(And for the final TECK result, I’ll revisit the test later.) Round One Typing Test Results I’m going to take each test four times and report the best result. I’m starting at the top of the list with my old Microsoft Natural Elite, moving to the Rosewill RK-9100, and then finishing with the TECK before heading back up. To help mitigate that, I’m serpentining through the keyboards and taking each test twice (so six tests on one keyboard). And yes, these tests are hardly scientific, as typing the same text repeatedly on different keyboards can potentially skew the results. I found these tests on, and I’m using three different text selections: Aesop’s Fables, Rules of Baseball, and Tigers in the Wild. Scores are expressed as “Gross WPM/Errors=Net WPM”. I will be taking the tests twice on the TECK: once earlier in the writing process and a second time much later. I don’t think that the test is going to go well the first time around, but let’s find out. Truth be told, the whole experience can be a bit maddening at first-if you’ve ever been frustrated to the point where you feel a bit queasy in the gut and want to quit what you’re doing and go find something else more pleasant (like maybe beating your head against a wall)…well, I’m feeling a lot of that right now! I’m mostly writing this to give me a small amount of practice before trying some speed typing tests. The above paragraphs are the first paragraphs I’ve tried to type on the keyboard (plus some editing after the fact) and it has taken me fully twenty minutes with nearly constant mistakes to get them out! I’m already getting a bit more competent, but when the documentation suggests taking a while to adapt, they’re not kidding around. The cursor keys reside under your right hand, down from the JKL area Home/End/PgUp/PgDn are similarly located under your left hand.
Elsewhere, where I normally find backspace is now an equal sign, the backslash and forward-slash are at the left where tab should be, there’s an extra key in the top-left that shifts all the numbers right one key, and we haven’t even gotten to the document navigation keys. Even the main body of the keyboard with the normal seeming QWERTY layout can feel equally alien to a “formerly” touch typist at first (I find that staring at the keys a bit while typing helps a bit right now). The right side gets the same treatment, and the enter key as noted has been relocated to the middle of the spacebar. On the left, the Shift key is moved up one row, with CTRL where Shift normally resides and the ALT key at the bottom-left where CTRL usually sits. Just about every "special purpose" key that I have become accustomed to locating by instinct is now in a new location-delete, tab, backspace, and enter are in the center column, with the spacebar split around the enter key. Initial impressions are shocking-if you’ve ever tried the Dvorak key layout, I don’t think this could be any more alienating. Oh, and let’s not forget that the TECK also comes with mechanical switches, specifically Cherry MX Brown switches that are relatively quiet compared to many of the other mechanical switches out there. And Truly Ergonomic makes no claims to the contrary-they recommend spending days if not weeks with the keyboard before you decide whether or not you really like it, going so far as to offer a 60-day money-back guarantee. To that end, they’ve ditched the traditional layout and staggered keys in order to provide an optimized layout that offers better comfort while typing, but the changes are something that will take a lot of practice typing before you can type anywhere near your regular speed. Several years in the works, the main claim to fame is that the keyboard is designed from the ground up for ergonomics. The company that makes the TECK goes by the name Truly Ergonomic, and right now this is the only product they make.
I received the keyboard today after inquiring about a review sample-the reason for me being the reviewer this time around is that Dustin has no interest in an ergonomic/split key keyboard. This is my very first encounter with the “world’s first Truly Ergonomic Computer Keyboard”, aka the TECK.
0 kommentar(er)
