European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 22, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine 51s photo of Errott a Saftig i to Conw if a Ajna room doggedly typing to computer program Unwar Nuiry rotation. Do you need Home computer by Marynett consumer editor re you a computer Type asks a consumer Magazine ii you answer yes to the following questions you Are. Do you like to keep records Tor example a list of aft your books a diary Price comparisons do you like to work alone Are you impressed Wilh Modem technology does a leaking faucet get on your nerves Ara you an Active member of an organization visit any computer sales shop american or european and you la conclude Hal the world is populated Only by people who would test positive. There is always a crowd clogging the aisles and hanging Over Fie keyboards kids Gray haired aide folks business types housewives. At the computer shop Ohhet american military shopping Center in Mainz Kassel Germany Diana Berlin and her brother in Law Are browsing with intent of buying he needs one to sort his cd says Diana. A few slops away Chuck Kurzhal of Belgium says he is just nosing around to see what s new. I m thinking of making computers a  for Fie past few years he says he has been into programming. He writes them then pus hem on the Market far Sale i be written games and a program that figures ins daily Dollar rate Exchange he adds. Salesman Scoll Littlefield says the things computers Are used for is just about unending. I have a customer who is using one to write a doctoral another who is writing a Book. People buy them so they can take work irom the office Home. Others have them for Home bookkeeping Lor correspondence sending out Christmas letters Etc filing appointments and playing  James Langemak european agent for the bits n bytes computer company says he knows people who have programmed computers to turn Christmas tree lights on and off and through a voice print to open their front doors. Porto come into the store with the idea of using them Lor one thing. Then in three months they Are Back with the idea of using them for something  but does pecking data into one of these High powered machines always makes sense in some cases would t it be us As Quick to use paper and Pencil not to mention much cheaper would you buy one just with the idea of filing recipes for example Littlefield laughs. Well no he accedes. I think it comes to a question of sharing says Ron Leckrone. Who Heads the defense department computer program Lor schools in Germany. Of you have a collection or material of same Type that you want to share with other people the Home computer makes  As an example he notes that his daughter put together a program that fifes the family s videos. We Trade with friends and now we have two lists around the House. One is alphabetical the other is by the numbers on the jackets. We used to have to go through the tapes each Lime we wanted to find one. Now it is easy and we have the lists Handy to show  Leckrone says his 14-year-old daughter would t qualify As a computer Type but she was Able to put together the tape sorting program As the result of a school class. The Leckrone have Lour Home computers. They started out in t978 with one from Rafto Shack to Beni in 1381 Leckrone bought an atari the Type used in the school system his Wie began transferring her girl scout and leaching work to it. Arid everyone was using it As a word processor. Then Leckrone began writing an atari computer Book for children. The Lime i spent on it caused an uproar in the  they bought another atari. Attlen to began working on a Commodore version of the Book and a Commodore was added to the Home collection. Despite the tact that he is in the computer Field Leckrone sees the dangers involved in Home use. Computers can be 9 time sink is the Way to puts it. Most Novice comp Lentes who be started out without the Laziest idea of computer language know All too Well what he is talking about what do a those codes and signs and key words mean before Long sitting in Iron of the screen turns into an obsessional neurosis. It s computers Day and night. You can lose rack of what your original purpose for sitting Down Fiere was says Leckrone for example say a Bird watcher named John purchases a computer with the idea of cataloguing his Hobby. For 20 cml John has quite happily kept his list of friends and their names and addresses in a simple neat Little address Book. Now suddenly that s not Good enough. He learns Fie can set up a computerized system int sorts them by name and address and prints out labels Etc. Next he finds he can record the Day and time of every computer entry. More discoveries follow. Asked if a Home computer would be worthwhile Tor balancing a Check Book he answers what a waste of  then he admits he actually did if himself for More than Hall a year. You can do categories on How much you spend of each item you buy. I found i really did t want to know How much i spent on  Home computers also can sour Harmony in the Home. Silling in a Corner of the living room evening after evening doggedly typing in programs is a sure Way to incur the Wrath of a spouse. German journalist Klaus Starke writing Lor do Magazine tells what happened in his Case. His wife turned off by evenings of nothing but the clicking of computer keys decided to vacuum and pulled the plug. As the vacuum roared on. Evenings of meticulous work went Down the Drain. Starke 5 Pride four pages of a yearly Calendar program disappeared into never never land. There s Good news though. Langemak Points out that the new generation of software is becoming More and More user  the machines Are being programmed in understandable English. No worry though there still will be plenty to keep you irom concentrating on. Say. The Basic word processing that brought you to buy the thing in the first place. Something new is always being added. One of the newest developments is Mol or the capability to compose your own synthesized music. Leckrone has been experimenting with it. I be Learned a lot he says. There s no doubt computers Are the wave of the future and already Are a part of every facet of the business world. Before investing in one for Home use though be sure you realty Are a computer Type and that you need one to perform tasks that otherwise could not be accomplished. Before buying talk to Oiler owners seek out expert opinion and Check out consumer reports on various models. Also be positive that All the equipment you intend to buy is compatible. Many people have difficulty Lor example in teaming up printers. Don t be discouraged if six months Down the line you discover that the equipment you purchased has suddenly become dated. The Field is continually advancing technically. Ii your equipment still does the Job you purchased .1 for and which you continue to use it for then it s no antique advises a computer Man. Friday August 22, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 13