|  MAR 1983

Personal Computers

Personal Computers The computer is no longer just a large, complex, expensive object that major corporations blame when they screw up your order. Thanks to the miracle of electronics, today's computer is a large, complex, expensive object that you can have in your own home. If you read your major trend-spotting magazines such as Time and Newsweek, you know that in recent years virtually every man, woman, and child in the United States has bought a personal home computer. You constantly see articles explaining how ordinary people like yourself are finding all kinds of handy uses for computers around the home: Bob and Doris Pullet of Full Horse, Texas, use their computer for many things, such as keeping track of what kind of soup they have in their pantry. 'It has been a real boon to us,' reports Doris. 'In the old days, we would have to open the pantry door and manually look inside to see whether we had, say chicken gumbo. But now all I do is turn on the computer and punch in a few simple commands, and within a matter of seconds the computer says 'CHKN GMB/2;.87;.74,' which lets me know that we have two cans of chicken gumbo with a depreciated value of 87 cents, or 74 cents adjusted for inflation. And Bob is working on a program that will keep track of the good forks.'

by Technical Analysis, Inc.