Best of luck!

Most people hate the RS confusion with most vehemence but you haven't reached that yet. I've heard complaints about IO too, but it's so long since I switched that I don't remember other problems (also, I switched from Dvorak which is a bit different). Back then, I hadn't invented Tarmak so I couldn't try that... ;)

Ezuk, the first guy who tried Tarmak, did a "2.5" step Tarmak; he waited much longer before progressing to each new step. It's individual, but if you feel that a step is hard then maybe you could try waiting a little longer before taking it? However, you feel that your mastered keys are very natural so I guess you're okay to go.

Another reason the later steps may be tougher is that the first steps move the most common keys. You immediately feel the great benefit of that, and get plenty of practice since the moved keys are so common.

This makes a lot of sense.  The accumulative effect does add up.

Knowing when to go to the next level has been one of the most challenging things.  I'm currently on day 2 of Tarmak Phase 3 and the semicolon in the home row is one key I am worried about getting too comfortable with since I use it so often.  It makes me want to switch it more quickly, but that just leads to frustration.

i went through the phases too quickly in hindsight and got really bogged down toward the end, i think i was aiming for 30wpm before shifting phase - prob what i should have done was focussed on accuracy instead and shifted phase when i could type > 98% and ignored wpm entirely. I think that would have been a better approach

the semi colon movement is not too bad - as a programmer, I too quite enjoyed having it on the home row for a time but i can hit it fine in its final colemak position too

s and r is an horrendous switch but when it finally clicks you start to appreciate the inward roll it gives you for words with ars/rs/rst in, i.e. cars, bars, ears, parse, (arse), first, worst, burst and so on and so forth

one stupid thing i did was to colour all my keys in with a permanent marker pen. For this purpose it didn't prove to be too permanent - but it was a bit of fun see my keys reappear from the blackness, and the way they reappeared was a confirmation of the quality of the layout, i.e. the home row appeared 1st quite quickly with the other two rows following much more slowly - i use dreymars wide mods and the square brackets, back slash and hash are still partially blackened... i should have time-lapse photographed it!

Everybody ask about the S! Before making Colemak, Shai had a few attempts that did keep the S in place. Due to various considerations (mainly bigrams I think) it had to move over in the end. A simple frequency analysis alone gives no strong reasons to move it I think.

An interesting quote I managed to dig up for the history buffs: ;)

I have heard another predecessor with the S in place too, but I can't remember its name.

I have been typing exclusively on Colemak for YEARS, and I am also a programmer.  I think you'll find that after you make the switch, the semi-colon is actually in a much better place.  The o and s took the longest for my brain to "click" with, but trust me, it is worth it.  I can type 100+ wpm on colemak now and have zero wrist pain.  The reason I switched in the first place was pain so bad it was starting to affect my everyday life.  I also switched to an ergo keyboard at the same time, not sure how much each contributed, but 110% better these days.

One thing that I DO find annoying as a coder, is that the layout isn't persistent in remote connections, so if you end up using RDP a lot like me, that is SUPER annoying!!!  Mapping your registry works in windows, but I haven't found a way on my macbook pro to make my layout persistant :(.

Now if they would just let me use Colemak on my stinking iPhone!!!

So far I haven't had any problems with remote systems.  I use SSH for remote servers and Linux virtual machines for local development on OSX and the layout has been following me around just fine.

I'm also interested in mechanical ergonomic keyboards, but I don't think my brain can handle any more change at the moment.

I also have a Filco and I think mech keyboard is very good.

With a mechanical keyboard, you type lighter and you only have to go half travel to register a key. Since all Colemak user are touch typists, you can learn to type with the right force and feel as if your fingers are dancing on the keyboard instead of punching the keys.

@jlaustill: Yes you can use Colemak on your Iphone and Ipad. I've done it. Google search for Colemak layout on iOS.

I suggest not using Colemak but MessagEase on mobile devices. Much better IMNSHO.

I just finished my third 8+ hour day on Tarmak 4 and I think the worst of that transition is over.  The L key is still getting me, but it is getting better.  Just did a typing test and I'm at 33 wpm with 98% accuracy.  When I hit 40-50 then I'll make the full switch.  Ready to get the transition over with.

wise words tony - accuracy is the key...