Are Keyboards The Only Way To Input Text Into A Computer, I'm Not Very Good At Typing?

The QWERTY keyboard has been around for a long time and is showing no signs yet of being supplanted any time soon. For inputting text, the QWERTY keyboard, the same as used on old manual typewriters, is difficult to beat. Until recently, there have been very few modifications to the basic structure. Extra keys have appeared to do specific internet-related tasks and ergonomically shaped keyboards have been introduced, but the arrangement of the letters stays the same.

Attempts to change the layout of letters into a more logical set up have been made in the past but never got off the ground commercially. (Ironically, and this will please a lot of people to know, the longest word you can obtain by using only the top row of letters on a QWERTY keyboard is…typewriter.)

The only widely used alternative to the QWERTY keyboard is the stylus pad but this is designed for fine art work, not text. Voice recognition software is also available but this requires a lot of time and patience to train and even then the results are fairly patchy.

If your problem is with touch typing, then one simple (albeit slower) alternative is to use an on-screen keyboard to type (or click with the mouse).  You can access this from the Windows start bar.  Programs>Accessories>Accessibilty>On-Screen Keyboard.  The only other alternatives are to use voice recognition or handwriting recognition software, which will involve the purchase of additional equipment and software.  The higher the quality (and usability), the more expensive it is.  Once you have the initial configuration and calibration set up, it is actually quite convenient.  There are actually also lots of good software that will help you with your touch typing skills, and they do this in fun ways like with games and interesting text to type.  I would recommend you try this as well, because typing is a skill that is very useful for certain jobs as well.  The last alternative is to write things yourself, scan them into a computer.