Software affects more aspects of our lives than I consciously realize sometimes. The post today is dedicated to one of those software programs that probably impacted a lot of us.

I have a confession to make. I love to type. I’m not sure if it’s an OCD thing or if it has to do with the way typing fast makes me feel good, but I love the click of the keys on the keyboard and the way my fingers find a rhythm in the words as I go faster and faster.

Just the other day I was thinking about the summer in the early 90s that my dad brought home a computer game to teach us to type. He told us that as technology became more prevalent, it would be even more important that people know how to use computers (He also told me that I should learn Japanese and German, but I didn’t listen so well on that one). He was right, and my siblings and I enjoyed learning our way around the keyboard using “Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing.”

I’m sure some of you reading this learned by that program as well. It was really fun to use, and I think that game still affects the way I approach typing. (On a side note, my favorite game was the lizard that licked the keys as you hit the correct ones. The sound effects were the best part).

Today, I learned something else about good old Mavis Beacon that made me laugh. Apparently, she’s not even a real person. She’s just a fictitious character created jointly by the software company and a talk show host. When I learned that, I felt like someone had just told me there was no Santa Claus.

Okay, so despite the fact that I just found out Mavis is not a real person, I applaud her for her diligence in teaching me how to type faster and more accurately. Who knew a software program would make such a big difference in how efficiently I get things done on a day to day basis?