Customer Reviews

One Hand Typing and Keyboarding Manuals and Resources on CD: Type Fast with One Hand

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Disclaimer: I am a one-handed person. This manual is terribly overpriced for what it is. The drills themselves are perfectly adequate to explain the finger positions, and the overview of how to set up your equipment to facilitate reach and posture was helpful. However, I would have been happy with just that. Unfortunately, because my workspace makes it difficult to prop up paper manuals, I opted to buy the CD.

I was very disappointed in the "extras" that inflated the price. The motivational messages were sprinkled throughout the drills, which were distracting for me personally. I want to learn how to type, not read a Chicken Soup book. While the list of electronic resources at the end seems to make it more useful, nearly all of these resources come from Walters' own website and can thus be viewed for free. Her e-book about being a one-handed person in the office is occasionally helpful, but does not offer anything that a one-handed person cannot think of himself or herself with a little common sense. (How does a one-handed person open mail? Set it on the table and slide your finger under the flap. I didn't need anyone to teach me this.) Actually, her supposed tips are very general and would be pretty obvious to anyone, one-handed or otherwise. (Read the manuals. No, really? Automated help. Well, I had no idea that existed. Not.) In addition, even here much of the text is lifted from her own website.

The most disturbing thing, however, was that the grammar was very poor. I know typing itself is not the same thing as writing, but still, I expect that someone working with words and letters -- a "best-selling author," no less -- will be able to tell the difference between "dominate" and "dominant."

If you just want a basic typing manual, download the free one-handed typing game called Unicorn. (Unfortunately, I found out about this game after I wasted my money.) Unicorn will teach you everything you need to know to memorize the keys and, somehow, comes off as less condescending than Walters' "pep talk" even though the game was inspired by a one-handed child. That's saying a lot, I think. As for this manual, with its poor editing and excessive duplication of existing material, I was left thinking, "Why on earth did I pay for this?" Tellingly, the book is self published. Gee, I wonder why.

I second the opinion of the previous review, but I'm afraid I can't be quite so charitable. Look on the cover -- it doesn't bode well that you see the sales pitch from Bob Dole read "It never occurred to me that I might want TOO" or "Why would I need TOO". This is pretty much a premonition of what you're in for throughout the rest of the manual. I'm sorry, but the number of spelling and grammar mistakes in this manual is atrocious.

After all, it's a typing manual. That means accuracy is particularly important, because how are we supposed to tell the difference between poor spelling and grammar or a typo? It seriously reduces this author's credibility. Unicorn Quest is probably the way to go, or, once you realize that you can center your hand on FGHJ, just teach yourself by doing. The same goes for one-handed Dvorak -- ultimately, you're the one who knows what's going to work best for you, and you don't absolutely have to follow someone else's instructions. I knew someone who memorized the whole keyboard in both QWERTY and Dvorak, and simply typed from wherever his fingers touched down. He wasn't dependent on any "home base." If you learn by doing, you don't need to pay someone else to teach you -- especially if the teacher's own work is sloppy, as it is in this manual.

This is an excellent keyboarding manual. It will make a huge difference to people who only have the use of one hand. The manual and CD are easy to use, they come with full instructions. There is also a very positive edge to the whole thing. The exercises are interspersed with humour and encouraging comments. We couldn't wait to get started and learn to keyboard with one hand.
thank you so much.