0 OPINION Page 4 Wednesday, March 31, 1982. The Michigan Daily 40 Computers make themselves at home i By Richard Campbell Personal computers. We've been promised such technical marvels ever since Dick Tracy put on his two-way wrist radio. Everyone from science writers to comic book cartoonists have predicted that computers will someday find their way into the home. As some large corporationms would have you believe, that someday is today. Radio Shack, IBM, and Texas Instruments are now adver- tising their own versions of the mass-produced personal computer. But the story really began about a decade ago. IN 1971, Electronic News heralded the inven- tion of the MCS-4 system. Consisting of little more than a few integrated circuits which would fit in the palm. of your hand, it was, nevertheless, a breakthrough in the design of the personal computer. Compared to today's computers it did absolutely nothing, yet for its time, it was the state of the art. Today's systems are a good deal more com- plex, but at the same time cheaper, more reliable, and easier to use. They are also becoming increasingly'prolific. I typed this article (as-well as my term papers and movie reviews) on a- personal computer in my dorm room, using a text editing program that allows extremely convenient manipulatip of anything that I type into it. Down the hall, a friend is playing Space Invaders, r Pac-man, or Defender on his personal computer. One floor above me, a classmate is hooked up, via telephone lines, into the Michigan Terminal System, which allows him to complete almost all of his homework in computer classes without the drudgery of going center. to the computer In ten years personal computing has changed from four tiny integrated circuits to a billion- dollar-a-year industry allowing practically anyone to own and operate a computer. THESE ARE THE outside changes, the dif- ferences that are obvious and objective. In only ten years, though, there have been a number of other-changes-changes in the kind of person who buys a computer. * If, you bought a computer in the mid- seventies, you were probably a hardware freak. You loved the smell of burning solder, adored wiring things together, and generally liked the mechanics of the machine more than the fact that you could play video games on it. A hardware hack w.was just about the only person who could afford the computer hobby because there were very few repair centers set up. The owner was about the only one who could fix their own machine. And because there were so few standards in the industry, one had to know how to put a few wires together if you wanted to connect your computer to anything else. I BOUGHT my computer, a Digital Group 2-80 based system, in 1976, knowing absolutely k about nuts and bolts. It took a friend who worked in an electronics department to initially assemble the computer from the bag of resistors and circuit boards I had bought. Then it required several trips lugging the suitcase- sized computer back to-the computer store before it started working properly. This ar- duous saga is a fairly typical one for its time. Today, however, it is commonplace to pick up your computer at noon, and, by plugging in a volved in these efforts was relatively small; most of the researchers knew one another, and there was often close communication among them.. . This continued until the early 1950s. Then, this great :ush of creation and ex- citement seemed to slow to a crawl. Some of the researchers went off to work for industry. Computers came out of the experimental labs, and became a profitable area of activity for business and industry. "Particularly important; it appears that the easy communication and exchange of ideas that Was so evident in the '40s was greatly cur- tailed in the late '50s. I SEE THE same problem arising out of the' chaotic, but phenomenal birth of personal computing. During the 1970's there was theO most fantastic progress made in getting com- puters out of the hands of a few businessmen, and accountants, and into the home. Now wi*- the industry becoming controlled by those y same businessmen, the entire personal corn-, puting field might stagnate in this decade. The most impressive aspect of personat. computers is that they are personal. In thye beginning, it was this side of computers tIat, was the most.fascinating. Now, a great dealf the industry is becoming formalized and i dinary. There is still much' that is exciting about home computers. Everyone should go out afid play with, one as soon as possible. But, ther will be no going back to those early days when- computers were fun tinker-toys first, and.,a business second. Let's hope that some of thp fun can remain. Campbell is a Daily Arts editor and a;: computer science major. Daily Photo by JEFF SCHRIER Dorm computing: A trend for today's students. few cables, play Asteroids fifteen minutes later. By the way, don't try and look up the Digital Group. They went out of business a long time ago-a fairly typical occurrence for com- puter companies at this time. As opposed to the early days of personal computing, where an intimate knowledge of the insides of the machine was a necessary part of operating it, today's computer actually makes it difficult to look at its insides. For most, this is a good thing, because people who buy personal computers today are not as interested in how this machine works, and wouldn't know what to do with it if it ever stopped working. It is just another example of how the industry has changed. TODAY, EVEN multi-national corporations are getting into the micro-computing market. Yet it was just yesterday that computers for the home seemed to be an idea in which only a few small groups were involved. " Jim Warren, editor of the original Dr. Dob- bs-a magazine devoted strictly to home com- puterists-wrote of the parallels between the birth of computers and the growth of the per- sonal computer. "The research community in- r Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCII, No. 142 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, M# 48109 Weasel UGGGH !r LOOjKIT 11" 1A1 if oNE.. UNDERSTAND THIS "Mopow4 AR'" sn*F I~ Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board 1415 PAR11WLAR- WAY OF IE46T" WR. THINK it~1 t-.oOKS&LY At* 'Slpip. By Robert Lfence SAME. TO YOU, BU Pvy. L, A vote in El Salvador T HE POLLS are closed in El the Christian Democrats form a suc- Salvador. The votes are in. Unlike cessful coalition. The Christian imost elections, however, the results Democrats support land and economic 6re still unclear. No one is sure yet reform. They also are the best hope for whether the election's, outcome will setting up negotiations between the herald a new day of peace and rebels and the government-the democracy or another dark night of crucial step to a permanent peace. terror. The entire country could then lay down The people of the country expressed arms and join a rational, bloodless their hopes clearly enough. They are fight for political and social reform. ready for a democratic conclusion to More likely-though still uncertain-- the violence that has killed 30,000 would be a coalition formed entirely of 'alvadorans in the last two years.- rightist parties. Such a coalition,, dearly one million voters-or 90 per- making up in total strength what they cent of those eligible-defied leftist lack in individual support, would boycotts of the election by voting on probably crush, in its infancy, chances Sunday. Facing gunfire from both for Salvadoran democracy. The rebel attempts at sabotage and rightists have already announced that military counterattacks, Salvadorans Duarte will be excluded from their ,cast a symbolic vote to end the vicious compromise plans. Their leader would circle of terror propogated by all sides be Roberto d'Aubuisson, a ruthless ex- of the conflict, military leader. D'Aubuisson, M The actual vote, however, proved described as a "pathological killer" by .politically inconclusive-no party won a former U.S. ambassador, is ready to a clear majority. President Jose forcibly rid the country of both reforms Napoleon Duarte's moderate Christian and rebels. :Democrat party received 40 percent of *the vote, while right-wing parties split Anything is now possible as the ;the remainder. moderates, rightists, and rebels jockey The election's real loser may have for position. In a country that provides :been the leftist insurgents. It had been few models for political sanity, it. :thought that the rebels represented the seems unlikely that the reasonable =unspoken will of the people, but the moderate course will prevail. The overwhelming voter turnout casts people made a strong show of support .doubt on this representation. The fate for moderation in Sunday's election, :of the guerrilla army now seems un- but Salvadoran leaders aren't ac- clear, but their political views may customed to listening to others before deserve a voice in the. country's future. acting., With' the current vote tally, their The danger of another right-wing political legitimacy is nonetheless in government certainly exists in El serious question. Salvador's future. Compromise and The country's fate now hangs on moderation are the ideals to be hoped what coalition will be struck between for, though their future is uncertain. the remaining parties. Two Without moderation and compromise, possibilities are open-one that holds a the country's conflict will continue chance forpeace and one that is a sure unabated, and the tiny. Central path to continued madness. American nation will slip back into its. Reason could win a stay inoffice if familiar long night of repression. LETTERS TO THE DAILY: Synchronized swimming s status To the Daily: The varsity status of -the University's synchronized swim- ming team is currently in jeopar- dy. The Board in Control of Inter- collegiate Athletics decided at its January 25 meeting to discon- tinue synchronized swimming as a varsity sport. We, as athletes, had no prior knowledge of this possibility and had no oppor- tunity to address the board. . Synchronized swimming is the only sport scheduled to be drop- ped from varsity status. As a result of this decision, many high caliber athletes will not have the opportunity to obtain a scholar- ship, swim for a nationally- ranked team, and receive an education at the University. It is our understanding that this decision was not based on program quality or lack of funds. The reasons stated for the board's decision are: "Women's sports are now Dart of the Big Ten Conference and this conference does not recognize synchronized swimming- as a Commencement prayers varsity sport. " The University may follow NCAA rules for both men's and women's sports, and the NCAA has no plans to sponsor a national championship for synchronized swimming due to the limited number of varsity teams com- peting. We would like your help in con- vincing the board to reconsider their January decision and take a positive role in the development of synchronized swimming. With eight years of collegiate com- petition behind us, the University synchronized swimming team has achieved many accomplish- ments'whicb deserve merit, such as being ranked third in the nation and having 17 members named 'All-American since 1977 (when synchronized swimming awards were established). We feel that we have made very significant contributions to synchronized swimming on both national and international levels-and we made these con- tributions as a representative of University women's athletics. The result of the board's decision may go beyond the im- mediate setback from the loss of varsity status. Our team may well be eliminated in a "domino effect." Other universitieshave decided to save their teams. Ohio State University and the Univer- sity of Arizona have opted to retain synchronized swimming as a varsity sport. This sport is a growing one. The state of Michigan has a con- siderable number of active syn- chronied swimming programs in junior high and highaschool levels. The sport will also. be. represented at the 1984 Olympics. The accomplishments and elite status of the University's team increases chances for the University to be represented at;. theOlympics. The next meeting of the Board in Control of Intercollegiate Athletics is scheduled for April 27. We ask that you write now to the board if you care about syn- chronized swimming and want to express your concern and request a review of the board's decision. To the Daily: I wonder how many students are aware that prayers will be a part of their commencement exercises. I was shocked to find that members of the clergy are invited to deliver prayers at a ceremony for students and their families to mark the day of' graduation.' On one occasion recently, between the formal opening and closing of the prayer, the minister's remarks on the use of their spare time and study habits brought a great deal of laughter from the audience , which seemed quite out of place during a prayer. At this university we welcome people from around the world representing many different religions. Since we cannot allow religious expression to all of them, I feel it is insensitive of us to include the religious practices of just a few at what is, after all, a secular event. The Honors Con- vocation is a very similar event, but no prayers are included there. Since prayers are forbidden' in public schools, I would think it would be illegal, and certainly unethical, to include them at events put on by this state-funded institution. I hope the Board of Regents will decide to omit prayers from all future commencement exer- cises, and thus avoid the em- barrassing problems that could arise if representatives of other religions request "equal time." -Joyce Thurston March 29 -Cathleen O'Brien Sue Neu Ruth Pickett University Synchronized Swimming team March 26- 0 Letters and columns represent the opinions of the individual author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the - attitudes or beliefs of the Daily. Wassermtan V)ON E&A NERC To1 "TALK WITh I OU A5'OUT DEFICITS.. .I -r A..i LIBERAL DEFICITS A5 FoLuI tDEFICITS - T{EYRE CON EWVEh DEFICITS PARE NOTPLNE-I W E'RE ThE RE S ULT O F U F R SE N f ; SO 5EFORE 'You LET SOMY'EONE SELYOU PEF IC T, MAKE S4flE , A A N i I L 9