Saturday, September 21, 2013

Thoughts on typing, calculators and mobile devices.

I remember taking the mandatory typing and bookkeeping class where I learned to operate a 10 key machine.  Times have certainly changed.  When we took typing, we learned touch typing with the home row and keys and were so happy to get to 35 words per min when we finished the class.  After I graduated and went to college, both the typing and ten key helped me land jobs as I worked my way through college.  Now, I don't know if schools are offering typing much anymore because most students who own mobile devices use their thumbs quite effectively to type in messages. They are much faster than those who use the hunt and peck method.  I've seen them do this on their iPads in class when they have to type things. 
The new mobile devices allow the user to do so many things that you really do not need a computer anymore.  I know typewriters for the most part have gone by the wayside and I'm wondering if desktop computers will be going that way in a few year.
As for calculators, you can now find some that let you use your fingers to write the problem and the application translates it into print.  I wonder if this type of app is going to take over for regular calculator apps and make them obsolete in a few years.  It will be interesting to see where the future takes us.

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