My "solution" for #$&^*@!!!ing laptop keyboards is to have a text file with a few symbols in it that I use often but are otherwise not-easily-typable. I then stick a shortcut to that text file the the start menu, and assign it a shortcut (Shift-Alt-E in my case, but obviously you can change to whatever suits you). So if I need to type one of those symbols, I Shift-Alt-E, arrow-keys-to-select-letter, Ctrl-C to copy it, Alt-F4 to close the notepad window and Ctrl-V to paste it; rarely takes more than a second or so.
Re: I'm also a non-touch typist!
My "solution" for #$&^*@!!!ing laptop keyboards is to have a text file with a few symbols in it that I use often but are otherwise not-easily-typable. I then stick a shortcut to that text file the the start menu, and assign it a shortcut (Shift-Alt-E in my case, but obviously you can change to whatever suits you). So if I need to type one of those symbols, I Shift-Alt-E, arrow-keys-to-select-letter, Ctrl-C to copy it, Alt-F4 to close the notepad window and Ctrl-V to paste it; rarely takes more than a second or so.
I've idly thought about writing a program (to replace the text file) that when it comes up gives me a menu so I only have to hit a single key (e.g.: A - ¢, B - £, D - ©, etc...) and the window is closed with the appropriate letter placed in the copy/paste buffer automatically, saving me most of the keystrokes. However I don't use Windows enough (only at AWA) to really need it that much. It wouldn't take me long, though; let me know if you'd find something like that useful...
(of course, if anyone else out there has a better workaround, I'm all ears)