Colemak

It took me a lot longer than usual to type this simple sentence, but it also took a lot less movement.

Why? Colemak, that’s why.

It’s an alternate keyboard typing layout. One of those “go slow to go fast” things. This is my first time typing like this in a long while so it is taking me a long while ;)

Here’s what the Colemak website has to say about the advantages of it:

• Ergonomic and comfortable – Your fingers on QWERTY move 2.2x more than on Colemak. QWERTY has 16x more same hand row jumping than Colemak. There are 35x more words you can type using only the home row on Colemak.
• Easy to learn – Allows easy transition from QWERTY. Only 2 keys move between hands. Many common shortcuts (including Ctrl+Z/X/C/V) remain the same. Typing lessons available.
• Fast – Most of the typing is done on the strongest and fastest fingers. Low same-finger ratio.
• Multilingual – Allows to type in over 40 languages and to type various symbols, e.g. “pâté”, “mañana”, €, em-dash, non-breaking space.
• Free – Free software released under the public domain. You don’t have to buy a new keyboard, just install a program.

My recent Keyboardio purchase inspired giving this a shot again. Try it for yourself!