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My manuals and how-to-program books introduced several of the early personal computer systems, including the first Microsoft BASIC with Bill Gates and Paul Allen, and Bally Basic for the Bally computer. The Computer Learning Lab was an interactive book/software combination for the Sinclair Z-80 and the Radio Shack Color Computer that included software programs on audio tape cassettes . I also developed a wide variety of software from personal productivity and time management systems to game simulations.

When I created the original Typing Tutor, sold by both Microsoft and IBM, I developed interval timing techniques to monitor individual response times for the keys. This allowed me to detect fast and slow keys, and to vary the program lessons as a person learns. My Typing Tutor was the first educational product to actually create individualized lessons based on a person's typing skill, and was the most popular educational software available for many years

Since today's computers are much larger and more powerful than those early versions, I am able to create software that's a great deal more complex than the first interval timing model. It is now possible for my current typing software, the Ainsworth Keyboard Trainer, to focus on helping people create text instead of just developing copy typing skills. I do this by combining several cognitive modeling techniques from artificial intelligence programming with my original response time monitoring concepts. This results in a program that helps people type as fast and as well as they think. If you don't type, this program will teach you the basics faster than any other method. And if you already type, this program can improve your ability to communicate easily and well with any email or word processor software.

If you now enter numbers in your computer or calculator by poking at the keypad with your index finger, it's a sure bet that you will be amazed at how the Ainsworth Keypad Trainer will make your life easier. Your checkbook will balance without effort and your spread sheets will sing and dance. Training yourself to enter numbers without looking at the number keypad makes all the difference. Each number will have a distinct "feel," giving you a cross-check that speeds your work and eliminates keying errors.

The Ainsworth Computer Seminar is my first major experiment with hypertext. This is exciting because I see hypertext and the Internet combining to form an entirely new vehicle for authors to explore. In my case, I have chosen to use this hypertext medium to share with you some of the things I have learned about computers, software, and creative thinking in general. You can get a free copy of the seminar from www.qwerty.com.

If you are a curious and creative person, this free seminar is for you. You get to decide how much technical stuff you want to deal with as I show you several programs and explain how computers do THAT. I will also show you flow charts and diagrams to illustrate what is going on inside. And if you are interested in learning about programming, I will share with you a toolkit of ideas and techniques. The content and the octane are entirely up to you as the hypertext flows any direction you choose.

Ainsworth Computer Seminar -- inside look at software and how it works
Introduction to Keyboarding -- a few of the stories behind the software
Educational Software -- highly opinionated advice for teachers
Hypertext -- what it is and how it works
Happy Hackers Page -- insider stuff for other programmers
Computer Simulations -- and digital realities
Artificial Intelligence -- AInsworth on AI
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome -- my solution to a major problem
Censorship -- an interesting slant on the Communications Decency Act
Cars and Computers -- a story abou the way it was

Dick Ainsworth
ainsworth@qwerty.com