Augmented reality, artificial intelligence, gene-editing, genomic sequencing, electric and fully (or partially) autonomous vehicles, and quantum computing - these are just some of the most exciting emerging technologies in today's world.

Despite everything, keyboarding is arguably still the dominant method of data entry. One could argue that typing skills (despite still not being a requirement for the large majority of jobs) are more important now than it ever was. Well, at least until speech-to-text (or other, more advanced) technologies will become the norm.

The best way to learn how to accurately and swiftly type is, of course, to "practice, practice, practice." One of the best ways to asses your progress or push your limits is with the help of various online typing test apps.

Or, if you want something a bit "closer" and arguably more secure, you can try a typing speed test app.

Keypunch is a free and open-source typing app for Linux. Its main goals are to help you practice speed typing and to provide you with a sense of self-accomplishment (or a clear idea about your typing performance).

Just like most apps of this sort, it revolves around the idea of writing words over various periods (ranging from 15 and 30 seconds to 5 or 10 minutes). Once the timer expires, the app displays the resulting statistics for your writing session, namely the number of words per minute and the general correctness.

Even though it's not (yet) a very customizable app, Keypunch provides users with various options when it comes to honing their typing skills. For starters, it comes with support for various text languages (English, German, Spanish, etc.). Users can choose between two main types of typing sessions (Simple and Advanced).

Clearly, this is a simple app, by most standards. However, I'm excited about what the future could bring for this app. By taking a look at the planned Roadmap (on the app's GitHub repo), I'm most happy about future plans that include Caps Lock indication, the option to export typing stats, and break reminders.

The coolest future feature is without a doubt the Local-first p2p multiplayer mode. It would be interesting to see what that integration looks like.

There you have it. A simple typing test app for Linux that seems to be on the right track in terms of future development.