has been stable at 65 WPM for ages which was starting to annoy me, but after the course it has been improving again! First I made 66, then 67 and today 70 WPM. I take back the assumption that 95% accuracy will get you anywhere good: I think that in this day and age you should strive for better. I'm still not using the CapsLock key for Backspace; I'm hoping that I can keep pushing for accuracy and not have to use it much...]

    Last edited by DreymaR (25-Nov-2008 16:35:08)

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
    *** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***

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    Querty
    - About 13 years
    - Speed (1 minute) at TypingTest.com

    Net Speed:      66 WPM
    (words/minute)
    Accuracy:     98%
    Gross Speed:     67 WPM
    (words/minute)

    Expect to start converting to Colemak in 1-2 months, and will update then.

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    qwerty
    - a good few years
    - average speed on a good day: 20wpm, once i got to 38wpm, but not for very long

    colemak
    - 1 week
    - 11wpm

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    QWERTY:
    - 15+ years
    - 72 wpm
    - 94% accuracy
    (I only did one 3 minute test, so both wpm and accuracy are uncertain)

    Colemak:
    - 1 year
    - 70-75 wpm
    - 94-98% accuracy

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    QWERTY:
    - ~11 years
    - 70 wpm gross (I didn't take a net speed test before switching)
    - probably around 90% accuracy

    Colemak:
    - 1.5 years
    - 60-70 wpm net
    - 97-98% accuracy

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    QWERTY:
    * 20 years
    * 85 wpm
    * 90% accuracy
    * Hands/fingers were often sore

    DVORAK:
    * 2 years
    * 100 wpm
    * 95% accuracy
    * Right pinky sore, but comfortable overall

    BULPKM:
    * 4 days
    * 30ish wpm
    * 80% accuracy
    * All a confusing mess at the moment

    COLEMAK:
    * never used, but very interested
    * How does colemak feel compared to bulpkm?

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    Personally, I think Colemak is a better option to learn:

    - Many happy users means the layout has proven effective.
    - This forum for help.
    - Readily available on all platforms.
    - Included by default on most *nixes.
    - It is stable and will not be tinkered with in the future.

    "It is an undoubted truth, that the less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in." - Earl of Chesterfield

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    Qwerty:
    - 15 years
    - 60wpm average, 74wpm maximum
    - 96-100% accuracy range, 98% average

    Colemak:
    - 2 months
    - 54wpm average, 65wpm maximum
    - 94-100% accuracy range, 97% average.

    The transition experience is mostly ok. Since my touch typing skills are still usable, I only have to unlearn Qwerty and learn Colemak (17 keys only+ new Backspace).

    I have bought a mechanical keyboard to improve my speed, it helps to shorten the transition time.

    Game Typing of the Dead & Typershark, software Typing Tutor 7 & Amphetype are good sources of practice and help.

    Reading other's experience in this forum is very inspirational to me too and made the switch experience a lot easier.

    Last edited by Tony_VN (01-Feb-2011 17:49:37)
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    Qwerty:
    - 17 years
    - 68 wpm average, 83 wpm maximum
    - 90% accuracy average

    Colemak:
    - 6 months
    - 73 wpm average, 95 wpm maximum
    - 95-100% accuracy range, 98-99% average.

    I practice each day (except sunday) since my switch to colemak (six months now).
    Some key combinations are still awkward for me (..you, stereo, through ect.)
    Also i have built an selfmade mechanical keyboard that i exclusively use
    for colemak, my old rubber dome keyboard that i have used for qwerty
    i don't longer miss ;-)

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    QWERTY:
    * 8 years
    * 75-82 wpm avg
    * Accuracy: 92-95%

    Dvorak:
    * 7 years
    * 85-92 wpm avg
    * Accuracy: 98%

    Colemak:
    * 1 year, 2 months
    * 88-93 wpm avg
    * Accuracy: 98%

    Last edited by bcfisk (22-May-2011 02:37:06)
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