- Native for Intel Macs and older Macs too
- Competitive Typing – Compete in racing games on two Macs in your home. Both speed and accuracy count.
- Listen to iTunes while you type – Typing practice time will fly by when youare listening to your favorite iTunes playlist
- Floating Typing Gauge – Measure your typing speed in any application with this new floating toolbar utility.
- Creature QuickTime Movies – Create strange new creatures by typing their DNA and export them as movies
Product Description
Are you tired of being left behind when it comes to typing? Still typing with just two fingers? Or do you just want to improve your typing skills? Then get Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 2008 Deluxe. It makes learning to type fun, with typing races involving racing cars, Spanish galleons and water scooters. You can also listen to your favorite music during customized lessons geared to your skill level. Keep track of your speed and accuracy with the floating typing gaug… More >>
This is our third version of the product and it is very refined with nice graphics. Tying instruction is still good and the games are great for the kids. We thought Mavis liked all the same music that we do until we realized the program was accessing our iTunes library to play background music during periods of inactivity when the program is left on!
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve been working with Mavis Beacon 08 on my Mac for a few days now. It’s been a frustrating experience. I can already type fairly proficiently, but with 2 fingers and looking at the keyboard half the time. I want to learn to touch-type properly while constantly looking at the screen. I’m sure there must be others with similar goals.
A lot of work has been put into making the software look and feel very slick – the graphics are of a very high quality and the product feels well finished and polished. Sadly, the same attention has not been paid to the usability of the software.
Some examples: As an adult, the lowest target typing speed you can set is 40 words per minute – completely arbitrary. This matters because from the intermediate level onwards, lessons time out if you don’t reach your target speed. The only way to set the speed lower is to choose ‘teen’ or ‘kids’ settings. Even as a kid, the lowest target you can set is 25 words a minute. When you’re starting out, this is a high target and it’s very frustrating to have lessons needlessly finish half way through. All I want to do is finish the practice session! I’m now stuck in a loop on the intermediate level, unable to progress further. Even more infuriating is that the loop includes introducing the same set of keys over and over rather than just repeating the practice sessions – which is all I want to do. The software nannies you, rather than letting you practice whatever you’d like, in your own time.
This is one example, but there are many other features which are needlessly frustrating – particularly when you’re starting out and already frustrated by the typing experience itself.
Sadly this still seems to be the ‘best’ typing software out there. There’s obviously not enough competition or demand to make typing software better. This is probably as good as it gets – you’ll just have to grin and bear it.
Rating: 2 / 5