United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

http://www.staylimber.com
Converts a normal keyboard into a one handed operation.


Boy, I wish this worked with Mac. Been looking for something like this for years! Sick of staring at the keyboard as I type, and hitting the delete key every 10-30 seconds as my speed picks up typing.

also, the one handed keyboard site has an online demo, and a downloadable one, that gives the idea of how this works.

http://www.matias.ca/halfkeyboard/demo
(the keyboard they're selling is over $500)

My hand gets sore when i type for a long time, wouldnt mind having one of them keyboards. But i do have Dragon Naturally speaking, im sure you've heard of it. For anyone that does not know, its voice to text software.

Hi everyone, my name's Peter. I'm the developer of Limber, the one-hand keyboard software mentioned in the first post.

Thank you to Christopher for emailing me and letting me know about this forum. I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has about the software or one-hand typing in general. And Christopher, you'll be happy to know that I officially started working on a Mac version last night

The main benefit of Limber is that it's extremely easy to learn for anyone who was *formerly* a two-hand typist. The muscle memory transfers over very quickly. There's an unrestricted free trial on the website, check it out. I'd be very interested in any feedback.

@pieface No need to "have one of the keyboards", it's actually software that installs on your PC and works with any hardware keyboard. Give it a try and see if it works well in tandem with Dragon.

Thanks,
Peter

I'm considering getting the Dragon Naturally Speaking software. Is it worth it? I'm returning to school in the fall and thought that might be a good option. What do you think?

This website may be helpful --
http://www.aboutonehandtyping.com/howto.html

I've been typing with one hand for 30 years, originally taught at a vocational school for the disabled. You just need to learn to use the 4 middle keys as the home keys and practice practice practice without looking. Good luck.

I'm considering getting the Dragon Naturally Speaking software. Is it worth it? I'm returning to school in the fall and thought that might be a good option. What do you think?

Yes it is very good and is a big help to me when doing assignments.

The one thing i will say is that it takes time to "train" your voice to the software, at first the software will make alot of mistakes as you talk, but the more you use it and make corrections to the software the less frequent they become. So don't give up on it after a few days if its not working too good.

Buy a decent microphone as the one they give you is not very good.

Hi Peter, il be sure to check your software out. Thank you for taking the time to make such software to help us people out.

Thanks for posting here Peter!
and thanks for going forward with creating a version of your software that is Mac friendly.

I have Dragon Naturally Speaking and found it good, but I hated hearing myself speaking out my thoughts continually as I was writing. It got in the way of having a fluid train of thought.

Also, I prefer to write in a non-quiet environment (at home with music, or at a cafe, at a meeting, or classroom) so it was not practical in that sense.

Right after my injury, when I was still mentally adept at normal two handed typing, I tried using a keyboard that functioned the same way Peter's software does, and I was amazed at how fast I transitioned over to working the keyboard and keeping my hand on one half of it.

I can't wait for you Mac version to come out Peter!

Thanks,
Christopher

This is all really interesting. Can wait to check out all of these suggestions. I've actually gotten really used to typing on a regular keyboard. My spelling suffers a little but I'm really fast. That said, I can't sayI'd want to type a novel or something that way, lol. I've been looking into going back to school and a program that I could use on my laptop would be waaaay more convenient than a separate keyboard.
Also, has anyone ever heard of these, or tried these out?

http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/

They look like they could be very useful in a note taking environment or regular use. From what I read up on them it seems like they work but it may be worth it to wait a few years for some refining to be done and get the bugs worked out as the base price is quite hefty for a pen, especially considering you have to buy the special notebook and paper too. That bulky pen also isn 't exactly ergonimc. ;P Any opinions?

AngelaW,
thanks for the lead on the pen. it looks interesting. like you mention though it boils down to if you want to be an early adapter and make the jump and grow with the technology or hold back for refinements to the system. it certainly is an interesting gizmo, ha ha. expensive though. tempting since it is so shiny and new. but wonder what the reality is. ok ok. i may just make the jump for the group, and me of course. got to think about it.

Has anyone tried out Limber yet? Come on, you can't all be Mac users

Any feedback goes directly into making the product better and more useful, so lay it out!

I'm especially interested in seeing how long touch-typing memory lasts. I already know it works if you catch the typist in the weeks/months following an injury... If you were a two-hand touch typist 5 years ago though, I'm wondering if that muscle memory is still there. Anyone want to give it a test?