Ask Slashdot: Typing Advice For a Guinness World Record Attempt? 307
An anonymous reader writes "In fifth grade, I amazed my fellow classmates when I demonstrated what 132 words per minute looked like. Recently, an acquaintance of mine saw me typing out a word document for graduate school and was impressed by my typing abilities. He suggested that I seriously contemplate attempting a Guinness World Record with such abilities. At the moment, I can manage an average of about 155-160 words per minute, with bursts around 180-185 words per minute (in the typing world, five characters defines a word, in case you were wondering). That aside, I have a few questions to pose to Slashdot readers (whom I am sure have been typing much longer than I have): What are some tips to fully maximize one's ability to type at the fastest possible rate? Do you have any specific keyboard recommendations that will improve my speed? Has anybody here ever competed in a typing event or thought about going for the world record? Is it worth learning Dvorak for the sole purpose of attempting such a record? How difficult would it be to improve my typing abilities from where they are now to where they need to be to acquire such a record?"
Mechanical Keyboard (Score:4, Interesting)
Try a keyboard with mechanical switches. They're a bit noisier than the cheap ones, but I find them much faster and I make fewer typos. My fingers also get less tired. You might be able to scrape out another percent or so.
Re:Bad place to ask (Score:5, Interesting)
Programmers and IT workers are actually rather bad typist.
Just because we are on a computer all day... It doesn't mean we are typing all the time, we are Programmers not data entry. If we end find that we are typing too much we write a program to do it for us.
Re:Why? (Score:3, Interesting)
"Dear god why?"
Because, for the next few years, when somebody comments on his typing speed, he can say: "The book on the shelf to your right, page 165 says I'm the fastest in the world."
That's about it I guess.
Unless he can write a book about the process, like people climbing a mountain other other such fruitless endeavors.
Re:Bad place to ask (Score:5, Interesting)
He, and I thought I was crazy. When typing fast, every time I try to write "serve", my hands automatically type "server". Every single time.
Re:Why is this posted AC? (Score:5, Interesting)
Simple: In a discussion, I like to know if discussing with the same person, a different person, or with several people.
I also prefer some level of surety that the person I'm replying to might actually read it.
I do realize that logging in on /. offers no guarantee of either of these things, but it's a start.
Meanwhile, I killfile all reply notifications that come from Anonymous Cowards because doing so makes discussing things on /. feel more like conversing with humans instead of talking at a wall.
If I wanted an anonymous place to randomly comment on the world with no sense of personification, I'd just go over to pastebin and be ignored there instead.
Re:PS2 VS USB? (Score:3, Interesting)
I know USB can't handle as many simultaneous key hits as PS/2.. but don't see how that would apply here.
This is only half true. The 6+4 simultaneous key limit is part of the HID boot protocol for keyboards, which is a restricted subset of the USB HID interface meant for limited environments such as the system boot firmware.
The full USB HID protocol has no such limits, but it seems that most keyboards only support the boot protocol for whatever reason.