A26 - Friday, April 6, 1984 - North Shore News

Special to the NEWS

Try to make your computer

THEIR NUMBERS have ballooned into the
milhons, but owners of home computers are still
sharing a pioneer experience.

By STEVE BAREHAM

In return for the pleasures
and benefits of possessing the
ultimate high tech device,
these determined individuals
must endure many hardships:
tiny keyboards that are dif-
ficult to type on, software
that costs plenty and yet
leaves a lot to be desired,

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components that are hard to
select, install and make work
and accessories that cost two
or three times as much as the
computer itself.

Computer shopping can be
made less traumatic,
however, if it is coupled with
a little basic knowledge and
some common sense, says
Lionel Tolan, a _ micro-
computer consultant with the

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‘*High tech is being touted
so. forcefully that many
parents feel an obligation to
direct their children into
computers. Indeed I've heard
it said lately that anyone with
children who doesn't have a
micro is a negligent parent '

Although Tolan feels this
may be going a bit too far, he

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does stress that people who
take the computer
phenomenon too lightly may
be sorry in the not too distant
future.

**As has been pointed out
by experts, people whose jobs
require extensive work with
numbers or words who don’t
know anything about com-
puters, are living on borrow-
ed time. The technology is
virtually exploding and some
estimates suggest that by the
end of 1986, one half of
North American homes will

have computers. The big
challenge is in making sure
that the systems that are pur-
chased are capable of
meeting personal
requirements."'

And the place to start, says
Tolan, is not with computer
hardware itself but with the
software or programs ‘‘The
tendency is for people to rush
out and start playing with

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tion to the physical machine
may be understandable, it is
important to remember that
the computer itself is just
silicon, plastic and metal. It
is the software that makes a
computer usef'

Tolan suggests preparing a
list of conceivable and in-
tended uses: word process-
ing, household budgetting,
accessing information net-
works, computer games, etc.

**Decide what services your
family requires and then go

NEWS photo lain Sniith

THE NEW COMPUTER system at the North Shore News has streamlined
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Here, Nora Haaland makes entries on the accounting computer at the News.

in search of software that will
fulfill these needs The key
here is experimentation. Visit
computer stores thal carry a
large selection. Good stores
will let you try various pro-
grams and any store that
won't probably isn’t the
place to buy from

See page A27

aamae

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