Technology '84 personal computers: Common sense replaces computerese, steps are taken toward standardization, and interactive graphics gains ground

Personal computers have grown in the last few years from vehicles for video games and word processing into machines rivaling minis and mainframes in computing power. The personal computers introduced last year, however, are marked not only by this characteristic but by a new emphasis on sophisticated software and graphics. The user no longer gains access to the computer's power only by typing cryptic code words through a keyboard but also by pointing to symbols on a screen; he can use common sense rather than computerese. A variety of different approaches, combining graphics software and hardware, are seen in new products: screen cursors controlled with a joystick or a “mouse,” touch screens, graphic “windows,“ and programmable, or “soft,” keys.