by Arthur Luehrmann
The $2.98 Computer Library by Arthur Luehrmann Director, Project COMPUTe A BASIC interpreter plus all the programs in the Dartmouth library, ready to run on your home computer, for $2.98? Space-war, in full color with sound effects and electronic music, right in your living room? A complete, conversational,interactive program to teach you French in 100 lessons-all for $5.00 and ready for your computer? Does this sound absurdly futuristic? Well, it may not be as far off as it appears. First, let's think about the idea of a home computer. Most people already own about a fourth of one. One's color TV set is a rather good display device and every computer needs one of those. Many people will soon be buying another fourth of their home computer in the form of a videodisc player. Of course, they won't be thinking of it as a piece of a computer, but a videodisc really is a random-access read-only memory with a capacity of about 1O'° bits. In addition to pictures and sound it can contain computer instructions and data. And it will cost only a few dollars per disc. Well, that's half the job. The missing part is the processor, memory and keyboard, of course; and it's hard to see why people would want to spend much money for these items, But is it so hard after all? They buy TV sets for their entertainment, They will buy videodisc players for the same reasons. Perhaps entertainment will, in part, motivate buying the rest of the family computer. Everyone knows that computers play pretty good games. People are already paying $100 or more for electronic games like Pong and Odyssey that can only do one or two things. A general purpose game player has all the attributes of a general purpose computer. The attractiveness of games, augmented by utility computational programs and educational programs will stimulate the spread ofthe home computer. And the spread of the private computer will create the demand for new software-new games, new utilities, and new courseware. ln the course of time widespread demand will provide the economic incentive for authors of software and courseware to write new or improved programs. The videodisc process may be as important to the publishing and distribution of non-verbal information as movable-type printing was to the written word, ln both cases mechanical stamping replaces tracing, whether by monks or magnetic tape recorders. So don't be surprised in a few years, friends, to find advertisements in the newspaper for Software Specials at your local supermarket. I can see it now: "A Golden OldieFORTRAN-a Closeout Bargain at $1.49-sorry, no refunds!!!" [image] Cutting a videodisc master with a laser. In quantity, discs can be produced for 4O cents although after programming, packaging, royalties,marketing and distribution, the selling price will be closer to $10 (Photo courtesy PhilipsMCA)
