Word: beep
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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This desperate foraging for batteries will symbolize the fact that the era of small, clever (and usually battery-powered) computer- toys has arrived in full beep. But beeps are not the extent of the commotion; in a couple of astonishing cases, the new gadgets will play games with their owners while announcing the moves and commenting on the play in understandable spoken English, or in one of several other languages that the purchaser may choose. Some of the toys are musical, and some are rolling, programmable robot vehicles...
When hand-held computer toys and games first appeared on the market two years ago, retail sales climbed briskly to between $35 million and $40 million. This year's retail sales should be ten times greater (against total toy sales of about $5.5 billion). The great beep forward came when Milton Bradley noticed that adults were buying its innovative Simon -for themselves, and not just in the weeks before Christmas. The highly seasonal nature of toy buying has always been an industry bugaboo; after Christmas, retailers can get stuck with toys that won't sell...
...electronic games seem to encourage simple repitition. (Although at Jordan Marsh they encourage nothing since the display models are mostly out of batteries except for one called "Einstein," which sounds, from its weary beep, to be operating at about one-tenth normal charge.) One machine obviously designed to increase a child's self-confidence, boasts simply "I am programmed to beat you." Even Etch-A-Sketch, once a marvelously cranky mechanical drawing toy, has been automated...
...want to leave a message, please wait for the beep because . . . um . . . I don't know . . . otherwise the thing cuts off. Thank...
...outsiders. As Groll tells it, the relaxed life-style that the sociologists found seems to have changed drastically. Even with today's can-you-top-this cult scene, his account of training for life in outer space is remarkable. Each minute, 24 hours a day, a musical beep sounds across the camp from a command tent ("Central"). During the day, at twelve-beep intervals, the disciples check Central for their next task. Among their duties: camp chores, perimeter guarding and stints as "rotating eyes" (monitoring campers' conduct and reporting violations...