Abstract :
This worthwhile book is addressed to the computer user, but has much to offer others interested in computers for the 70´s. It contains 13 separately authored papers from the Seventh Informatics, Inc. Symposium on Information Processing. In Isaac L. Auerbach´s contribution, there is a statement that summarizes the general tone of the total book, namely, In the past, we have been over-optimistic in short-term forecasts of our accomplishments and, on the other hand, have grossly underestimated long-term accomplishments, particularly regarding the growth and application areas of the computer industry. Considering the nature of our technology, I feel that our crystal ball will be just as cloudy in the 1970´s as it has been in the past two decades.
