Word: videodiscs
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...Dirk will have rivals in the arcades. Data East USA has begun shipping a laser videodisc game called Bega's Battle, in which a superhero must save the world from destruction by fending off fireballs and dragons. Also expected to reach the arcades soon is Mylstar Electronics' M.A.C.H. 3, which stands for Military Air Command Hunter. The game puts the player in the cockpit of a fighter or bomber, and the laser disc projects film footage of terrain passing below, while the computer generates graphics representing enemy tanks, bridges and factories, which the pilot tries to destroy...
Despite the caution of other publishers, Grolier remains optimistic about computerized reference sources. Says Frank Farrell, president of the electronic-publishing division: "We intend to break the constrictions of the printed page and make reading more dynamic." The firm is already planning a videodisc encyclopedia that may use laser technology. This would allow a student with a divided terminal screen to hear a Beethoven symphony while reading an article about the composer...
...saving cardiac arrest victims, is so interactive that it practically cries "Ouch!" The disc is linked to a mannequin equipped with 14 sensors, and it tells the trainee exactly where to push, pound, pinch or pummel. Instructing the trainee how to compress the victim's chest, the videodisc might say, "Find the notch on the sternum," or perhaps, "A little more gently this time." At the course's conclusion, the system gives a complete exam, grades it, and can certify the student in cardiopulmonary resuscitation...
...moment, interactive programs are being used or developed at Atari (the disc acts as an indefatigable salesman in the showroom); IBM; Sears, Roebuck (Looking for a gingham dress? You can find it on their videodisc catalogue); General Motors; the Smithsonian Institution; Walt Disney Productions; Xerox; and the National Gallery of Art (recording 16,000 works of art for scholarly delectation). As a teaching tool for schools, industry and museums, the interactive videodisc has an assured place...
...just as the use of the home computer depended on the marketing of interesting software, the videodisc player's consumer popularity awaits the creation of enticing disc software and increased awareness of the computer in the home. It should be understood, says M.I.T.'s video wizard An drew Lippman, that "the videodisc is peripheral to your personal computer, not the televison set." And that the admonition "Look but don't touch" applies to oil paintings, not TV screens...