More than fun and games

It is noted that as computers proliferate in the home, both the quality and the variety of instructional software are increasing. While all programs at present are stored on magnetic disks, Sony Corp. will soon be introducing a laser-read digital component disk capable of storing 540 Mbyte of user data in read-only memory. The most highly interactive videodisk systems, which comprise a computer, monitor, television screen, videodisk player, and computer interface, are described. An `electronic book´, compiled at the Media Laboratory at MIT, is then described. The book, which uses sound, motion films, and graphics to augment the text, is continuously interactive. Finally, the electronic databases that can be accessed with a home computer are discussed.