Does anyone else find it deliciously ironic that, in such a pro-Unix article, Miguel recommends Mavis Beacon? According to Amazon, it's available only for Windows and OSX :p
I'm surprised he didn't recommend gtype, it's probably the best and fastest way to learn how to type in that there are no unnecessary graphics and you need not ever touch a mouse. Fits the Unix approach much better imo.
apt-get install gtype didn't work ;-) Googling for it led to a couple false hints, dead-ends and lots of information about viruses (not the computer kind)
I had to spend several years in Middle School with Mavis Beacon and it didn't do anything for my typing abilities. When I was done with my computer classes I still couldn't hit 35 WPM.
Then I picked up computers as a hobby. With all the random typing I did as part of the hobby I quickly found myself in the 70-100 WPM range.
You don't really need a typing tutor program with its learning modules and fluff. You just need to spend time typing. I recommend printing out a color-coded image[1] of a keyboard that shows which fingers to use for which keys and just spending a little time on http://typeracer.com every day trying to stay on home row and follow the color guide.
