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...Dubbed the Manhattan Project during 15 years of development, SelectaVision works much like a phonograph. A diamond needle picks up video and audio signals from the tiny grooves of a silvery plastic disc whirling at 450 r.p.m. To operate the machine, which is connected to a TV set, the user simply inserts a disc and flips a lever...
From its introduction, SelectaVision was fatally upstaged by an electronic relative, the videocassette recorder, which had come out six years earlier. Most consumers prefer VCRs because the machines can record broadcasts as well as play prerecorded tapes. SelectaVision machines, by contrast, allow the user to play only prerecorded discs. Says Arthur Morowitz, president of New York's Video Shack chain: "It was a dinosaur from the beginning. There was never a really strong need...
Even though SelectaVision is dead, videodisc technology will probably continue to grow. Such firms as Pioneer and Magnavox, which sell disc machines that use a more advanced system based on lasers, are expected to continue making machines. These devices, which assign a number to each image, allow the user to call up an individual frame almost instantly. Priced at about $700, the laser players are often used in education and industry. Several firms are developing ways to use video discs as data-storage devices for computers...
...Chico, Calif, this software package offers individuals with a simple estate a quick way to draw up a will without an attorney's help. The program poses questions in plain English (sample: "Do you wish to leave any part of your estate to your college?"), waits until the user types in the answers and then leads him through the process of drawing up the document. Written by a lawyer who specializes in wills, the program satisfies the probate requirements of every state except Louisiana, which has a legal system based on the ancient Napoleonic Code...
Ralph: You mean sex is not just a user-friendly technology? Tell me more...