Are You a Hunt-and-Pecker or Can You Actually Type?

[Aynge]

It still amazes me how many people I see hunched over their keyboards poking at it with two fingers. Do they even teach typing in schools anymore?

If you can type, what's your speed?

[RandomAnthony]

I type like the wind. It's one of the few things I can do well.

[Spellbound]

One of the most useful things I learned in high school! I can type about 40 words per minute, accuracy depends on the lenght of my fingernails.
I never managed to learn how to use the numeric keyboard though, I alway have to look and that slows me down considerably.

[Aynge]

My fastest (in Jr. High) was 93 wpm. The fastest typist in my class typed 121 wpm. I had to sit next to her and she made the typewriter sound like a machine gun. And she was literally off the chart. They had to extend her red bar onto the chalkboard with a piece of tape.

Now I'm only down to about 70 wpm.

[Jim]

I think I've been called a pecker before usually followed up with brain.

[Jonathan]

I can type reasonably fast but make a lot of mitsakes.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

I can type fairly fast AND do ten-key. I hate having to do math with just the numbers on the regular keyboard. I love the ten-key pad, and my laptop doesn't have one.

[janine]

i have never been taught to type, but i think i'm doing pretty well. i don't use all of my fingers, but i do use more than two. i do tend to make mistakes, but i can type blind for the most part.

[janine]

i suck at transcribing too, bun.

[Aynge]

Transcribing is a bitch. I wish I had taken shorthand at least.

[~Geektastic~]

Me type good.

Actually, I can type somewhere around 70-80 wpm fairly accurately. I wouldn't have a job otherwise.

[Phil]

My speed is in the mid-80s WPM range.

[Sarah]

87 wpm I'm glad my dad forced me to learn to type.

[Mary]

I took typing in high school but never practiced like I should have-I have to look at my hands so I guess I am considered a hunt and pecker but I can be pretty fast (with lots of mistakes)

[Cynthia]

We all had to take typing (NOT keyboarding) in 8th grade, from one of the oldest human beings in the world. Old, crabby, hard of hearing. Can't remember her name. I type pretty well.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

Jackie "the Librarian" wrote: "I can type fairly fast AND do ten-key. I hate having to do math with just the numbers on the regular keyboard. I love the ten-key pad, and my laptop doesn't have one."

Neither does mine and it makes me batshit. For some reason this is the one thing I forgot to make sure the laptop had when I bought it.

I'm a very fast typist. Probably in the range of 80-100 wpm.

[~Geektastic~]

Jackie "the Librarian" wrote: "I can type fairly fast AND do ten-key. I hate having to do math with just the numbers on the regular keyboard. I love the ten-key pad, and my laptop doesn't have one."

Can't stand a keyboard without the number pad. I used to work in retail, with a DOS operating system, so everything was done with numerical codes and text.

[Aynge]

The thing is, if a laptop has a keypad, then the keyboard is too far to the left and it feels awkward not being centered. I can live without a keypad on a laptop.

[Heidi]

My dad typed 90wpm hunting and pecking. True story.

Me, I type normal-like, but I'm super slow. Not really. I just don't type as fast as my stepmother does... she types 130wpm. It blows my mind to watch her in action.

[Janice]

I'm on okay typist. I'm better at typing numbers on a number pad or adding machine than letters on a keyboard.

[Carol]

Jackie "the Librarian" wrote: "I can type fairly fast AND do ten-key. I hate having to do math with just the numbers on the regular keyboard. I love the ten-key pad, and my laptop doesn't have one."

You can buy a USB numeric keyboard like http://www.staples.com/Targus-Numeric...

I have one at work and I love it.
I took typing in HS and in a Medical Assistant program, until the building with the typewriters caved in. We also had an office machinery part of the course, I kicked ass on the adding machine.
I am not so fast now. Probably half-fast.

[Jammies]

I love those USB key pads! I type about 55-60 wpm and use the 10-key rather than the numbers above the letters.

[Phil]

I like that this thread has "pecker" in the title.

Yes, I really am that immature.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

We hadn't noticed, Phil.

[Michael]

Aynge wrote: "The thing is, if a laptop has a keypad, then the keyboard is too far to the left and it feels awkward not being centered. I can live without a keypad on a laptop."

I'm in the market for a laptop. I don't want anything big or extravagant, just something to access the internet and use MS Word. Does anyone have any recommendations on brands, etc.?

[~Geektastic~]

I have an Acer Aspire 5517, and it's been perfectly adequate for word processing, internet and other work-related programs. The 15.6" screen is nice, since I use it to watch Netflix a lot. Not a huge amount of memory (it is a laptop after all) but not bad.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

I have no basis for comparison since I always seem to buy Dell. They have some low end models that I'm sure would be absolutely fine for your purposes. You can search by size, price, weight, memory size, hard drive size, etc. Here's the page for laptops and netbooks.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/laptops?~ck=...

[Lyzzibug ~Still Breathing~]

56 WPM and I use the 10-key but I have to watch.

[Michael]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Here's the page for laptops and netbooks."

Thank you! Their basic laptop is affordable; a plus in their favor!