Consumer electronics: From calculators and cameras galore to video recorders, the shopping list grows

Evidence of the vast inroads of electronics into the consumer market is all around us. The steady drop in integrated circuit costs has, on the one hand, put $29.95 calculators on the market and, on the other, made possible the introduction of sophisticated electronic cameras, electronic ranges, and — want it or not — seat-belt interlock systems for the family car.^1,2 Consumer products that would have been too expensive to be marketable a few years ago — if, indeed, they could have been produced at all — are now on the market and all indications point to the fact that more are on the way.