I never use touch typing to type numbers. The numbers row is much too high and when I’m entering number I want to be precise. If I have to enter many numbers in quick succession, I use the number keypad instead. Otherwise, if it’s just several numbers, I just look at the keyboard and type carefully.
I remember sharing that sentiment when I was first learning to type, but I’m glad my teachers from that time forced me to use it. It’s just so much faster~
Now that I think about it, I don’t either. My approach is to YOLO the numbers row and mash backspace whenever needed. I’m not really used to using the number pad.
This is all foreign to me because I use my keyboard in the way that kids do, index fingers only! I mean, hey I type fast so that’s all that matters.
Also when I play games I hold it in a very weird way. I am a pioneer.
I can touch-type the numbers (although I use non-standard fingering for some of them, it works) but the keys to the left of 1 and the right of 0 and P always make me have to stop, look, and move my right hand, then move my right hand back to home position. It makes programming kind of frustrating, I should really concentrate on learning to touch-type those too.
The 10-key is something I wish had paid more attention to. I learned the number row just fine but I’ve seen people who can fly over numbers on the 10-key.
OMG we’ve got one at work that’s essentially 12 mini touch-pad displays, and the numbers randomly re-shuffle every time you press one. To keep people from reading your PIN over your shoulder by your finger movements, I guess? It’s maddening.
Someone must have made money inventing that torture device.
But that does remind me of a prank I played in a high school programming class. After every Nth keypress, the keys N and N-1 would swap, making typing progressively more goofy as you go. Back then, you could run a “terminate-and-stay-resident” program, and it would continue to run after you log out, so I ran it on a friend’s PC before class.
Yeah, also it’s dim (so I guess it can’t be eavesdropped on from afar) and ALSO located at waist level in bright sunlight so you have to stoop over, shade it with your hand, and squint while trying to find the right keys.
They thought of everything.
I swear there’s also like a 10% chance it will refuse you even if you put in the right PIN
My favourite trick was to wedge the keyboard routine so that ‘y’ and ‘n’ were the other way around, and then wedge the character output to do the same. Pressing ‘y’ would show ‘y’ but meant ‘n’.
