''Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing'' is an

application software Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

program designed to teach touch typing.

History

The typing program was initially released in late 1987 by The Software Toolworks and has been published regularly ever since. The first version written for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

was created by Norm Worthington, Walt Bilofsky, and Mike Duffy. Editions of Mavis Beacon are currently published by Encore Software (hybrid Mac and Windows) and Software MacKiev (macOS only) and are available throughout the retail sales world. An early version supported both

QWERTY QWERTY () is a keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets. The name comes from the order of the first six Computer keyboard keys#Types, keys on the top left letter row of the keyboard ( ). The QWERTY design is based on a layout created f ...

and the alternative

Dvorak Simplified Keyboard Dvorak is a keyboard layout for English patented in 1936 by August Dvorak and his brother-in-law, William Dealey, as a faster and more ergonomic alternative to the QWERTY layout (the ''de facto'' standard keyboard layout). Dvorak proponents c ...

layout. Later versions supported only QWERTY until the 2011 Ultimate Mac Edition from Software MacKiev which returned full Dvorak keyboard lessons to the product. Earlier versions were made for

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

(version 1 only), Apple IIGS,

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

, Mac OS,

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

, Palm OS (version 16), and

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

. The current Windows and Mac versions are published under the Broderbund trademark by both Encore and Software MacKiev.

Features

The program includes a number of speed tests and constantly tracks the user's words-per-minute typing speed. It also includes a number of typing games of which some versions have been included since the first release. (The 2011 Ultimate Mac Edition for macOS, published by Software MacKiev, also includes two-player competitive typing network games, integration with

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

, Dvorak keyboard support, practice typing song lyrics, RSS news feeds and classic novels.) A certificate of achievement can be printed by the user upon the completion of tests.

Name

Mavis Beacon is not a real person. The original photo of Mavis Beacon was of Haitian-born model Renee L'Esperance. She was introduced to Les Crane, the former talk-show host, while he was shopping at

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

. Crane, who was then a partner in The Software Toolworks, devised the sobriquet. Mavis Beacon's first name was taken from

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Durin ...

, lead vocalist for the Staple Singers. The surname derives from beacon, as in a

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

to guide the way.

Reception

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing A favorable review in 1987 by Peter Lewis, technology writer for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', gave the program an early boost. '' Compute!'' favorably reviewed the program in 1989, stating that children, adults, and experienced typists would find it useful, and citing its support of Dvorak training. The Washington Post felt the product "conceals the typing drills rather nicely behind a game". Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing II Paul Tyrrell for Amiga Format wrote that the program was well researched, well written, and easy to use. Nick Veitch for CU Amiga felt the product was much more interesting than other educational multimedia products. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Version 5 Superkids described it as a "well-polished program". Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing For Kids Metzo Magic appreciated that the game had only few Americanised words, which increased the game's appeal in areas that use British spelling. Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Version 9 ''The New York Times'' noted that by 1999, although the product wasn't the "flashiest" option for players, it remained an effective typing program.

Sales

By 1999, the series had sold over six million copies. On April 21, 2000, two products reached the Top Selling Educational Software list: Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 10.0 (4th) and Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing 5.0 (8th).

References

{{reflist

External links

''Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing'' by Encore
(Windows and Mac editions)

(Mac OS X edition) 1987 video games Children's educational video games Typing video games Apple II games Classic Mac OS games Amiga games Windows games Apple IIGS games Atari ST games Typing software Video games developed in the United States The Software Toolworks games Encore Software games