Wow, that's pretty fast indeed. That's good to hear.

When I looked at the recommendations for posting experiences, I haven't touched up on any, so I'll do that now.

The first layout I started using was QWERTY, and I used that for about 7 years, and my max speed was about 80WPM.

After reading about Dvorak, earlier this year, and how much more efficient it is than QWERTY, I decided to make the switch. It was definitely for the better. After using Dvorak for about a month, though, I realized my pinky would often get tired, and I would have to stop typing for a bit. Also, I missed my Ctrl-Z/X/C/V shortcuts, but I put up with Dvorak because it was better than QWERTY.

As recently as Wednesday, November 15, 2006 a friend of mine pointed my attention to Colemak. After reading about it and using the compare feature with the JAVA applet, that was enough to get me switch, but I didn't officially make the switch until the 16th.

Since then, I've been using TypeFaster to help me out, and I practice for about 2 hours a day. I think I might increase that to about 3 and a half.

And I, of course, typed this very, very slowly using Colemak.

It's better to ask technical questions in the Technical forum. If you rerun install.exe (ignore the error message), it will open for you the Regional control panel (or you could open it yourself), and there you have a option to set it as the default layout.

Since I don't want to be one of those people who stop posting their progress, I will continue to post my progress with the layout. Plus, I have more time now since the JLPT is over.

Anyway, I'm currently using The Typing of the Dead to help my typing, which is a spin off to the Dreamcast game House of the Dead. I no longer use TypingMaster, as I can pretty much type well now. I also use Typer Shark from time to time.

It's been two weeks and four days since I switched to Colemak from Dvorak. I can type at a good 50wpm now, and I can often peak at 60wpm, so things are going quite well so far.

Today makes the fourth week since I switched to Colemak!

It was very hard to stick to Colemak in the beginning. I must admit that I wanted to change back to Dvorak many times while I was learning Colemak, but it wasn't because I felt Colemak was inefficient, 'cause it isn't/wasn't, but I just don't like typing slow. After about a week, I already reached the point of no return since I was forgetting where the Dvorak keys were because I switched cold turkey. Trying to remember where everything was becoming a hassle.

After 4 weeks, I'm able to peak at and sustain 60wpm very often. I estimate that I will be able to get my Dvorak speed back in about another month or so, and I hope to exceed my typing speed of Dvorak in about 2 months.

Hello Hammer (and other readers)! I'm making the same switch right now. Wish me luck, like I wish you luck!

Never got beyond 60 WPM myself, whether on QWERTY or on Dvorak. Will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Sounds like I need to give my tTOtD copy a right thorough spin now! Welcome, dogs of the AMS. Good thing it's the holiday...

Good Jól!

[First report, 1 day or so in: I did 13 WPM at typingtest.com, with 100% accuracy (much love to the left-hand Backspace key!). Better than expected, actually. The Colemak is already starting to loosen up and feel smoother, despite the fact that the Dvorak -> Colemak transition is necessarily far rougher in itself than going straight from QWERTY. As an example, I keep expecting I O U to be on my left hand - silly me. On the other hand(...), maybe having switched once before - to Dvorak - means that we're better trained in "the art of switching"? And at least the P is a familiar (type)face!  :)  There's also much QWERTY shinethrough in my motor memory to be capitalized on of course. Cerebellum ticking overdrive right now.]

Thanks Shai and Golden_Hammer for the layout and the excellent journal of your Dvorak to Colemak experience.
I switched to Dvorak a decade ago and never regretted it.  I don't think I type much faster now, but it is MUCH more comfortable.
The pinky issue is a big deal for me. Because of "mouse finger" problems on my right hand, I now mostly use the left hand for the mouse. But, that just makes the left pinky problem worse. My pinkies are lobbying for a switch to Colemak.
One minor advantage I like about Dvorak is the layout is available when I have to use another computer (quite often). I hope Colemak becomes a built-in option.
So today, I'll heartily recommend any Qwerty user to switch. And I'll keep Colemak in mind but probably not switch from Dvorak unless my pinkies start yelling louder.

Thanks for your excellent contributions to a better world!

I'd like one of those boards. Too bad they don't come in an unmarked version. Another gripe that's perhaps more major, is how they've retained the stupid staggered rows that make left-hand stretches so awkward. Basically, my ideal would be a cross between the TypeMatrix and the MS Natural (which does have a pleasant overall design - so many ergonomic boards are just plain ugly).

My progress so far: I've not had time to give the Colemak neither thought nor training time lately. And at work I'm pestered with QWERTY boards a lot these days, so I'm not able to focus perfectly either. That's why I was a bit surprised to find that it nevertheless keeps seeping into my motor memory as it were. Recenty I've been typing about 33 WPM sustained, but I just made a 41 WPM sustained test at the TypingMaster web test. It just finds its way to my fingers without me doing much for it. Nice!

[Update Feb 19: 47 WPM sustained at TypingMaster, with 98% accuracy. Web chat is useful practice - I don't train these days so work and leisure typing provide all my practice.]

You still have a long way to go Dreymar :D *just kidding*

I too, have been busy these days with tons of boring homeworks. But what's surprising is that when i fired lesson 12 yesterday, my weakness with letter G was completely gone.

My speed is  currently 40 wpm with all letters. My qwerty speed? The same. Did not increase, did not decrease.

I thought about the idea of posting my typing stats yesterday. As I've said many times, I've been using TypingMaster 2002 to view the progress of the typing speed. This is pretty much how fast I can type.

I have without a doubt surpassed my QWERTY and Dvorak speeds in only five months. I used Dvorak for 10 months and I wasn't able to consistently type with such high speeds. What does that tell you?