Typing classes used to be de rigueur in high school and if you didn’t score 95 plus sly tittering was endured. In recent times with more and more people doing their own typing and Secretaries becoming non-existent the need for perfect typing has diminished. So, when you find yourself seeking and pecking away one letter at a time blame the changing times not your fingers.

However, if you wish to become more proficient on the keyboard there are a number of sites available to help, as well as typing programs. One site I’ve found is free to use and fairly user-friendly. http://www.sense-lang.org/index.html You can practice first with nonsensical streams of letters – this is invaluable in learning where the keys are – honest, they don’t get up and run around when you aren’t looking. After learning where all the keys are you move on to text. You can even paste in your own text.

Forget about posture and get comfortable. You’re trying to learn to type, not win a marathon for the placement of your feet. One "old school" rule that still applies though, don’t look at the keyboard, instead look at your text or the computer screen.

Also, if you experience difficulties typing, take a good look at your keyboard. Just like mice are different so are keyboards. Some have soft, quiet keys, hard keys, noisy keys, 10-key pad, lights, and buttons to rival the bridge of the Enterprise. Go to your favourite electronics store and play with their keyboards – they won’t mind as long as you don’t test the keyboard’s coffee saturation point.

Find the keyboard that fits your hands, does everything you want and feels "right" when you press the keys down. You don’t need to spend a fortune to get a good keyboard.

Keyboards do not last forever. If your keyboard is more than 4 years old it is probably reaching the end of its life. Another reason for not spending a fortune. Wireless keyboards have a short lifespan but are well worth the little bit of extra money if you like the flexibility of being able to kick back and type on your lap when, say, msn-ing. Basically, if your keyboard just isn’t responding like it used to then it’s time for a replacement.

One last thing to check for that perfect fit; look for the little tabs underneath. They’re usually flush with the bottom of the keyboard and either come out, up or down. Some stand up straight and some angle. Either way, they angle the keyboard a slight degree to make typing a little bit easier.

Of course, when typing for long periods, watch out for the ever dreaded carpal tunnel syndrome. Comfort is key, if your wrists start to hurt or you lose contact with your fingers then you need to adjust something; your chair, your desk, your keyboard.

Logitech has an excellent warranty on their products and they stand behind their product. After sale customer service is a breeze.

Chatter

The original CRT monitors required screen savers to keep from burning the image onto the screen. But, did you know that LCD monitors also require screen savers to keep from doing the same thing? Fortunately, if you do burn an image onto your LCD monitor you can recover the lost area by running a screen saver continuously for several hours or days (basically the same amount of time that it took to burn the image.

It doesn’t take much to keep your screen clear; set your screen saver to come on every 90 minutes. That way it’s unlikely to come on during the day if you’re at your computer working – it’s rather annoying to be staring at the screen "thinking" and have the screen saver kick in mid-thought. Setting it for every 90 minutes though ensures that it comes on at night when you retire for the evening.

Which brings us to another thought. The great debate "to shut off or not to shut off" has avid defenders on both sides and logical arguments for both sides. On one hand you have environmental issues regarding wasted electricity, on the other you have the question about whether it is better to have your computer running at a consistent temperature and avoid the "harsh" start up. Plus, what’s the point in having high speed internet if you have to wait 5 minutes for the computer to boot up? Basically, it comes down to personal preference; is your computer loud, does it keep you awake then turn it off. Do you think you’re personally killing the planet by leaving your computer on then turn it off. If, however, you choose to leave it running and you have an LCD monitor, be sure to run a screen saver. Right click (your other right) anywhere on your desktop but not on an icon and select "properties", select "screen saver". Browse through the various options to find the one you like and select "apply" and "ok". If you decide to download a 3rd party screen saver take care that you don’t download spyware or a virus with it.