TypeRacer, massively multiplayer online typing!
(Okay, perhaps it's not yet "massively multiplayer" but, it could be!)
My latest distraction is a fun web based "game" called TypeRacer, where you "race" against other typists in realtime who are all typing the same text which is often a quote from a book or song lyrics.
I love typing speed measurement games and TypeRacer's social software aspect and multi-player nature really sets this apart. I'm also a huge fan of educational online gaming. It would be nice to select passages from educational texts to type against your friends--learn something while having fun typing.
I've wondered whether there's truly a better keyboard layout than QWERTY before and have yet to find any solid scientific proof. If Dvorak was measurably better than QWERTY, I would have expected to see two "bands" of scoring on TypeRacer: one of the varied QWERTY-layout typists, and a "break-away" group with speeds far above the rest who are master Dvorak-layout typists.
Either way, I guess I'm going to take a moment to fluff my ego:
Yes, that's for real: 143 WPM. As you can see from the larger screenshot, my average speed over the past 5 races is 127 WPM. I know that over time, the average will regress to between 110-120 WPM, but for now, I'm going to enjoy this while it lasts. :-)
Think you can beat me? Lets set up a type-off and see who's got the fingers of fury! Bring it on!
