European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 06, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Is Bulj 11 b brought Power to the people by Scott Duncan Baltimore evening Suni t was the decade of the dreaded 1984. But. Surprise when the orwellian year of reckoning arrived technology was our Friend not some meddling tool of big brother. The electronics Boom brought Power to the people. More precisely Freedom. From the shackles of network scheduling the Var from the tyranny of the Telephone the answering machine from pay per View television the satellite dish from traffic jams the car phone from television commercials the Remote control from the . Postal service the fax machine from two dimensional snapshots the camcorder from Frozen roasts the microwave oven. From adolescent boredom the video game and from analog Hiss the compact disc. Yes the 80s were Good to the average consumer. Beleaguered from the inflation Ridden 70s, a new age dawned in the 80s when Consumers saw prices of electronic gear much of in made in Japan actually go Down. The first Sony bet Amax videocassette recorder made its debut in 1975 with a Price tag of $2.200. And Blank tapes Selling or $20 a decade later a Var could be had for $250, and tapes Lor $6. In the 70s. Consumers were warned. Buy now before the Price goes  in the 80s, they could relax too expensive wait awhile it la get cheaper. The Var takes Pride of place in what some called the entertainment revolution of the 80s by decade s end. 65 percent of  Homes had Vars easily outstripping Cable television the Var spawned time shifting a network television term for the practice of taping a program from one Lime Slot and watching it in another. Var owners called it gaining control of the to set and while watching the taped program Why bother with commercials simply press the Button and fast Forward smiling All the while in Sweet revenge video rental stores proliferated across the country offering for $2 daily rentals of movies that Cost $5 in Heaters. Video rentals Cable and time shifting had ominous ramifications for network television executives who watched their Market share drop from 92 percent in 1977 to 74 percent seven years later. Yet americans were consuming More entertainment than Ever before. Ii was the new night life of the Couch potato. The trusty old family to was transformed in the 80s. Ii multiplied and spread from the living room to the Kitchen bedroom basement and boat. It shrunk and was taken to football games. It became a movie screen for the Var a family album for the camcorder and an Arcade machine for Nintendo. Video games what did kids do before Pac Man at decade s close kids 8 to 15 years old were in the clutches of Nintendo the third generation of video games to Rule the 80s. Before Nintendo was the atari Boom of the Early 80s. This year 20 million Nintendo machines Are expected to be in american Homes. They Sharpen hand Eye coordination and deepen the Gulf Between kids and adults unwilling to learn their Lingo. No instruction Booklet for video games exists no abstract Laws that govern a sense of fair play. It is a journey of survival to kill or be killed As each level brings increased danger and violence. Knowledge is gained Only through brute repetition and lips from Wiser friends. The 80s marked the demise of help the Long playing record that in turn had replaced the 78 the compact disc was the new formal. And for Consumers this was Progress with a bittersweet Edge. There was the increased playing time 75 minutes and improved sonics on the new cd. But the formal switch brought the Specter of replacing one s entire record Library with cd which ranged in Price from $10 to $17 each score one for the record companies. Soon new reissues of everything from beatles albums to Beethoven symphonies were flooding the shelves of record stores the increased sales reinvigorated a moribund record Industry. Digital audio tape technology held great Promise for cd sticker Shock. It could tape cd digitally preserving the Pristine sound and allow Consumers to make copies. But commercial introduction of Dat was delayed Lor most of the decade by threats of lawsuits. Score another one for record companies. But the 80s will be remembered As a time when our gadgets delighted and emancipated us and raised troubling questions the Public has become a front line news gatherer capturing some of the most arresting moments of Nat i and human disasters on the network news thanks to their camcorders. How close can we get to the death o others before invading their privacy with today s College students walking campuses plugged into Walkman Are they open to new experiences meeting new people when a music love can listen to the Berlin philharmonic at Home will he let his subscription to the local symphony expire will a generation raised on video games and mtg still find peace and enrichment in Reading a novel technology alas cares not for questions Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday january 6, 1990