In the past, OS/2 users searching for a typing tutor program have found themselves relying on OS/2's backward compatibility with DOS and Windows apps. There were no native OS/2 alternatives.

That has now changed with the introduction of Type/2 by IcaruSoft, a relatively new OS/2 software vendor. Quoting from the Type/2 manual, "Currently, [Type/2] is the only option for people who want a program to assist them in learning or improving their typing skills while maintaining an OS/2 only system."

Installation and other trivia

Regardless which version of the program you happen to have, installation is as simple as unzipping the ZIP file (or copying the files from the floppy disk in my case). The user can also run a simple REXX program to create a folder and program object for Type/2 on the Desktop. Other than this, no changes are made to your system so should you decide that Type/2 is not for you, uninstalling is as simple as deleting the files and the folder on your Desktop.

Features

Starting Type/2 from either the command line or program object reveals the main interface (GIF, 14k) which is where students will do most of their interaction with the program. This screen consists of a large text window containing the text you are required to type, a smaller window where your keystrokes are displayed and a diagram of the keyboard.

As you type, the next key to be pressed and the key you have just pressed are highlighted on the keyboard diagram. If you strike the wrong key, a "warning" sound is played through the MMOS/2 subsystem and a "*" is displayed in the keystroke window. Type/2 keeps track of your speed in words per minute and your accuracy as well as displaying a "progress bar" that indicates how much of the current line you have typed.

Basically, using the program consists of typing what you see in the top window as quickly and accurately as you can.

What lessons appear in this top window can be determined by the student by selecting various files from the "Settings" pop-up menu. Type/2 data files are plain text file with each line beginning with an indication of the speed and accuracy the student should be aiming for. This means that anyone can create sample files as easy or as hard as they prefer, just by downloading plain text from the 'net (or their local hard drive) and adding speed and accuracy ratings. When shipped, the ZIP file includes some beginner and advanced test files.

Also from the "Settings" menu the user can select what skill level (GIF, 4.2k) he or she is (Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced) and select whether to use a normal or Dvorak keyboard (GIF, 4.2k) layout. (A Dvorak keyboard is a different keyboard layout that allows fast touch-typists to type faster than a conventional keyboard will.)

Problems

More importantly, for all levels of users, there is no in-depth monitoring of your typing habits or shortcomings. The rudimentary scheme for allowing users to jump ahead or be sent back in a lesson works to an extent, but it does not monitor your typing for common problems such as transposition (hitting keys in the wrong order), missing a row (hitting a key above or below the one you meant to) or mirroring (hitting a key with the correct finger but the wrong hand). Nor does Type/2 monitor if you have particular difficulty with the "q", ";" or number keys. A feature to track these habits and offer lessons accordingly would be a big improvement.

Since there is none of this monitoring, of course, you can not get detailed graphical or statistical feedback about your typing habits either. I remember the DOS program I mentioned above would illustrate how fast you typed with each finger, how good you were at each letter on the keyboard, etc. That old DOS program also allowed users to save their results over time so they could see how they were progressing; Type/2 does not have this feature.

The above complaints are more wish-list items than actual problems, however. For the most part, the program does what it is intended to do and does it well.

But there were a few small glitches: at one point, I was flying through the sample lesson/instructions in the shareware version of the product and I seemed to "lose the text". I'm still not sure what happened (I would like to think that I was just too fast for the computer but that's probably not true), but the program just would not advance through the lesson as if it had "forgotten" where I was. I tried pressing every key on the keyboard but none were accepted as the "next key". I was not able to reproduce this problem though.

Really fast typists will also note that MMOS/2 can not keep up with its "warning beeps" if you start to make mistakes while typing at high speeds. Also, when you mistakenly hit an incorrect key, the program does not advance until you strike the correct one. If you are typing quickly and miss just one key, it is very likely that you will type many more before you realize what has happened, thus throwing off the accuracy rating the computer gives you.

Finally, when looking through the settings menu I tried entering a new file name for the test file to work on. When I entered a file name that did not exist, Type/2 alerted me of the error and then my entire system locked, necessitating a reboot. I was able duplicate this problem so it appears not to be just a random occurrence.

Recommendation

Type/2 v1.2

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