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Who can type with all ten fingers?

 
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Once I was taking a three month course in a private IT scholl and I have noticed that nobody typed with ten fingers. One teacher even told me that he can type fast if he allready knows the combination of keys.
 
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I use nine fingers. The only finger I don't use is my right pinky finger. My left pinky I only use for Shift and Ctrl.

I do Caps Tab Q A and Z with my left ring finger; with my right I do Backspace Enter \ ] and ". For the space bar I use both my thumbs.
 
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I think I use 8 fingers; the ones I'm not using for typing are both my little fingers (pink fingers, whatever these are called in English). So, even though I'm not using the official typing system that you'd learn in a typing class, I type pretty fast and I don't need to look at the keyboard.
 
Petar Thomas
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Aha.. You do Q,A,Z line with a ring finger. I do that with pinky finger. I only have problem with right pinky becaouse I feel like I have the big right side of the keyboard for it, like :;'"{[}]+=-_0).>?/|\ ( , and I was playing sax tenor so sometimes I type strange things.... becaouse I used to have spoke few languages, so in every language there are variations how people are naturali saying something, and dialects, and I allways feel like everything is fine, so sometimes I just type strange things if I loose concentration, it makes me happier when words remind me on people, sometimes words far away from formal.... I don't know if I am making a sense...)

[edit]
It's not hard to learn formal typing system. Half hour, fifteen minutes every day, and one day You know it. I took typing lessons from internet. I had problems with concentration becaouse it confused me when I changed movement of the fingers and had thinked about typing, but I think that might be a good thing, breaking concentration can be refreshing maybe. I don't know

[edit]
Imagine, good voice recognition software integrated with super modern not yet made IDE... and glasses with see-through screens... like, walking in forest, speaking... or whispering in the crowd... with three d glows... like: "O, I left that folder by that tree.." , havin' scanners and space recognition, like... in eye glasses I can see that virtually , in softwre, I have left something in the corner of the room... or anywhere outside... sometimes like a reminder... like, "here is a mouse hole", or something else... or even.. wow... moving things, rays, everything... meeting friends in some famouse square... Or.. being on that floating planet...
 
Stephan van Hulst
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Jesper de Jong wrote:I think I use 8 fingers; the ones I'm not using for typing are both my little fingers (pink fingers, whatever these are called in English). So, even though I'm not using the official typing system that you'd learn in a typing class, I type pretty fast and I don't need to look at the keyboard.


Yeah, I never had typing classes myself. I bought myself an unmarked keyboard a few years ago, and this was the typing style I developed while using it frequently.

I really *hate* typing on those 105-key layout keyboards (the ones with the big clunky Tetris shaped enter key). I keep messing up because the \ isn't where it's 'supposed' to be, and the left shift is way too short!
 
Jesper de Jong
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Petar Thomas wrote:Imagine, good voice recognition software integrated with super modern not yet made IDE...


Somehow I think that writing code by talking to your computer isn't going to be the way we're programming in 10 or 15 years.

Can you imagine yourself talking to your computer like this: "package com dot coderanch dot example, semicolon, newline, newline, public class example with a capital E, open curly brace, newline, public static void main, open parenthesis, string with a capital S, open square bracket, close square bracket, args, close parenthesis, open curly brace, newline, system with a capital S dot out dot print el en open parenthesis, double quote, hello with a capital H, space, world with a capital W, double quote, close parenthesis, semicolon, newline, close curly brace, close curly brace".

That would be much more cumbersome than typing it in, and if you have colleagues around you all talking to their computers at the same time then the office would be a chaotic and noisy place...

Maybe it would be nice if you could put a cap on your head so that the computer can read your thoughts, so that you only have to think about what you want to enter. You'd have to be careful about what you're thinking then though, especially when your boss comes by!
 
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"Computer. Earl gray. Hot."
 
Stephan van Hulst
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Actually, I could imagine certain spoken macros

"Set of something my stuff becomes new!" BOOM: Set<Something> myStuff = new Set<>();

I think it would be possible, and maybe even useful when thinking out loud in your study by yourself. Okay, not very useful, but fun! :P

[edit]

Errr..... you can't make a direct instance of Set of course....
 
Petar Thomas
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: ) I don't imagine it like that... It would be like in a call center, ..funny.. Every once in a while someone would say :"Please everybody , shut up, I'm thinking"... I am suspitious on the variant with the hat. There would be countless legal issues with that.. When the hat would be possible, many things will be possible than, and all together it's a very different picture. Imagine the hat reversed. For example, prisoners could have reversed hat. (And nano ... )

But what I was imagining... Many times I am thinking about "programming about programming"... and how many apis could be done together with some "programming about programming" packages.. Something like "old developers dream", to have a program which would program for me... I am not really sure till which extend this is possible or practical even, but anyway, till some extend it is possible for sure, why not, even if it is not practical really. So, I am imagining it more in that light, like doing regular typing, and speaking in the same time...

But this is so funny...

Can you imagine yourself talking to your computer like this: "package com dot coderanch dot example, semicolon, newline, newline, public class example with a capital E, open curly brace, newline, public static void main, open parenthesis, string with a capital S, open square bracket, close square bracket, args, close parenthesis, open curly brace, newline, system with a capital S dot out dot print el en open parenthesis, double quote, hello with a capital H, space, world with a capital W, double quote, close parenthesis, semicolon, newline, close curly brace, close curly brace".


It sounds ultimatively annoying.

"Computer: Freeze. LPD."
 
Petar Thomas
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Hello with capital D.C. Or like with those macros: "Make me a screen", like with frames and capuccino... Or: "The usual", yeah...
 
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My father brought home a dumb-terminal and an acoustic coupler modem when I was in 4th grade. We could log on and play "Zork" or "Adventure" on their mainframe, when it wasn't too busy. The only requirement was we HAD to use the correct fingers on they keyboard. That was how I learned to type.

I would say I use all eight fingers, and only one thumb. I don't think use my left thumb to ever hit the space bar - only my right. Otherwise, I do use the
correct fingers for each key.
 
Petar Thomas
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I didn't had a computer and in a public library to get to the higher group where was amiga in front of some man I had to pass few levels of asteroid shooting on amstard where under cannons where changing letters, I just did it very fast with two fingers, and I didn't like the whole thing, except becaouse of programming.

On sax tenor there is lot of things to do with little fingers, left hand is up, right is down, and on left pinky I had G#, and some things, I can't remember, and on right pinky down, by the side of the tenor, not in line up with the rest of the buttons, are also some, something D, and deep notes. I called it "armagedon machine" or just "instrument" more often.
 
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I took a typing class one year in high school, so I can still touch-type (that means I don't look at the keys while I'm typing). But as Fred points out, you only need to use one of your thumbs when you type, so I only use nine fingers.

When you learn to type on a mechanical keyboard (many of you have never seen one of those, but when you press a key on the keyboard that pushes a stick up which hits a ribbon of carbon paper which makes a letter-shaped mark on the paper) you are taught to use the right Shift key for upper-case letters you type with your left hand, and the left Shift key for those which you type with your right hand. I have found that I don't do that any more on my computer keyboard, quite often I press the Shift key with the same hand as the letter.

As for musical instruments: for the clarinet, the right thumb is used solely to hold the instrument up. But if you want to see something really bizarre, check out the bassoon fingering scheme. If I read that right, there are nine different keys which can be pressed by the left thumb.
 
Petar Thomas
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Oh, I know basson, I played it few times. Really, it is like that how You say. Silver flute has some combinations that I can't remember now. With sax tenor right thumb is also for holding, sometimes I had strong pain. So, ten fingers typing is in fact nine fingers typing? I think that I type spaces with both thumbs. I am spending too much time , whole day on this forum, allmost. Little bit programming, few lines, then here. I must now make topics preloading option for my forum reader application, and I must concentrate becaouse of the threads. First, coffie.
 
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Eagle named Spiegel
 
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I've used 12 fingers before. ;)

Mark
 
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Just to be annoying...

I would say that anyone WITH 10 fingers CAN type with them. But not all DO.
 
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I never thought about it. But by actually watching how I type out things -- I used the preamble of the US Constitution as my test example -- I use 6 fingers (all but my pinkies) and either thumb to hit the space bar.

I am not a touch typist. Back when I was growing up, typing was for girls -- and while the girls were sent to typing class, we boys were busy trying to cut off our fingers with band saws and other shop tools.

So I never learned to type correctly, and I spend a lot of my typing time looking at the keyboard rather than the screen. That explains why a lot of my posts show post-posting edits -- even with Preview, a few typos tend to make their way in, and I never like to leave typos in my posts if I know that they're there.
 
Petar Thomas
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No, no, no... I was just suprised. Typing with ten fingers realy ment something to me. Now, I actually am noticing that I am not realy typing with all ten, I am not really using left thumb. When I was younger, I was watching programmers typing really fast, since than I had that idea that I have to know typing with all ten to be a good programmer. I have learned it recently and I am very happy becaouse of it. And a little bit proud on it. Now I can type and watch the screen and never to look down, I can type and think in the same time while watching the screen. It means so much to me.
I understand this with sawing off the fingers. I remember when once I was eating green sour plums with a best friend when I was very little. I was confused, so I asked him:"Are those plums good to you?", and he said: "Yes, great.", and in the same time he had the most sour face possible. Ah, it doesn't make too much sense. I liked one game with him, we would go into the underground garage, pass the guard, under the big bank and lottery building, and we would enter into the atomic shelter at the end of the garage, and continue in the dark. Once he got beaten when we were stealing strawberies, and I didn't got beaten.
But this with not looking at the keyboard, ah, I feel like a pro becaouse I don't do that anymore. : ) Now I can type a program and in the same time lean out to watch a television.
 
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I expect that I use mostly eight fingers and one thumb. But I don't remember which thumb, I think my right one. So the left thumb is retired.

I used to care about keyboard layouts, and I too hated those with giant L shaped enter/return keys. But I've found that no matter what I do, each new computer has a new stinking layout. And for the past decade or so, most of my programming (which is most of my computer usage) is done on laptops. Each laptop has a new layout, and I hate them all.
 
Petar Thomas
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I love this attitude. : )
 
Jesper de Jong
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Mark Spritzler wrote:I've used 12 fingers before. ;)


You're counting your fingers in octal?
 
Petar Thomas
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Or typing really good.
 
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I use all ten fingers. Eight are used for tough typing letters/characters. I mainly use my right thumb for the space, but it depends on where the key I pressed before is. When typing "1 + 2", I use the other thumb though.
 
Paul Clapham
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Pat Farrell wrote: Each laptop has a new layout, and I hate them all.



My new desktop has a new keyboard layout and I hate it. It's been eight months and I'm finally getting to the point where I don't have to look down and scan for the control keys like "Delete" and "Page Down".
 
Petar Thomas
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I have problems with " ( + ) " , and I allways search too much for - + and =... I'm tottally clear with []{} ... Having very rarely problems with ' " , and even less than that with : ; .. but sometimes I have problems with |\?/

On my keyboard, I have two times the key "\|" + "\|" , the same key... One is that next to enter, and other is next to left shift.

On lambda mailing list they are just discussing how to write something, something with the arrows I think. There was just an idea to use unicode lamda sign...

Some ten years ago I was allways typing on some standard keyboard.... Now I use notebook and when I see some standard keyboard it looks strange.

But also I don't use mouse at all never. I use touch pad and I love it, I have some option that when I turn it on I don't have to drag cursor over the screen like with repeating finger movements, but I can cover the whole screen with the (how to say..) acre of the touch pad surface... surface, that's how to say. Sometimes when I come with the mouse to some point I'm little bit circeling around that point till I aim it right.

I am using Croatian keyboard layout with letters from my country ... most of the time switched to us... But when I was nine years old, I've started with american keyboard layout, I think so... So when I "close my eyes" keyboard is for me that one... But sometimes I forget to which keyboard layout I am switched in my mind, so I have to decide "where I am"... what keyboard layout physically I am using, and which one I am imagining that I am using...


us
1234567890-=
!@#$%^&*()_+

croatian
1234567890'+
!"#$%&/()=?*



when I switch to croatian then instead of this: [{]};:'"\|
I have signs similar like: sSdDcCcCzZ , only with some lines above or such... and those real keys are then moved somewhere else...


so , the key which is next to enter "\|" and next to the left shift (which is small here at me) "\|"
becomes zZ with the smal "v" above of the letter Z, next to the enter
and "<>" next to the left shift

and where was ,< and .>
it becomes ;, and :.

and, where was ?/
it becomes -_
(thats the same key which was up above)

and, when I have croatian layout...
where was -_
(int the toppest line of keys next to =)
becomes ?'

It is so deeply confusing to me, becaouse when I was little, I still didn't got over it over the german-us difference in keyboard layout, the qwerty qwertz thing, and when I switch to croatian layout i also get the qwertz line.

What else? I think nothing... At least F keys and PGUPandDOWN are where they're supposed to be, and TAB and CAPS as well, luckily... And BACKSPACE is still there...

Ah and this shift control things and some strange buttons for window or alt gr is a little bit confusing to me, becaouse of amiga keys, and those special (widow) window keys I never touch... When I touch it something pops out... and it keeps suprising me.

And yeas, the monkey @, from 2+shift (which is on Hungarian language called "the bug", I think so... what is funny, becaouse Hungarian and Croatian language are drastically different, but there are the same words in the language becaouse the two countries were next to each other for longer than thousand years, so on Hungarian language the @ key is called "kukac" which is the same word on Croatian "kukac" for the same thing "bug")... the "mon key"... moves to V key... in combination AltGr + V
And then instead of @ over 2 i get double qutoes ", which I can see allways drawn on the physical keys, just that I never belive it it's there...

What is Gr in AltGr? Greater? becaouse of that I allways thing that AltGr is two keys...

And... when I press AltGr I think that it used to be that in some applications, before, or even now, except gettin mon-key, I get the MenuBar oppened as well, so I have to click through this somehow back to where I was...

For example, If I am not too boring..... the logical or key |
on croatian layout I get over W key with AltGr, not shift, but look this...

When, on croatian layout I want to type the \ key
It is over Q with AltGr, not shift...
And... when I do that in this JavaRanch window for posting replies, in a text area, while typing this, then by pressing AltGr + Q to get the \ sign the next thing happens:

I get typed in the whole sequence , "["quote"]" space space space space "["/quote"]"\
but I get the \ sign at the end of it, plus the:
"This website is using scripted window to ask you for information. If you trusti this...."


I can't afford to hate it while it cofuses me so much...

Usually, I switch on to music, like this time... I turned on the:
Pixies- Monkey Gone To Heaven
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R_-3w_Iwk0

 
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A long time ago, during my high school years, we had to take typing classes. The "beats per minute" and "error rate" was different for the girls and for the boys. Our class, since we all are born in the early 70-ties, did not like that, so all boys set up a goal to make the highest "girl-rate". So I do type with all ten, even left thumb.

In one office, I had a colleague that enjoyed sending stupid mails if you forgot to lock the computer. So I went ahead and switched my keyboard to DVORAK (or actually Svorak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svorak). That is quite a good way to secure your computer... specially if you are using a normal keyboard as base.
 
Petar Thomas
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Look where the Y is. Ha-ha-ha-ha
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