Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing facts for kids
1987 box art
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| Original author(s) | Norm Worthington, Walt Bilofsky, Mike Duffy |
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| Developer(s) | The Software Toolworks |
| Initial release | Late 1987 |
| Stable release |
20
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| Operating system | macOS, Windows |
| Platform | cross-platform |
| License | Proprietary |
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is an application software program designed to teach touch typing.
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, 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 Caribbean-born model Renee L'Esperance. She was introduced to Les Crane, the former talk-show host, while he was shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. Crane, who was then a partner in The Software Toolworks, invented the sobriquet.
Mavis Beacon's first name was taken from Mavis Staples, lead vocalist for the Staple Singers. The surname derives from beacon, as in a light to guide the way.
