This past week at the Web 2.0 Expo has been a great chance to meet up with other bloggers and come face to face with some of the companies we write about every day. It's also a great time to see how other people work, as we're all packed into small seats in large auditoriums, or scouring rooms for the last remaining outlet to get the necessary wattage to keep writing.
A side effect of that was seeing our own Caroline McCarthy in action, typing away. In case you're wondering part of the reason she's so productive, it's her keyboard skills--which I think put her in the league of a court stenographer. If you'd like to know how you stack up in the typing world, there's TypeRacer--a wonderfully simple game that pits you up against other typers, and of course your 100-plus key stead.
The goal is to type as well as you can to get your car from point A to point B. All the while you can compete with other users in real time and "race" across the landscape of the English language.
The one nice thing about TypeRacer compared with Keybr (review) is that it uses real words. It's also a stickler about errors, requiring you to go back and make any fixes before continuing the race, keeping lead-finger slopsters from winning based on speed alone. I'm not really sure if TypeRacer really helps you type any faster, but it sure is fun.
What's your score?
[via Kotaku]
See how your typing skills stack up with TypeRacer. And yes, in case you were wondering: Even the fastest cars are still VW Beetles.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
This blog was created to cover cool Web apps, and one of the more interesting trends to follow is that of desktop software that has transitioned to the Web. Keybr, which surfaced a couple of days ago, is a typing tester, the same kind you might have suffered through in school. The goal of these apps (Keybr included) is to give you a scored typing test that rates you on your typing speed and accuracy.
The entire time you're typing, the app will keep track of your speed and accuracy with a live chart of your efforts. Things progress from basic typing, all the way to caps lock, shift and tab controls on blocks of text. There isn't a whole lot of separation between lessons, or instructional sessions, but there are some enjoyable bits like the pink message that flashes along the screen when you score a personal best for speed.
Back in my day (I'm only 25) we had the perennial all-star of typing applications Mavis Beacon, but many folks without simply had to self-teach, or come to terms with their "hen pecking" abilities. While Keybr doesn't have some of the advanced lesson planning and "games" that come with software typing solutions, it's a good way to judge your speed and general accuracy as long as you're willing to put up with the obscure lexicon of made-up words. These days I'd tell any novice typist to use an instant messaging app to get the hang of a keyboard, but there is something to be said about the value of learning touch-typing, as it can save you some serious time and physical strain if learned correctly. Keybr is missing some of that educational goodness, but the built-in charts and slick aesthetic make it a good benchmarking tool to see how well your typing skills are doing.
[via Digg]
Keybr lets you type like your life depends on it. It'll keep track of how fast you're going and if there are any errors. You can also check out a chart of your progress over the course of your lessons to see if you're improving.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
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