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I, (like many other things) taught myself to type. I could type decently(as in, _usually_ touch type) after about 6 months of programming in BASIC. This was back in 7th grade.. so I could definately type well by my 8th grade keyboarding class. So I was very ahead as far as speed(thank you, copy and paste). Then I had another keyboarding class in 9th grade. My teacher couldn't figure out how I could touch type so well, as it was complete hackery of a typing method. So, I finished my stuff 10-20 minutes earlier than everyone else.. then last year(my senior/12th grade year) I had a typing class purely cause there was nothing else to take, and I went quite fast, but I was a tiny bit slower than the true typers(this is word processing II with lots of table crap too though)

And the way I type is very strange.. I wonder how I can type well at times.. I tend to not use my pinkies for anything but shift and caps lock. My hands move, like if I had to type "qwerty as a vex tex" I actually move my right hand over to the left side of my keyboard so I am almost always typing with two hands, and I guess I subconciously move my right hand back over with my index touching the J(which has a bump) I don't see how I do it sometimes lol, but I suck at numbers.. and more amazing is typing on my laptop took nearly no conversion for me, and it has an extremely flat keyboard and the keys are slightly smaller.

I type pretty fast; I've never used any kind of training software but I was curious to check out how fast I type... apparently somewhere around 160-165 wpm (English, if it matters) but no faster unless I make a whole lot of typos. The weird thing is that I know I type fast and I don't even use all fingers: I use all 5 fingers on my left hand and usually only 1 or 2 from my right hand (I can use all of them but it slows me down since I'm not used to it). I use a QWERTY keyboard.

I have a similar discrapancy between hands. I also use all 5 fingers on my left hand (although the left-most one mainly for shift), and only 3 fingers on my right (thumb, index, right-most one for shift), though the others sometimes incidently. I had a formal 10-finger-blind-typing course when I was 14 or so, but since then degraded. Typing with all 10 is impossible, making lots of typos etc.


JAL

I'm doing the opposite of some of you, am using (more or less) all 5 fingers on my right hand to type letters, but only 1 finger on my left hand. On my left hand I use the thumb for the space key and the pinkie for shift/tab/ctrl. Never had any real training for typing on a keyboard, just learned it when I got my first PC about age 10.. I tend to make a lot of mistakes and generally don't type very fast, compared to the amount of time I use typing on the keyboard, havn't mesured how fast I type though.

I've from time to time thought about getting faster/better at typing, but haven't done anything about it yet

I learned to type in/around grade 5 and at the time could only type at 30 wpm but after I got into programming (c/c++) around grade 7, I got a bit faster and can currenty type at around 85 wpm without looking at the keyboard and 105 if looking. :

I learned touch typing in about 5th grade. At first I could barely get 25-30WPM but then I got better and started getting around 85WPM. Now I usually type 105+WPM

I normally look at the screen at all times. Although I can do it, I find looking a the keyboard sort of distracting and I'm probably more susceptible to typos. I find it easier to look around the room or close my eyes than stare at the keyboard.

Yeah I don't really like looking at the keyboard either.

I close my eyes. My code writes itself.

I type mostly with my left hand for shift and a littel more then half of the keyboard, my space bar is pressed by my 1st or 2nd finger (after my thumb) I pretty much only use the first two fingers on my right hand (2nd mostly) I only use the right shift for the symbols on the right hand side (qwerty, so thats {}:"><?) and sometimes ~ but not often. I really only use the left pinky for if I start a after a comma with an a or after a thinking break but when i start a sentance with the letter A I use my 3rd finger as my pinky is always using the left shift. Blind coding sounds fun

I can't type without watching at the keyboard. And when programing my type is just so fast as when chating, but quite useless. Y type fast and with a lot of errata in code, so I need to use the backspace a lot, up to 5 times in an instruction. This is nice because when another listen to me programing, he is thinking: "What a incredible hacker, like in the movies"

I use all my fingers when typing, and I usually type about 3-4 characters per second, and without looking at the keyboard.

I write this without looking on the keyboard and with 10 fingers.

But thats just because I started to train myself. I never really lerned propper 10 finger writing and I think and feel that you can only reach some amount of speed in "free style typing".

Writing code on a german keyboard layout is not that comfortable like with the english layout. And so I still have to work on that. (Dont want to change to english layout for that... I'm afraid I would mixe to much up)

If some of you try to train, have a look at typeracer.com. Its multiplayer writing fast race ^^

Ohh... and expect the most training improvement after you sleeped, because typing is part of the procedural memory.

Typing is not a techenology which you should learn. I never did that in officially or educationally. It is like a physical work of hand and eye. Automatically u get speed in typing by daily exercise of making any program but should not waste time for specially typing any paper or magazine....

I disagree. There's a proper technique to touch typing that will make you much more efficient, and if you don't learn properly you'll merely learn it's close cousin, the 10-fingered fast hunt and peck.

Consider swimming for a moment. Where I live in Australia, basically everybody knows how to swim, because it's a given that one day you'll be stuck in a rip surrounded by your choice of either sharks or box jellyfish. However, some people have had proper swimming lessons, and know the different strokes and survival methods and so on, some people have had their parents teach them and know just one or two strokes, or have figured it out on their own and resort to doggy-paddle.

Typing is much the same. Sure, you can figure it out just by doing it in the course of everyday life, but you'll be much better at it if you put in the time to learn it properly.