TO MANY PEOPLE, the word "computer" is a kind of future shock - an image of huge, intimidating machines banked in specially climate-controlled rooms, deep in corporate America. The people who use them, we think, are an elite group - far from ordinary people, hunched over their glowing video screens like sorcerers bending over a bubbling cauldron.
Is it true? No. Those machines will always have a place in business-they keep track of our taxes, send out insurance policies, figure our utility bills. But suddenly, over the past few years, a new crop of computers has sprouted. Instead of ominous, roomsize boxes, these machines are friendly personal information machines-affordable automated servants that can help you keep track of your budget, figure your taxes, store and retrieve recipes, and even write your checks at the end of the month.
Over the past few years, hundreds of thousands ofthese low-cost computers have flooded the market. Today's personal, or home, computers, which often sell for well under $500, have all the power of a computer costing tens of thousands of dollars ten years ago. Today, just about anyone can buy one, take it home and plug it in-and have computer power at his or her fingertips.