I just got a ZSA Moonlander and I’ve been… on an adventure with it. Turns out my typing technique was total garbage so I’ve had to essentially start re-learning how to touch type. That, plus the ortho layout, plus the other ways my layout is now changed (special chars) has made the learning curve feel steep.
Going through all this has made me wonder some things about the long-term, and so I was hoping to lean on folks with more experience for some answers.
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Does learning to touch type on ortho (or a new layout w/ thumb clusters and such) mess with your ability to touch type on normal staggered boards? I still use my laptop when I travel and there is no shot I’ll be lugging around an ergo board.
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Is it worth going crazy with it and trying to learn workman or colemak at the same time? On some level I feel like it might not be that much harder, since it feels like I’m re-learning to touch type anyway.
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Would it be better to start with a keyboard that’s just split, but otherwise the same (Instead of ortho and alternative layout etc)? And maybe later move on to a crazier layout?
From my experience:
- I typed around 60 WPM before on a standard keyboard, now it’s barely 25. It may be because I don’t use standard keyboards at all anymore though.
- I learnt colemak with my first split keyboard since it seemed like if I was going to learn a new layout, then I should commit to it entirely. I think keeping AZERTY (since I’m french baguette haha) would have just made me even slower on standard keyboards because there wouldn’t be much difference with my normal workflow. Separating the two layouts entirely seems better to me, but you might also say keping the same layout to some extent is better.
- I went from a full-size keyboard to my monkeyboard, gradually removed keys (left row, top row, inner thumb keys) and now I’m at 34 keys with my triboard. But making the jump could also have worked seems it’s a complete change anyway.
By layout on 1 do you mean the actual changed keyboard shape (ortho etc) or the layout of the letters (ie colemak)? I actually feel less worried about changing away from QWERTY since I can always configure that on my laptop, but I can’t change the physical shape of my laptop keyboard haha!
That’s a pretty good point (with layout I meant both colemak and ortholinearity (is that a word?)). I do think it’s additional work to learn colemak on a standard keyboard, but I guess you could go for it if you think it would pay off. I just prefer having the same keyboard for all my computers.
several people have used the switch to ortholinear/columnar as a chance to learn a new layout (Colemak-DH being a popular choice) – from most of the reports, the context switching between QWERTY on row-stagger and Colemak-DH on columnar seems to be enough to keep your muscle memory from confusing the two
usually the biggest issue with switching to an alternate like Dvorak, Colemak, Workman, etc. is not the muscle memory but the availability of keycaps – you either have to shell out for an extra “typist” keycap set or settle on only using flat profiles (DSA, XDA, KAM, SA row 3, etc.) – if you are touch typing, it shouldn’t matter, but there’s still the aesthetics of the whole thing …
I’m about a month in on a Keyboardio Model 100 and I absolutely love the shape of the key caps.
I am in the process of building 2 Sofles (I’ll be looking to sell one) and the fact that my key caps from Keyboardio don’t fit the Sofle’s spacing has me considering modifying the sofle V2 to follow the exact spacing as the Model 100 so I can use the same amazingly sexy key caps on it.
availability changes by month, but if you’re willing to go custom and don’t need legends, Asymplex gets a lot of rave reviews – most especially for their ChicagoSteno profile for Choc, but their DES profile for Cherry might be closer to the Model 100 profile
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Yes, but not by that much. I learned to touch type on a regular keyboard and switched to an ortholinear recently, it takes me a couple of seconds to switch back and forth but it’s mostly painless.
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Yes, and no. I learned colemak when I decided to learn touch typing, and I think that that’s the best opportunity to learn because you’re already learning as new way to type so a new layout comes easy. That being said I question whether that was a good decision, I don’t know how much of the improvements I see in ergonomics come from the layout and how much is from touch typing.
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I don’t think it would make a difference, you’ll still have to adapt to switch back and forth between ortholinear and staggered.
Before: ~110-120wpm, but shit accuracy
Right after switching: <30wpm
A month after switching: ~60wpm
Now (5 years layer): ~90-100wpm
I also couldn’t type for crap on a regular keyboard after acclimating to my compact and ergo boards, but that came back. Now I’m able to switch between all of my boards (and my laptop’s built-in) more or less interchangeably. I don’t really care about the lost speed, it’s still plenty fast enough for what I do - I’m a programmer, I spend more time thinking about code than writing it.
FYI I switch between a regular 60%, my laptop, an Iris (so thumb clusters) and a Planck.
- Absolutely; I type for shit on my laptop now, but I also switched to Colemak-DH in the last year. My keeb is an Atreus so I just take it with me now. It is totally worth taking it with me.
- I did it in phases. It took some time to get used to ortho, but while I was learning then I started moving individual keys around. Once I learned about whole new layouts, I moved to Colemak then DH. I’d recommend just switching now.
- I just went whole hog with a nice board, ortho, and new layout within about two months. In my past experience, the split was the least difficult to get used to.
