stewartw@neptune.UUCP (Stewart Winter ) (04/08/88)
Review of Intellitype: Having sold my mother on an Amiga, she decided that she needed to know how to type to make good use of it. Therefore, I had to find a typing tutor suitable for a novice typist (hunt and peck) who is ~50. The two choices in the store were Intellitype and Mavis Beacon. I will briefly discuss the reasons for my choice after the review. Intellitype is set up very well for the beginner. First, you must type in a diagnostic test which evaluates your capability. It then recommends which lesson you should start at. It keeps track of each student using a different STUDENT: disk for each. The student then starts up intellitype for the next lesson when they want to. Intellitype will warn you if you are taking your lessons too often or not often enough. The lessons are designed to teach you to type in either 30 or 60 days. The lessons start out simples (home row ASDFJKL;) and work up to entering a long story. INTELLITYPE RATING: Very Good My mother will not keep up with something if it is boring to her. She has kept up with her typing lessons and tells me that she enjoys them. The best sign perhaps is that she has not had to look down at the keyboard at all, except to get started. USER INTERFACE: Excellent The lessons are well structured. The documentation is good. Even a very novice computer user will have NO trouble doing this. The lesson plan is the strong point of intellitype. It really handholds you, but you can override this by "browsing". ERROR DETECTION/CORRECTION: Very Good As you type, Intellitype keeps track of not only simple typos, but also more sophisticated errors such as using the wrong shift key, transposition of letters (vevry instead of every). Keeps track of accuracy and speed for each character on the keyboard. Intellitype recommends extra lessons or practice sessions if it thinks you are not progressing well through the course. LITTLE (NICE) EXTRAS: Good A clock in the corner keeps track of how long your lesson has been going on. (Each lesson is 45 minutes in length) RECOMMENDATION: Seems very good for a adult beginner. PART 2: Why I didn't choose Mavis Beacon. Mavis Beacon has some nice features not found in Intellitype, but overall seemed to be better suited for someone who can type and wishes to improve their ability. The one really noticeable feature was a metronome which could be turned on. On the down side, the lesson plan did not compare. The user interface was not as simple. The display was very busy and distracted from you concentrating on what you were supposed to type. It simply seemed better suited for someone interested in improving rather than learning typing. ----------------- ------------------ Stewart Winter Cognos Incorporated P.O. Box 9707 VOICE: (613) 738-1440 FAX: (613) 738-0002 3755 Riverside Dr. UUCP: uunet!cognos!neptune!stewartw Ottawa, Ontario "My dog's father is Wil the Wheaton." CANADA K1G 3Z4