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From: ksb@houxs.UUCP (K.BANDES)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: RE: what's needed for a home computer (A Use)
Message-ID: <308@houxs.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 3-Oct-85 15:32:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: houxs.308
Posted: Thu Oct  3 15:32:43 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 4-Oct-85 05:48:56 EDT
Organization: AT&T Information Systems, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 44

What's needed for a home pc is a USE!  Let's get real, folks, who cares
what features it has if there's nothing you can do with it to justify
the cost.

Let's look at the usual ideas:

Recipes:  mostly cut out of newspapers & magazines anyway and filed
as is - why type them over into a computer?  People who try this generally
give up almost immediately.

Record Keeping:  of what?  Do you really keep records?  I keep receipts,
bill stubs, copies of tax returns, etc. - nothing I can put on my hard
drive.

Word Processing:  If you're a writer, this is a legitimate use.  How
much typing do you actually do?  Do you dream of being a writer?  If
so, you are either writing or you aren't, and a computer won't make
the difference.

Home Banking:  this might be good for active investors, but for Joe
Average who deposits a paycheck and pays the rent, a pc is worth a lot
of stamps and envelopes.

Appliance Control:  I never understood what this stuff was for anyway,
let alone why you need a computer to do it.  If you want to turn your
lights on and off automatically, there are inexpensive timers.

Programming:  good for programmers.  I'm one, and I just bought a
6300, but I've survived all this time without one.  As for non-programmers
who think learning BASIC will enhance their career potential, that's
nothing but a cruel joke.

Some people actually need these things.  Some other people, like me, don't
but want them anyway.  Most people need the money more, and want a VCR
more.  That's why the computer business is what it is these days, with
warehouses full of solutions looking for problems.

Ken Bandes
(on contract at) AT&T IS
...!ihnp4!houxs!ksb

These opinions are probably not those of my client, AT&T.