Can Anyone Recommend a Free program to Sharpen My Typing skills?

[Redline13]

The title pretty much says it all. Currently I am not a very fast typer but I would like to improve. Does anyone know of any free programs that would allow me to practice and get better?

[Horrortaxi]

Text Edit? Mail.app? Macrumors message boards? Terminal? Practice is practice.

[johnnyjibbs]

I agree with Horrotaxi. The best thing you can do is just practice, not try to take any course of any kind. Open up Word or TextEdit and write a story. You'll soon get better. Then start typing without looking and see how you get on.

[leftbanke7]

I was a hunt and pecker until I became a chat room junky my senior year in high school. 7 years later, I type surprisingly fast.

[SilentPanda]

Oddly enough... you might just want to look at the google adwords at the bottom of this thread...

I'd say do a search on versiontracker.com or Google.

[janey]

use a typewriter for a week to do your homework and all the typing stuff :)
Hehe.
There really isnt any, the best and fastest way is to chat more often because it makes you fast. Like IRC and AIM, etc.

[1macker1]

chat rooms are good, esp. a packed one where you have to type fast to keep up.

[Sparky's]

All practice is well and good, but If one never took typing how do you know what fingers are supposed to go to what keys? I also would like to know of a "Typing Instruction" kind of shareware or hell retail software to be taught how to place your fingers correctly, then typing "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" would have some meaning. :D

[NusuniAdmin]

The title pretty much says it all. Currently I am not a very fast typer but I would like to improve. Does anyone know of any free programs that would allow me to practice and get better?

I have a copy of mario teaches typing. If you have classic then I can send you it.

[Horrortaxi]

All practice is well and good, but If one never took typing how do you know what fingers are supposed to go to what keys?
The original post said "sharpen" typing skills, not "obtain" or "acquire" so I figured there was already basic knowledge there.
If somebody had no knowledge of proper fingering (tee hee) then a Google search would probably bring up a chart or something equally helpful.

[jeremy.king]

My favorite saying when waitress complain about little tips.

http://www.learn2type.com/

[realityisterror]

a good tip is to not let yourself "hunt-and-peck". make yourself use your hands the way they were meant to on the keyboard. smart people designed the layout (and other people designed dvorak) so be smart and use the layout...

reality

[Krizoitz]

a good tip is to not let yourself "hunt-and-peck". make yourself use your hands the way they were meant to on the keyboard. smart people designed the layout (and other people designed dvorak) so be smart and use the layout...

reality

Hardly, efficiency wise dvorak is far better. The QWERTY layout was designed to slow typists because if they went to fast the print hammers would jam.

Unfortunately the QWERTY layout is so ingrained that the chances of it changing anytime soon aren't that good.

[evilpenguin21]

It may not be free and it's not even for the mac, but damn it, it's worth the 5 bucks I got it for on the discount rack of CompUSA

http://www.planetdreamcast.com/games/reviews/typingofthedead/

I played this game for weeks. The most fun you'll ever have learning.

[janey]

i really want the LeapPad or whatever its called, that keyboard that you can use to type with only one hand. Too bad its $200 :(
qwerty and dvorak is difficult with only one hand.
And get your minds out of the gutter :) I like to type with one hand because then I can write with the other or use a mouse, or talk on the phone or if i just feel like it...

[cb911]

qwerty and dvorak is difficult with only one hand.
And get your minds out of the gutter :)

LOL :D my mind wasn't there until you mentioned it. :p

but i also like typing with one hand as well. :)

i did start to learn DVORAK, it is the bomb. :D but that was after i learned QWERTY, which is really slow in comparison. it was ssooo hard to try and re-learn a new layout on top of the one i already knew. but there are people that say they can type with either of the two layouts, changing one to the other with ease.

with DVORAK, you hardly have to move your fingers at all. ie, if you want to type 'the' on a QWERTY keyboard, you have to move your fingers for each letter! to type 'the' on a DVORAK keyboard, you don't move your fingers at all! that greatly improves speed, as well as accuracy. and that doesn't just apply for the word 'the'. you'll find that you move your fingers half, or 1/3 as much on DVORAK as you do on QWERTY.

i might give DVORAK another try soon. i was learning it from a web page that had lessons, and provided material to type out. even more fun was actually changing the keys on my keyboard on my old TiBook. i really got some good looks from people with the DVORAK layout. :D alas, no more keyboard fun with the backlit keyboard. :(

well, the key to learning any layout is practie ( <- see what the QWERTY layout did to my typing skills?), but you also have to concentrate hard so you don't make mistakes, then it will eventually become a habbit.

so if anyone out there is thinking about learning typing, i'd strongly recommend learning DVORAK. at least learn that, use it on your own computer, and then learn QWERTY if you have to use a QWERTY layout some time.

[Souljas]

how about Mavis Becon ( think thats how u spell it). It was on my Performer a long time ago. It was a car and in order to go faster you had to type faster :) :cool: :cool: