Ah, that wasn't such a long "couple of days", now was it? :p
Let's see ... I've long since forgotten I'm not using QWERTY. It still surprises me when I go to use someone else's PC.
The worst hassle I had was in Linux. It was very tricky for me to get it working in Ubuntu and in SUSE, each required different tricks to get going, and were flakey, sometimes forgetting the layout, forcing me to go back to the website (in QWERTY) and do it again.
Other than that, it's perfect. I love it. I hadn't even realised I'd started using it in Feb. because by my birthday, March 6, I had completely forgotten about it.
Maybe that's why your forums don't seem to have that much traffic - people forget they're using another layout. ;)
Marvellous job, Shai, and thanks again. Now we just need this in Linux distros, Windows Vista and OS X Tiger. I like the logo change, it looks great on the Wikipedia page for Colemak.
As for why I originally posted, I've found Ruby to be a pleasure to code in, with Colemak. Sure, I may have to use my little pinky a bit more often compared to english, but with less punctuation than average coding (thankfully, semi-colons aren't required, and most curly braces are replaced by do..end) it doesn't seem to change much. If anything, it feels faster to code in than before, but that's probably because I've had more practice in Ruby since then.
Anyway, I blame my rapid progress on my cold turkey in both Linux and Windows, and on using both TypeFaster and KTouch (which I love!), I went through each level in order, until I managed about 140 keystrokes a minute with 95% acc. Just now, I ran through TypeFaster Level 12 to compare, and on my first try (after being awake for 19 hours so far and dead tired) I managed 205 keystrokes a minute with 95% acc. and 38 words per minute. I'm sure I type faster when I'm not in the silly Typing program, but it doesn't really matter as I still need to take time to think up what I'm going to say before I type it. Suffice to say that when I'm on to an idea, my typing speed doesn't hold me back, especially in instant messenger or IRC.
But best of all, my fingers don't hurt. In fact, I forget what it used to feel like. Although occasionally my knuckles feel sore, because I probably hit the keys too hard, and my wrists and arms sometimes feel a bit numb from resting them on the table edge. I really need to switch to an exercise ball, a new keyboard, and maybe even get a tablet PC, so I can handwrite on my bed instead of typing at my desk.
Switching away from QWERTY was just the first step, but I'm glad I finally managed it. :)
Louis St-Amour from Toronto, Canada. :)
