Chris Pirillo » keyboard

iPad vs Netbook: Does a Physical Keyboard REALLY Matter?

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:25:01 +0000

iPad vs Netbook: Does a Physical Keyboard REALLY Matter?

While his email is original, the question from community member “Tamloo” is an all-too-familiar one for me (unedited):

Hey Chris, I have been a really big fan of yous over the past couple of years. You are one of the main sources I get my technology news from. One thing I really like about you is that yes, you can be an “Apple Fanboy” at sometimes, but for the most part, you do reviews fairly and over a wide range of products and software. Unlike other tech reviews, you don’t just focus on one specific platform or company.

Well, the main reason why I am emailing you is because I recently purchased an Asus Netbook computer last year. It worked great for traveling since I travel very frequently; however I accidentally dropped my computer one week after the warranty expired and the screen completely shattered (huge crack down the middle, and I can’t see a thing on the screen). Sadly, during these rough economic times, I don’t know what kind of small-easy-to-use computer I could invest in at the moment.

Right now, all I have to use when I travel is my new iPhone4 (which I have grew to love over a month). I have not been much of an Apple fan, however I think it is actually coming out of me at the moment just like WilsonTech1 has lately. My main dilemma is what kind of computer should I get? Right now, I am extremely happy with my iPhone, and I am considering getting an iPad. But I don’t know if it is worth getting since I don’t know if the price is really right to me. If I get an iPad, I will most likely be getting the original as seeing the price has been dropped.

Now, the thing I like about a netbook is that it has a physical keyboard, but watching you videos, you state that the virtual keyboard isn’t that bad on the iPad. Is that really true? I like the iPhone’s keyboard and find it easy to use and normally don’t miss a key when typing. But does the iPad’s keyboard have that same easy and fluent functionality and can I type fast enough to have it replace a netbook?

What is your stance on this, should I go the extra $200 and buy an iPad or would a new netbook be worth it? Thanks for your opinion.

I appreciate that you’re asking for my opinion, but I can’t really tell you what to buy. It’s your money, and you need to be the one who makes the decision that works best for you. I’m only here to provide a good amount of perspective; I really have no horse in this race.

What I find most uplifting about the phrasing of your question is how you’re referring to an iPad as a computer – which it absolutely is. Few people have made this distinction, but I can tell you that the iPad can certainly do more than my first “home computer” could. The iPad is a computer.

Now, on to the crux of your quandary.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found super-compact notebook / netbook computers to have super-scrunched, unusable-for-anything-but-infant-hand keyboards – and this flat fact, to me, defeats the purpose of having a keyboard in the first place. If your WPM on an average netbook is half of what it is on a standard keyboard, I’d be shocked.

So, are you in love with the keyboard – or merely the idea of the keyboard?

If the lack of a physical keyboard is what’s keeping you from buying an iPad, rest assured that there are countless iPad cases that accommodate workable keyboards that couple with the iPad (AND iPhone) via Bluetooth. You could also pick up an Apple Wireless Keyboard and use that in a similar fashion.

Moreover, iOS typo correction kicks the shot out of anything I’ve ever seen as a default in Windows (outright, third-party tools notwithstanding). Doesn’t that count for something in relation to keyboarding?

So, if that doesn’t help you decide, you should also be considering battery life. I’ve yet to find a single netbook computer that came close to 10-hour battery life after any amount of usage. You’d be lucky to find one that lasted 5 hours when doing nothing. If you’re never more than three hours from an electrical outlet, this may be less of an issue for you.

I think you may be better off comparing the iPad against other tablet computers (no, not Tablet PCs). There are quite a few Android devices on the market that weigh in at the same price point as a netbook, although you’re more than likely sacrificing quality if you go that direction – not just in terms of construction, but in absolute hardware features (resistive screen, no multi-touch, et al).

You can always save money – but at what cost?

It’s this phrase alone that continues to poke holes in the “too expensive” theory. Ask any owner of a faulty product how much more they would have paid to have something that just worked.

Either way, if you’re looking to save money on your impending purchase, we have a coupon site for you to use – which includes savings on Apple computers.

iPad vs Netbook: Does a Physical Keyboard REALLY Matter?

iRig and AmpliTube Rock You

Chris Pirillo — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:34:06 +0000

iRig and AmpliTube Rock You

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This is a guest post written by Imei Hsu.

My first band was an all-girl band that didn’t need a keyboardist (my first musical instrument of choice), just a second electric guitarist and substitute bass player. Instead of passing me over for the audition, they stuck a guitar in my hands, handed me a lyric sheet with chord progressions, and asked me to give it a go. I did, and I got the part. Good thing I knew a few standard chords on the guitar. Songwriting and practice times used to take forever, mostly because we had to haul in our own equipment (including quarter-inch cables, stomp pedals, mics and mic stands, and speakers that almost weighed as much as I did). We scratched notes on paper, made rudimentary recordings, and we didn’t even have a video camera between us. What’s a girl rocker to do? If I could, I’d climb into a time machine with iRig and AmpliTube for iPad and iPhone, and rock the living daylights out those girls.

IKMultiMedia sells an impressive family of software instruments designed for the modern musician. It takes bulky components and hacked pieces of hardware strung together with miles of chords, and streamlines your set up to not only be less cumbersome, but also less painful to the consumer’s wallet.

Ben of Ben Union spent just fifteen minutes in my art loft in Seattle playing with the iRig and Amplitube on my iPhone4 (also available on iPad), and in moments, he was playing sweet licks and grooves with very minimal set up, and no gigantor speakers and amplifiers to carry. We ran sound through my Bose speaker, and compared it to the Fender Vibrochamp amp (which I rescued from a garbage dump, and once scraped off a dried frog that had taken shelter in the back and ended up getting fried onto the metal parts). Amplitube is the mobile app of the moment for the modern guitarist and composer, allowing users to create, process, record, and amplify music seamlessly, without the burden of carting around heavy, sometimes fragile, and often expensive equipment. Users can plug in a set of headphones or external speakers into the iRig, insert the ⅛-inch plug to the iPhone, and plug a ¼-inch cable from the guitar to a port on other end.

The latest version of the killer app, AmpliTube 3, ramps user’s experience with the following elements:

160 pieces of gear, more than double the amount of other packages
51 individual stompboxes and effects
31 amplifier preamp & power sections
46 speaker cabinet models
15 high end stage and studio mics
17 post amp rack effects
Open architecture, so users can add more packages as you need them, like AmpliTube Fender™ and Ampeg® SVX
Drag and drop features, so you can locate your components where you want it

Additionally, AmpliTube 3 boasts the proprietary VRM™ (Volumetric Response Modeling) technology, allowing users to add ultra-accurate rotating speaker effects, free dual mic placement plus room ambiance and response. Translation: ever wanted to sound like you were in a different-sized room, with a variety of vintage sounds and effects at the touch of your finger on a screen? If you are a guitar, bassist, drummer, or vocalist, you should be waving your hands wildly by now, shouting, “I want!” I know Ben was having a blast with AmpliTube, and he had not even explored all the settings!

While most of the app world is not accustomed to the cost of applications for music creation, any musician would tell you that the price of this app and hardware are well worth it. With nothing to wear out, and upgrades and additions available, this is a system no modern musician can afford to pass up, unless s/he is willing to be passed by.

B. Imei Hsu is a nurse psychotherapist, Bellydance and Bollywood dance artist, musician and vocalist, and coach for artful businesses. She creates content for her own businesses, including Hips For Hire, as well as content for other blogs, including Psycho Nurse on Lockergnome. You can drop in on her art loft in the Old Rainier Brewery in Seattle, WA, where she lives and plays with her iPad loving cat, Charles-Monet, by tuning in at Ustream.tv.

iRig and AmpliTube Rock You

How to Learn to Play Piano

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:25:58 +0000

How to Learn to Play Piano

Learning to play the piano isn’t as hard as you used to think it is, thanks to Synthesia. Synthesia is a game that can help you learn how to play the piano using falling notes. Synthesia comes with over 100 songs which are in the MIDI format. If you want to learn a song that isn’t included, do a simple search for the song title (or artist) with the tag MIDI added to it. You’ll be surprised to find millions – and millions – of hits. You can also get some great suggestions on the website forums.

If you have a piano or keyboard connected to your computer (via USB, MIDI cables or an adapter), Synthesia will read from it and score your playing. Choose what parts of a song you want to practice and let the app play the rest, allowing you to focus on your personal goal. You can enable musical notation for any song in your repertoire or leave it off and just enjoy the falling notes.

During melody practice, Synthesia will wait for you to play the correct note before it moves on. You will see what notes are coming next right on the lighted keyboard, allowing you to find difficult chords and combinations faster.

Challenge your friends and compete against some of the best players out there using Synthesia’s online scoreboard. You can also capture your favorite renditions and upload them to your YouTube channel, as MisterMoes has done above.

How to Learn to Play Piano

How to Carry a Keyboard in Your Pocket

Chris Pirillo — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:48:15 +0000

How to Carry a Keyboard in Your Pocket

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If you’re someone who wants a physical keyboard to use with your device, you might want to look at the Magic-Pro ProMini. It’s a full keyboard with a touchpad that actually rotates and works in either direction. It’s one of the only pieces of hardware that’s able to do that. It connects by way of a 2.4 GHz wireless network and will fit in your pocket!

The ProMini is a 3-in-1 multimedia wireless keyboard, which has a full keyboard (including function keys), a TouchPad and a laser pointer. It has a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It has a range of up to about 90 feet, and boasts backlit LED lights to help you see in poor lighting environments.

This little keyboard is a great addition to any device. I gotta say… it really is cool. You can lounge in bed and use it to control all of your media without having to get up or move around much. Heck, you can even use it to help you tweet while you’re sitting in a meeting and don’t want to LOOK like you’re tweeting on your phone.

If you know of other (similar) cool devices, let me know about them. I love testing out and featuring new things here in our community.

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How to Carry a Keyboard in Your Pocket

iPad Keyboard Dock Review

Chris Pirillo — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:36:01 +0000

iPad Keyboard Dock Review

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I am definitely enjoying my iPad, even though I’ve only had it for a few days now. The main problem I’m having, though, is trying to type on the device. When in Landscape mode, it’s seriously difficult to type with my thumbs (or even all ten digits!). In Portrait mode, it’s a little easier to use my thumbs. However, the virtual keyboard is so large that I can’t go very fast. To solve this problem, I bought myself the iPad Keyboard Dock from Apple.

This keyboard, by the way, is pretty much the same as the wireless keyboard that I use on my Mac Pro. I love that particular keyboard. It allows me to type faster than I ever have before… seriously! It really is excellent.

In the little bit of time I’ve used this keyboard dock for my iPad, I’ve been really happy with it. I can plug my audio speakers into the back of it if I wanted. I’d like to find a form-fitting protector for the back of the iPad so that it’s not so exposed when it’s sitting in the dock.

Using the keyboard is very simple. It has all of the normal keys you would expect. There is a search key and even a brightness key. I really appreciate that, so that I don’t have to migrate through the iPad itself to adjust the screen brightness. You’ll also find a button that will automatically open a photo slideshow. It can’t get any easier than that.

There’s a blank function key at the top. I’m not really sure what that’s for… perhaps to help me get past a bout of writer’s block? You can mute the iPad by touching the volume down control on the built-in iPod controls.

As I already said, I’m really happy with this keyboard dock. It looks good, it works well and it lets me type properly again.

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iPad Keyboard Dock Review

Is This a Real Piano?

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:29:08 +0000

Is This a Real Piano?

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I can’t leave my office for two minutes without having to worry about Wicket or Pixie rolling out my new piano and playing with it! It’s a roll-up piano, and it has some excellent sounds. I can’t blame them, really. It’s a lot of fun, and so easy to use!

This little piano comes with a full-size MIDI keyboard, and has five different octaves. There are 100 different tones, AND 100 different background rhythms! It has 34 pre-loaded demo songs to help you get going. Of course, the included instruction book will help with that, as well.

It runs off of regular AC power, or a few batteries. There’s a carrying case to make it easy for you to take it with you wherever you go. The piano has built-in speakers and volume control. However, it also has a headphone jack so that you can play to your heart’s content without disturbing others.

Never worry again about how or where you’ll practice. At only 8 total pounds, it’s almost as portable as your iPhone.

61 Standard Keys Full Size MIDI Keyboard , 5 Octaves, 100 Tone Reportoire, 100 Background Rhythms, 34 Demo Songs
[awsbullet:rollup piano]

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Is This a Real Piano?

How to Learn How to Type

Chris Pirillo — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:16:12 +0000

How to Learn How to Type

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When I first started typing, my speed was about one word per minute – and it was on a typewriter. Back then, personal computers didn’t exist, and neither did electric typewriters. Later in life, I had to unlearn poor habits that I had learned in the course of teaching myself how to type. These days, I type around 100 wpm, which isn’t too bad. If you don’t type properly, there’s really no reason you shouldn’t learn. In this day and age of computers everywhere, you really need to be able to type properly – and quickly. The worst part will be unlearning your bad habits!

If you want to learn how to type, you don’t need to spend any money. You only need a computer and Internet access, and the knowledge that this website exists! typingweb is a free online typing tutor. Upon completing the Typing Test 5 times you will be given the option to create a printable TypingWeb Certificate of Completion containing your average score for the last 5 tests completed. There is support for all different types of keyboards and languages, as well as tutorials on mastering 10-key typing!

See what I’m telling you? There’s no reason in the World you shouldn’t be taking advantage of this site and the opportunities it can give you. As they say on the website itself: How can the Internet grow if it takes an hour to type an email?. Truer words were never typed!

If typingweb isn’t what you’re looking for, check out the old standby – Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. You can use these Broderbund coupons to purchase Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Platinum for only $19.99:

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How to Learn How to Type

How Much Do You Use Your Mouse and Keyboard?

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:52:15 +0000

How Much Do You Use Your Mouse and Keyboard?

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I bet you’re someone who uses a mouse and keyboard. Do you know how often you click your mouse or enter keystrokes? You could probably guess, but it’s not likely something you’ll do on your own. You may want to measure yourself against your friends, to see who is essentially doing more. In essence – you can take your computer pulse!

WhatPulse helps you discover and track your keyboard
and mouse usage. Track your usage history, compete against friends, or team up with your friends to compete against others. Do you feel that you could have moved your hands, keystroke by keystroke, across the globe twice today? Are you interested in finding out just how much you type a day? Sign up, download the client, and start tracking yourself now!

You run it in the background, where it syncs with your online account. It lets you see how many times you click your mouse, and how many keystrokes you enter. You can break it down by location, country, and many other types of measurements. It even tells you how many times you’ve moved your mouse!

You can set up your own teams if you wish. There’s one team right now, called the Dutch Power Cows, that is at the top of the heap. I’m thinking there needs to be a Geeks team, don’t you? We would so pwn the board, since that’s what we do!

WhatPulse is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux, so you have no excuse not to check your pulse!

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How Much Do You Use Your Mouse and Keyboard?

Dvorak vs Qwerty

Chris Pirillo — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:48:19 +0000

Dvorak vs Qwerty

Kevin L. has been typing up a storm:

Hey Chris, I’ve been a fan of yours ever since you were on Call for Help. I used to love that station, and wish they still had a station that had enthusiastic tech, help, news, and a lot of fun mixed in. Although, these days I rarely watch TV. I do, however, watch a ton of YouTube videos – by you and the Tinkernut guy.

Recently, I was researching the Dvorak keyboard layout. I learned that it was developed for comfort and speed. The standard of our English keyboards (Qwerty) was designed so that typewriters wouldn’t get jammed – almost a century and a half ago. A lot of uber-geeks out there think that Dvorak is a simpler and faster method for typing.

I was wondering if you had ever tried or given any thought to using Dvorak? I would think this would make a great video. It might make an even greater poll. But this can also be used to prank your unsuspecting friends (not that I would do something so sinister). Thank you for entertaining, and informing us geeks.

Despite having friends who swear by Dvorak, I haven’t felt the need to switch it up. If only because it’s not quite standard – and I can’t imagine the frustration of walking up to a Qwerty keyboard and having to shift mental gears. Not to mention, I don’t feel like I’m a slow typer at 100+ WPM (on a good day).

I’d be interested in hearing from the community on this one.

Dvorak vs Qwerty

What do You use for a KVM Switch?

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 00:38:03 +0000

What do You use for a KVM Switch?

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Let’s say that you have a PC, but you don’t have a monitor, keyboard or mouse plugged into it. However, you do have a notebook computer sitting there with Windows on it, as well. You could use that notebook to run the PC with a KVM switch!

Not only are you saving energy by not running another monitor, you’re also saving space by not having another keyboard and mouse. Using a KVM switch is highly recommended for better productivity. You can use one keyboard, one mouse and one monitor for two different machines! I don’t think there’s an easier way to be efficient.

This is ideal for people who own a laptop and an older desktop PC and wish to keep using both for various functions or applications. The KVM features an on-screen toolbar with multiple functions such as file transfer, desktop image scaling and others. The built-in file transfer utility lets the user transfer files, presentations, business information and create backup copies between both computers or from external USB storage devices.

What’s interesting about this particular KVM is that it has an extra USB port built in. That allows you to plug in an external hard drive if you should need to! This is easy to use, and will allow you a ton of new-found freedom when managing your life. Keep and transfer files much faster using the IOGear Laptop KVM. All you need is open USB ports and Windows PCs and you’re ready to roll.

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What do You use for a KVM Switch?

Which Do You Use More: Mouse or Keyboard?

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:10:53 +0000

Which Do You Use More: Mouse or Keyboard?

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Which input device do you rely on more – the keyboard or the mouse? Are you someone who uses them equally? I still use a keyboard more than my mouse. I love keyboard shortcuts. They increase my productivity by quite a lot. There’s a really cool website I found that doesn’t require me to use a mouse ever. Simply type in the search query, and the results fill themselves in automatically. You can use your keyboard arrow keys to navigate through the results, as well. keyboardr allows you to search without ever using your mouse.

keyboardr is a homepage. It speeds up your Internet experience. And if you like, it helps you keep your hands on the keyboard.

In the first place, keyboardr is a meta-search. You get Google, Wikipedia, and Youtube search results all together in one easy place. The instant search and the keyboard navigation are replacing the feeling of “searching” with the feeling of “launching”.

keyboardr will utilize many more Web services. Apart from usual web search services like Google, we are planning to support Friendfeed, De.li.ci.ous, Twitter, Flickr, Google Docs and many more. And in the final stage, we will have an extension system, open for any developer, to integrate any web service into our interface. So keyboardr will be a central station for you to get all your common Internet tasks done much faster.

This is nice and clean, which I love. It’s very simple to use, of course. And the developer is right – it’s much faster. Why not try it out today? You might end up making it your homepage, as well.

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Which Do You Use More: Mouse or Keyboard?

Optimus Maximus Keyboard Software

Chris Pirillo — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 01:51:15 +0000

Optimus Maximus Keyboard Software

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After successfully restarting my computer and pulling up the Optimus configuration tool for OS X, it was able to recognize the keyboard and map everything. I want to show you something that is really interesting on the keyboard.

Can you see this? Look closely at the keys. When I press the Shift key, the letters and numbers shown on the keyboard change to their “Shift” equivalents. Isn’t that kinda nice? Or, let’s say you’re thinking to yourself “I can barely see that font”. You really want me to make it a little bigger for you? I can do that if I want to! You can change the font size on your keyboard, bold the text on the keyboard, and even change the entire font altogether. You can do this either for certain keys, or the entire keyboard. You can even change the color of the backlighting to pretty much any color in the spectrum.

The main features of this amazing keyboard are:

Revolutionary Keyboard Features a tiny OLED screen on each key. 113 screens total.
Each key can be individually programmed to perform a series of functions, open an application or run an Applescript (Mac only)
Various System Monitor functions can dynamically display on a key including CPU usage, CPU temperature, Network Speed, and Memory Usage
Play a GIF animation or Quicktime movie on a Key
Paint images across all keys at once in your image editor of choice
Key sets can be linked to an application, so whenever you open that app the appropriate keys come up
Powerful layer function allows you to combine existing key sets in different ways
Use any language with the appropriate key images including Cyrillic, Ancient Greek, Georgian, Arabic, Quenya, and Hiragana.
Display notes, numerals, special symbols, HTML codes, math functions or any other special symbol.
Any key (or to be exact, a unit consisting of a cap, a microchip and a display) can be easily removed by hands to be cleaned or replaced
Built in USB hub
SD Card Slot for Storing keyboard Settings

I’m really looking forward to importing styles that other people have set on their Optimus Maximus keyboards and trying them out. Be sure to send me links to what you’ve done. I can’t wait to really dive in to the software, and set things up based on my wants and needs.

If you get a chance, you truly need to get your hands on one of these. It’s definitely worth the cost in my opinion. It’s just… an out-of-body experience. That’s the best way to put it. THANK YOU ThinkGeek. I will name my first-born child after you for sending me this keyboard.

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Optimus Maximus Keyboard Software

Optimus Maximus OLED Keyboard Unboxing

Chris Pirillo — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 01:10:43 +0000

Optimus Maximus OLED Keyboard Unboxing

There were people waiting up to seven hours in my live chat room today. I FINALLY have gotten an Optimus Maximus keyboard, courtesy of ThinkGeek. I am completely stoked, since I’ve wanted this thing for like… EVER. I managed to let it sit on my desk all day, and build anticipation. People in chat ended up being as impatient and excited as I was for the unboxing.

Time to take a second mortgage on your home or break into your kid’s college fund. With the singing of angels and a ray of sunlight parting the clouds, the fabled Optimus Maximus Keyboard has descended from Russian design studio Art Lebedev like an orgasm of geekiness. As you should know by now this amazing keyboard features a tiny screen on each key… that’s 113 screens in all. What can you do with these tiny screens, you ask? Well, each key can change its image dynamically depending on what you’re doing. Hold down SHIFT and all keys go uppercase. Run Photoshop and you can set it so each hotkey has an image representing its function. Set a key to monitor your CPU usage or display what iTunes track you are currently playing. You can make a key into a tiny clock with moving hands and play animated gif files or even quicktime movies. Of course all this futuristic technology is going to cost you a pretty penny… but we figure you’ll just expense the Optimus and tout its “incredible increased efficiency when using PowerPoint hotkeys” in your expense report summary.

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This thing is just… frickin’ AWESOME. From day one, I wanted this keyboard. Now that I have it, I’m in geek heaven. Every key is a separate screen. Look how shiny it is!!!! The keys don’t feel awesome, but that’s not the point. It’ll fit really well front and center on my desk.

After much hard work, I finally got the power run behind my desk, and was able to turn the keyboard on. Look at the secksay purple lights backlighting every key. The coolest thing is when it was plugged in. Before being plugged in, the keys on the keyboard had the Windows key, CTRL key, etc. on it. You know, native Windows keys. However, when I plugged it in, it immediately recognized that I was using a Mac. Those Windows keys changed over to Mac keys! How frickin’ cool is that? The OLEDs aren’t actually on the keys, they’re under it.

Don’t worry, you’ll get to see much more of my amazing new keyboard in upcoming videos. All I have left to say is… I HAVE AN OPTIMUS MAXIMUS!

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Optimus Maximus OLED Keyboard Unboxing

Are you a Touch Typist?

Chris Pirillo — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:33:19 +0000

Are you a Touch Typist?

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Xenaol writes: “As many computer gamers and programmers will be aware, the art of typing without looking is a very useful and envied skill to possess. As a result of this, I decided to write this top 5 list of tips to help any learners on their way, so here goes.”

The Keyboard A popular tactic used in typing classes is the blank keyboard with a reference poster for support on the wall. This encourages you to familiarize yourself with the keyboard layout without looking down at it. If you have a spare keyboard, it might be worth coloring out the characters on the keys. Under no circumstances s it recommended you do this on your primary keyboard, just in case you lose your reference sheet (or someone else needs the keyboard/computer!)
Fading Out Deleting all identifying marking on your keyboard is not for everyone. If you are willing to put some extra time into the venture, then you might be more suited to the method of simply typing as you normally would. However, slowly force yourself to look at the keyboard less and less. This method is the one that I used to start learnin before switching over to the blank keyboard. This is evidence that the process is quite flexible.
Keyboard Position You could spend many hours, days and even weeks more than you need to learning this skill if you change the angle that you are at in comparison to the keyboard. This is because your hands and fingers remember each process in terms of the distance they move. A change of angle will normally change the distances, and you will find yourself lost. In addition, changing the type of keyboard should be avoided during the learning process because once again… it changes the key locations relative to your fingers.
Practice & Rest Another obvious but often overlooked thing you can try is to talk to your friends on instant messaging programs. This will create a much more random need for key location, and can speed up the searching process dramatically. After all, if you spent a week solid writing “the red rabbit jumped gracefully over the fence”, you will have to break that routine to type “hey there!” to a friend online. Using any method of learning touch-typing, make sure you take breaks and even change up the methods you use. This will help to refocus your fingers, and increase their accuracy.
Finger-Key Ownership Each of your fingers remembers a key as being in a certain location, and will often have a difference of opinion as to where it really is. To curb this annoying habit, you should allocate a finger to each key of the keyboard. This will decrease the amount of thinking that you will have to do, increase your spelling accuracy over time, and can even encourage you to utilize more of your fingers over time.

As I have tried to emphasize, learning to touch-type can take a lot of time. Some people will master this skill much faster than others, so don’t become discouraged. In addition, remember that even expert typists make mistakes at times, and have to sneak a look at the keyboard!

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Are you a Touch Typist?

What’s Your Favorite Keyboard?

Chris Pirillo — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:45:20 +0000

What’s Your Favorite Keyboard?

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For a long time, I was using the Microsoft Internet Pro keyboard. The reason I loved it so much is that it had two USB ports in the back. Microsoft stopped producing it, so I’ve been looking for a replacement for it.

My friend Moonglaive recommended this new keyboard. The Enermax Aurora Aluminum Keyboard looks pretty cool, eh? I thougt the keys themselves were aluminum. It turns out they’re plastic with some kind of silverish spray over them. The right Shift, and half the letters have paint worn off of them. The shell of the keyboard is metal, yes. It works very well, and has a couple of USB ports in the back. It also has audio pass-through, which is nice. It was a good keyboard all in all.

The next keyboard I tried out was the Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000. It works really well, and has a touchpad built in. This is the set I was using with my Windows machine, and it works really well for me.

Now, of course, I’m using a Mac as my primary system. So what keyboard am I using? The thin Wireless keyboard from Apple is great. It’s super thin, and I haven’t even had to change batteries! It’s bluetooth enabled, which is really nice. The Apple Wireless Keyboard has been completely redesigned, inside and out. It features an elegant, ultra-thin anodized aluminum enclosure with low-profile keys that provide crisp, responsive feel. It also has function keys for one-touch access to a variety of Mac features such as screen brightness, volume, eject, play/pause, fast-forward and rewind, Expose, and Dashboard. Its compact design fits on your lap or on even the most crowded desk. And its Bluetooth wireless technology lets you use it just about anywhere within 30 feet of your Mac.

The keyboard automatically powers down when you’re not using it and turns on instantly as soon as you start typing. This intelligent power management means you’ll get up to nine months of battery life based on average usage patterns. It also has an on/off switch for when you’re away from your computer for a long time.

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What’s Your Favorite Keyboard?