News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 106

12G Fort Myers News-Press, Sunday, May 1, 1977 Small computers gain practicality for home use RICHARDSON, Tex. (AP) Is there a computer game, an operator gives commands to the Starship Enterprise, fires weapons, and makes decisions involving speed and the use of avaiable power. "But the computer usually wins," Martin added, "because there are so many things to watch out for." He demonstrated by firing a phaser at a triton mine, when the Enterprise was too close. The screen flashed and went blank. Then, a log entry from the Starship Exeter appeared on the screen: "Debris found believed to be from the Enterprise." We have the ability to store information in circuit boards, cassette tapes such as those used in small audio recorders and now diskettes, with lower prices 1 all the time as more companies get into the field," Martin said.

"Customers also are paying less for the peripherals, or attachments to the computers, such as TV screens or printers." One computer was hooked up to a TV, and a copyrighted game called "Trek," after the television series "Star Trek," was loaded into the memory. In this age people who want a computer of their own, to play games or help with the bookkeeping. They buy assembled systems, and we can provide custom software for whatever they want to do," Martin said. One browser in the store was a U.S. Army doctor from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Capt. Stephen J. Van Cleave said he wanted to know if desktop computers could be used to keep track of appointments for the center's internal medicine department, "some sort of a day-by-day record of who will show up when Martin showed him a system with a computer, a video display terminal with a keyboard to receive and display information, and a printer. He said it could store about a year's worth of appointments. "And it would cost about $9,000 a fraction of the cost of a complete system supplied by a larger firm such as I.B.M." Martin said that a National Computer Conference will be held in Dallas, June 13-16.

"We expect about 1,300 exhibitors and 25,000 people to view the displays," said conference chairman Portia Isaacson, who teaches at the University of Texas Dallas campus. "We are not advertising for the general public to attend, but we know that a lot of people will want to see what's new, such as a computer for several hundred dollars by Radio Shack stores. Prices of computer components, especially the IC chips, are coming down all the time, but Martin said the "basic box" or central processing unit is not getting much cheaper. "What is really getting inexpensive is memory. in your future? That's the hope of the booming small computer industry, which says that for a few thousand dollars the average American can command the Starship Enterprise in a video game of interstellar war or just balance a checkbook.

Those are only two functions of the new micro computers which use electronic components engraved on tiny integrated circuits IC chips like those used in the familiar pocket calculator. But the micro computers go beyond calculators and can be used to solve complex problems, store large amounts of information, or play games on home televisions. They aren't cheap, but they are getting more common. Nestled among shops selling draperies and tires in this Dallas surburb there is a business called "The Micro Store," with a smaller sign proclaiming simply: "Computers." The store is one of many springing up around the country, selling both the computer hardware which has become available in just the last two years and the software, or programs, which instruct the systems to do whatever the owner-programmer wants. "About half of our customers are hobbyists, who build kits and use the computers for experiments," said manager Ric Martin.

"These are engineers or amateur radio-types who 10 years go were building sideband transceivers and talking on shortwave with teletypes. "The rest of our buyers are businessmen or aver 'ir 3 Mining law would aid lawyers THIS IS ONE 7AY YOU CAN VISIT OUR FURNISHED MODEt ZCTTHE GOAVVVOPORE Louis Rukeyser Syndicated Columnist you can arrive by car. Construction at the waterfront Commodore 1 6 2 is under full sail and you can take advantage of pre -construction prices Each spacious 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment has 1,500 sq. ft. of floor area, individually controlled central air and heat, a modern kitchen with self-cleaning oven, dishwasher, disposal.

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1417 S.E. 47th St, Cue Coral floikta 33904 not an expense. I Itniilmi.ihli i.iii.MtniilmilMii.l tiina.1 NEW YORK Have you ever noticed that no matter who loses any of our various ongoing arguments in this country, one group always seems to win? We call that group "the lawyers." And right now there is evidence that what appears to be a fashionable kind of debate between those who want to protect the environment and those who want to increase energy supplies may wind up benefiting a third group entirely: the activist lawyers. The, focus of this particular debate is on a bill, now wending its way through Congress, known as the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. Now, there are few issues more certain to sharpen the emotions these days than surface mining: it doesn't look a bit pretty while it is going on, but it is absolutely necessary if we are to have any meaningful short-term growth in U.S.

energy supplies. Hence we have the somewhat ironic presence of this bill, designed to impose strict federal regulations on surface mining, at the same time President Carter has promised to increase coal production as an essential part of our national energy policy. But the irony is not total, nor is the debate quite so clear as it is sometimes presented. For there is, by now, a consensus on the need to protect the land from callous despoliation. Indeed, few would quarrel with the desirability of some kind of clearly drawn, sensible legislation to assure that surface miners do not ignore the future condition and appearance of the land on which they are working.

What concerns even the most civic-minded of the coal operators, however, is the introduction of restrictive amendments that could mindlessly hamper coal production and accelerate the energy problem. By creating confusion about the legitimacy of any surface mining activity, the bill could open a Pandora's box for activist laywers as has already happened with nuclear power and thus could contribute to power blackouts in parts of the United States by 1979. That possibility is far from remote. The Federal Energy Administration has pointed out the growing reliance on electricity in the U.S. for everything from home heating to steelmaking a trend that puts increasing demands both on coal producers and on the nation's electric utilities, which to meet the expected needs of 1985 will have to expand their present generating capacity by more than 57 percent.

The big worry is that the needed plants may not be built in time to prevent blackouts, and the Federal Power Commission has warned that in some areas electricity shortages as early as 1979 are "distinct possibilities." This view is echoed by T.L. Austin, chairman of Texas Utilities, which through its three opearting companies serve about 4,000,000 people in north central and east Texas. Austin told a House committee that he strongly favored the reclamation of land but opposed restrictive amendments that he said would add needlesly to the consumer's ultimate costs. Austin objected not to the bill's intentions, which he says he shares, but to the procedures, hearings, permit requirements, studies, approvals, and citizens' suits that have been added like decorations on a lawyer's Christmas tree. Each a great place to relax a great place for convenience! a great place for dining and entertainment a great place to look for your dream house! More than 14,500 people have found our community to be many things.

BUT MAINLY LEHIGH IS A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE! The kid-loving condominium at less than $38,000.00 See the Classified Section Syndicated. Sarasota. Florida 97T RUTH RICHMOND talks LEHIGH, EAST OF FORT MYERS OFF RTE. 80 OR 82 Mi Inside-Outside Living Along the outer edges of the lanai floor, leave a planter area to soften the expanse of a pavement and to add a tropical look to the interior of your home. Plants also give added privacy and coolness in the summer.

It is a matter of personal choice just how many and which rooms you want to open onto the lanai. My own feelings are that the more rooms you can join together, the better. But carefully consider your family's habits before you decide. Sliding glass doors should always be made of shatterproof, tempered glass for safety, with decorative decals to reduce the chances someone will walk into the glass. Plan for these doors to open to their full dimension so you can enjoy the full pleasure of Florida's breezes, but avoid doors that cluster in pockets.

Sand and dust tend to collect in these areas and keep the doors from sliding freely. These pockets are difficult to reach for cleaning. Have the doors open fully, but on exposed track paralleling the wall. This openness gives you an "inside-outside" feeling you will always enjoy, and adds much to the overall concept of spaciousness in your Florida home. One of the most charming things about living in Florida is the lanai that wonderful indoor-outdoor screened and roofed patio patterned after the Hawaiian original.

I like it better than the glassed-in Florida room. If you built it properly, you can use your lanai for 10 to 12 months each year for pleasant outdoor living. When you plan your lanai, make it as large as you can af- ford, for it's going to be the place you spend much of your leisure time. You will do your easy, in-i formal entertaining there. And remember a pass-through win-i dow or a large sliding glass door to the kitchen to make serving I food easier.

Terrazzo often is used as the floor of the lanai, and this can function as an extension of the floor of your house. But terrazzo can be very slippery when wet, so caution is advisable. Scored concrete is safer, and if it is designed to simulate flagstone it can be very attractive. A pebbled surface creates a garden look that is tropical and It is a knobby, tex-tured surface, unground and un- polished, that is easy to main- tain. Ruth Richmond is professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers.

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