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en:aplicaciones:touch_n_go

Touch 'N' Go

Company Harcourt Systems
Distributor Caxton
Year 1986
Packaging Lined cardboard folder type case
Compatibility PCW 8256 - PCW 8512 - PCW 9512
Peripherals Keyboard
Load CP/M+
Gender Typing
Language English
Price England: £24.95
State Preserved

Screenshots

Description

As lightning covers your keyboard, flex your fingers and get ready to learn with this typing tutor through its various sections.

If you are one of the many people who earn their daily bread by sitting in front of a keyboard all day - and sometimes all night - long, then this program will help you tremendously with productivity levels and being able to minimize the amount of time you spend looking at the keyboard checking that your fingers (or, in some cases, your finger) are moving in the right direction.

For those of you who have not yet reached the optimum levels of keyboard simplifying your efficiency, the good news is that there are a large number of typing tutors designed specifically for the PCW keyboard. One of them is Touch 'N' Go, which we will describe below, which will develop our typing skills and for all those people who have been using keyboards with only two fingers for years.

So, what kind of features or functions should we look for in a typing tutor?

1) How long will it take us? The program presented here promises us to touch the light in just three hours. Sounds awesome.

2) Can you save your progress? Or do you have to start from scratch every time you load the program? It is practical to be able to save what you are doing, while you have a coffee and return to the exercises later at the same point.

3) To what extent does the tutor cope with touch typing? Even the most experienced typist will tell you that he or she often has to slow down while typing zip codes or phone numbers.

4) Does the program encourage reaching a certain level of proficiency before moving on to the next set of exercises? Read the program review below to find out how well this typing tutor lives up to our expectations.

Appearances can be deceiving, we all know that. Therefore, the first thing we should do is make a copy of Touch 'N' Go, be patient, in order to preserve the disk and not damage it, a simple irrelevance of maintaining the program. We are not going to start without doing the above, we have to be patient no matter how much we want to start the tutorial. Nor are we going to create a design to win an award this year, and the accompanying documentation is unlikely to compete for the Pulitzer Prize.

A simple A4 booklet, consisting of a brief description of how to load the program on different machines of the PCW series, and that does not tell anything about the potential of this program that could possibly teach us to work with two fingers (or one) with the keyboard namely typing like an expert. A quick summary of the objectives behind “Touch 'N' Go” could end with the following statement: “Be careful it can be very addictive”.

The charging procedure is simple. Power on the machine with the CP/M disk, insert a copy of the master disk and type “T” after the A> prompt. A message will appear asking us if we want to learn the letters or the numbers and we select our option. Next, we will be asked if we need the instructions. We will answer “yes” and instructions on how the lessons work will follow. There is a list of available lessons, which are numbered 1-61: this is a pretty hefty number as there are only 26 letters in the alphabet. However, a quick scan through the list reveals the sections devoted to using combinations with the [SHIFT] key and, needless to say, the numerous practice sessions.

The winning combination

The presentation of the packaging and the little documentation makes us not sure if the program is aimed at beginners. The only information available is that you will have 24 hours to become a real typist. For reasons or security reasons, we start at lesson 1, the letter “D”. A relatively bare screen is presented, it simply tells us which finger to use to write that letter, and a line of a single space with simple “d”, which we will have to reproduce and at the end of the series press “RETURN”. We will then observe with horror how information about the words per minute appears at the bottom of the screen, and our target precision. In the first lesson we are expected to type 30 words per minute with 100% accuracy.

This is the horror aspect that makes the show so successful. Instead of getting restlessly entangled, and worry if he's ever going to do that, we'll just try to move on. Also, in the lessons, we will be so busy trying to write the exercise error-free that we won't have time to look at the keyboard. If we do, we will make a mistake, and the exercise should be repeated until the speed and precision reach the objectives. In the following exercise we will have the learning of the letter “e” together with the letter “d”, which is barely achieved. So you don't just try a new letter, you build on your existing knowledge and learn to use letter combinations in quick succession.

Too many numbers

The targets for accuracy and speed remain the same until you get to Lesson 4, where words combining the letters “d” “e” “f” and “t” are covered by setting up a test involving a mixture of those words in a phrase. Speed ​​and accuracy are aimed at knowing if we are ready to move on. This gives us a bit more room for error, but we'll be surprised at how agile our fingers have become, and how a rhythm has been set for typing certain key combinations. What's really impressive is that our dependence on looking at the keyboard is drastically reduced. Our main concern is to see the fruits of our hard work learned in previous screens.

The technique is the same for all the letters of the alphabet: we will be able to cover capital letters and practice sessions that will be longer and more involved. The final final test sessions require a speed of 40 words per minute, with an accuracy of 95%.

The tutor of numbers follows a similar format; more than 13 lessons that are necessary to reproduce lines of number sequences. The use of decimals is also incorporated. This seems harder to pull off than the lyrics tutorial; or that is the impression it gives to the beginner.

It could well be that we need the manual dexterity of a concert pianist to hit that top line and satisfy the words per minute and precision to hit targets. The difficult task of stretching your little finger to reach the [Tab] key is also expected to be accomplished starting in lesson one. Once again, though, you can't progress unless you achieve or achieve perfection, so the skill has to come to an end.

Touch 'N' Go is not absurd, it is not a low-cost package; the lessons are presented from the economic point of view, however, with all the information necessary to execute it. There are no distracting beeps every time a mistake is made, and targets cannot be altered. The misleading claim about the program's addiction is validated in the extreme; if we really want to learn typing without looking at the keyboard, then this program is the one we are looking for.

Conclusion

In a word, a 24-hour course, which could easily be completed given its addictive nature. The job can be stored with a copy on the master disk or separately. The course levels are short, but no less complete in the various sections; Skill levels are fixed, meaning you must complete exercises correctly before you can progress. It's a pretty strict schedule, but probably the best. We will end up reaching an average of 30 beats per minute and 100% accuracy.

Packing

In the following images you can check the original packaging.

touch_n_go_box_3.jpg

Cover

  • Here you have the original cover.

  • Here you have the restored cover.

Actual measurement of the cover: Width: 19.10 cm x Height: 21.10 cm

Disk

Original discs supplied with Touch 'N' Go.

Labels

Custom labels to print. Over the years due to their use, the labels are damaged and lose their color and quality. Now we try to adapt the most similar to the extent of our possibilities, the labels so that they can be printed and replaced or for those of you who work with a copy of the program and preserve the original disc. Measurement in 3“ height: 7.00 cm - width: 7.10 cm. The first image corresponds to the original game label, the second is the same modified label to replace the broken one and the third and fourth images are for 3.5“ discs.

Extras

Product registration card, printed on double-sided soft cardboard in black and white whose measurements are; Height 10.50 x Width: 13.60 cm

Download

Program

The disc images, taken from the original version of Touch 'N' Go, have been recorded and verified. Side B: of the disc, does not contain the demo of the program. “WANTED”.

Manual

You can download the Touch 'N' Go program manual below or view it online. The manual sheet measures: Width 14.90 cm x Height 21.00 cm.

en/aplicaciones/touch_n_go.txt · Last modified: 2022/06/25 13:51 by jevicac