Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing has been my favorite typing tutor program for many, many years. It offers dynamic personal lessons and numerous motivational affirmations throughout the program. With this version you can select British or American keyboard and spelling.

I love the integration with iTunes in this new version of the program. The very first lesson I opened pulled a very happy song in my iTunes library, which enhanced the pleasure of a typing lesson which would have been very boring otherwise. If you prefer to work in quiet, you can turn off the sound.

Besides the integration with iTunes, this new version is native to Intel Macs. It has a floating typing gauge so you can quickly see your typing speed in any word processing program such as Microsoft Word, Mail, or Text Edit. You can create new creatures for QuickTime Movies. It was loads of fun playing the typing races against a friend and a relative, using two Macs in my home. This is a new feature, only in this version. There are three typing races: Pirate Race, Ride the Wave, and Road Race.

I found the familiar, and my favorite, "Chameleon" game. But it slowed me down somewhat, having to wait to type the letter or character until the letters get to the beginning of their block.

This version has gorgeous graphics as you would expect from Software Kiev. If you want to improve your typing speed in a very entertaining way, this program is for you. Students will love learning to type with this program, while others can improve their typing speed.