Kaz: Keyboard A-Z

Whether you're a classic two-fingered typist or new to computers, improving your keyboard skills can dramatically affect your productivity. Learning the basics of touch typing will help you with dozens of things, from writing letters and business reports to sending emails and filling out online forms.

Now on version 16, Kaz promises to teach you the basics of touch typing in just 90 minutes. It also claims to be suitable for a wide age range, from five up to adult, and works on both PCs and Macs.

Presented by a somewhat daft cartoon bird, Kaz strips out the games and multimedia bells and whistles found in other packages. Instead, the course is based around four modules and a series of five short phrases that help you get to grips with the main alphabet keys. The shift keys, numbers and punctuation are all studied later.

Although it promises to deliver the goods in less than two hours, Kaz's approach lets you move at your own pace. There's plenty of audio encouragement and once you've mastered the position of the keys, the Speed Builder can be used to increase your pace.

The package also includes Kaz Guardian Angel, a separate utility that monitors your typing and advises you when to take breaks to avoid RSI.

While it scores a lot of points, Kaz isn't perfect. The presentation is rather basic and the theme tune and bird noises can become annoying. We also spotted a grammatical error in one of the test paragraphs. At £25, Kaz isn't cheap but its clever, phrase-based approach really does work.

Contact: Gotham New Media 01424 842570
www.kaz.co.uk