The Silicon Jungle

by David H. Rothman

With the understanding that my list isn’t necessarily complete, here are other people to whom I’m grateful:

John Allen; Joseph Auer; Stephen Banker (will someone please locate a $1,200 hard-disk Victor 9000 for him?—Steve deserves it for the help he gave me); Lindsay Baird, Jr.; Rich Baker; Rob Barnaby; Richard Barry; Jane Bator of Susan Croft Associates; Nancy Beckman; Mike Bell; John Bennett; Tom Bennett (he really should be in the top six); Dan Berger; Robert Bertini, Jr.; Ed Bigelow; Janice Blood; Jay BloomBecker; Jack Bologna; Ed Boland; Kenneth Bosomworth; Charles Bowie; Mike Bradley; Barbara Brubacker; Ted Buchholz; David Bunnell; William F. Buckley, Jr.; John Butler; Robert Campbell; John Carroll; Elizabeth Carlson; Steve Caswell; “Cheshire Catalyst”; Vinton Cerf; Naren Chitty; Chris Christiansen; Ward Christensen; Ken Churbuck; Arthur C. Clarke; Joseph Coates; Jeanette Counsellor; Glenn Cowan; Chris Daly; Martin Dean; Judy-Lynn del Rey; Dick Diluciano; Kathleen Dixon; Frank Dobisky (“B.C.E.,” friend and PR man extraordinaire); David Eisen; Margaret Engel; James Fallows (my Victor guru); Guy Farley; Tom Fay; Paul Fessler; Jack Fitzgerald; Geoff Fobes; Ron Fowler; Jim Fox; Steve Frankel (author of The Compleat Kaypro); John Fuller; Bill Gladstone (who, while remaining loyal to his friend Andy Kay, respected my right to call the shots as I saw them and in fact nurtured this project); Jerry Glenn; Geoff Goodfellow; Gil Gordon (his new telecommuting newsletter, TELECOMMUTING REVIEW, offers common sense and humanity along with insight—a combination all too often missing in the computer world; you may write for subscription information to Telespan Publishing, 50 W. Palm St., Altadena, Ca. 91001); Sandy Gossman; Etienne Grandjean; Adam Green; Judy Gregory; Sue Grothoff; Tom Hacker; H. Glen Haney; Richard Harkness; Charles Harris; Patricia Hausman; James Hayhoe; William Hole (ace library researcher); Gabe Heilig; Carl Herrman; Jeremy Joan Hewes; Harold Joseph Highland; Clauda Houston; Hugh Hunt; Peter Hyams; Chris Jensen; Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz; Steve Jongeward; Phil Judkins; Mitch Kapor; R. A. Karasek; Esther King; Marc King; Carol Kaplan; Lloyd Kaufman; Andy and David Kay; Kay Keeshen; Richard Koffler; David LaGrande; Jack LaVriha; John Lewis; Bob Lucas of Trigram Systems (who let me try out his useful MicroSpell spelling-checker on this manuscript); Art Lundquist (owner of Clinton Computers); Nick Lyons; Jim Mahony; Mary Matthews; Judi McClean; Bill McDonald; Jan McGowan; Chodi McReynolds; John Madden; Rainer Malitze-Goes; Basil Malony; Glenn Marcus; Clyde Merritt; Maxine Messinger; Eric, Eugene and Rima Meyer; Greg Minjack; Rolf Moulton; Ian (“Captain Zap”) Murphy; Peter Nero; Rick Nelson; Jack Nilles; J. Michael Nye; Cliff Odendhal; Dusty Park; Donn Parker; Ann Patrick; Tom Peifer; Joseph Pelton; Margaret Phanes; Don Pierce; John O’Mara; Greg Platt of PeopleTalk Associates; Joe Policy; Michael Pond; Liz, Mitzi, David and the rest of the gang at the Computer Shoppe; Doug Rickman of The Disk Connection (who donated the copy of MITE I needed to talk to Arthur C. Clarke); Don Ramsey; Peter Ross Range; Gary Rinkerman of The Computer Law Reporter; Hood Roberts; Mark Robinson; Harry Rothman (research); Seymour Rubinstein; Marilynne Rudick; Bruce Rupp; Richard Russell; Gabriel Salvendy (source of invaluable perspective for the “HAL” chapter); Timothy Schabeck; Alan Scharf; Joe Schopen; Michael Scott of BCI; William Scrivo; Frank Schiff; Ezra Shapiro; Joe Shelton; Ben Shneiderman; James Schweitzer; Mike Slade; Michael Smith, David Snyder; Harry Snyder; Jo Steele; Bill Stern; Barbara Sturken; Ann Sumner; Jim Swanner (for approving the MITE donation); Geoff Sweeney; Jeff Tarter; Bonita Taylor, Jerry terHorst; Chris Torem; Murray Turoff; Terian Tyre; Stanton Umans; Bernard Urban; Holly Vail; John Verboon; Nick Vergis; Barbara Wagner; Robert Waters; James Watt; Harvey Welch; William Wewer; David Whiters; Lynn Wilson; Edward and Patricia Wright; and Kitty Yaney.

INDEX

• Accounting software
  • Accounting Plus, [75-77]
  • case example, [73-78]
• Acoustically coupled modem, [349]–50
• Alphanumeric field, [81]–82
• Alternate key, definition of, [47]
• AND, [82]
• APPEND command, [82]
• Applications programs, [23]
• Area chart, [331], [333]
• ASCII, [352]
• Asynchronous communications, [353]
• Audit trail, [168], [321]
• Automatic dialing, modems, [351]–52

• Backups
  • avoiding crashes, [192]–94
  • hard disks, [196]–97
  • lap-sized portables, [198]
  • scratch disk, [195]
• Bar charts, [332]
• Barnaby, Rob, [7], [46], [48], [50]–59, [61]
• Baseband, [247]
• Bidirectional printers, [296]
• Bit, [20]
• Bit mapping, graphics, [344]
• Black boxes, [189]
• Block move, definition of, [48]
• Blocks, [351]
• Boland, Ed, [73]–78
• Boldface feature, [299]
• Bowie, Charlie, [78]–86
• Broadband, [247]
• Bubble memory, data security and, [197]
• Buffer, [300], [351]
• Bugs, [302]
• A bus, network lay-out, [244]–45
• Buying a computer
  • key questions for, [282]–92
  • printers, [294]–301
  • software, [302]–309
  • used computers, [292]–93
• Byte, [20]

• Calculations, [326]
• Captain Zap, [2], [163], [190]–191, [193]
• Capture ability, modem, [351]
• Cataracts, VDTs and, [156]
• Cathode ray tube (CRT), Kaypro, [25]
• Cells, [85]
• Central processing unit (CPU), [20]
• Character-based systems, graphics, [344]
• Character field, [81]
• Characters, size/shape, [142]
• Charts, See [Graphics].
• Check sum, [351]
• Clarke, Arthur, C., [2], [249]–70
• CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), [197]
• Coaxial cable, [246]–47
• Colors, use in graphics, [336]–37
• Command-driven systems, [71]–72
• Command files, [82]
• Compatibility, Kaypro and IBM, [20]–21
• Composite monitor, [143]
• Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), [98]
• Computer Classified Bluebook, [292]
• Computer conferencing, [230]
• Computer crime, [9], [163]–99
  • data diddling, [166]–67
  • data leakage, [172]–73
  • dial-up computers, protection of, [190]–91
  • employee policy and, [179]–83
  • impersonation, [174]–76
  • logic bomb, [171]
  • overwriting as protection, [191]–92
  • passwords and, [188]–89
  • piggybacking, [173]–74
  • protection against, [183]–86
  • rounding interest downward, [168]–69
  • sample auditing, [165]–66
  • scavenging, [172]
  • simulation, [171]–72
  • small businesses and, [165]
  • superzapping, [169]–70
  • TAP, [175]–77
  • trapdoor/backdoor, [170]–71
  • Trojan horse tricks, [167]–68
  • wiretapping, [173]
• Computer furniture, selection of, [147]–49
• Computerized pacing, [133]
• Computers, future developments, [262]–67
• Conductors, [246]
• Consultants, [100]–115
  • aspects of hiring decision, [101], [107]–113
  • case examples, [101]–106
  • contracts, guidelines for, [339]–42
  • microcomputer field and, [105]–106
  • qualifications of, [112]–13
  • salesmen/consultants, [112]
  • sample consulting contract, [114]–15
• Contracts, for consultants, [114]–15, [339]–42
• Control characters, [353]
• Control key, definition of, [47]
• Correspondence quality, [297]
• CP/M (Control Program for Microcomputers), [20], [22]–23, [285]
• Crashes, disk crashes, [192]–93
• Cross-hatch, [331]
• CRTs, alternatives to, [160]–62
• Cursor, [9], [47]
• Curve chart, [331], [333]
• Customization, source code, [77]

• Daisy wheel printer, [294]
  • shortcomings of, [296]–98
• Data-base programs, [81], [323]–30
  • calculations, [326]–27
  • data fields, [324]–26
  • dBASE II, [81]–83
  • InfoStar, [323]–30
  • overhead, [327]
  • Perfect Filer[Filer], [324]-27
  • sort keys, [327]
• Data bits, [350]
• Data diddling, [166]–67
• Data disk, [24]
• Data Encryption Standard (DES), [189]
• Data-entry work, [107]
• Data fields, [324]–26
• Data file, [324]
• Data leakage, [172]–73
• Data processing, micros and, [125]–27
• Data record, [324]
• Data security, [163]–64
  • backups, [192], [194]–99
  • protecting floppies, [193]–94
  • scratch disk and, [195]
  • See also [Computer crime].
• Data transfer, windows, [344]
• dBASE II, [81]–83
  • features of, [81]–82
  • training time, [83]
• Dean, Martin, [66]–68
• Defaults, [308]
• Designer’s Guide to Creating Charts and Diagrams (Holmes), [334]
• Dial-up computers, protection of, [190]–91
• Digital voltmeter, Kay’s, [18]
• Digitizing tablet, [347]
• Direct-connect modem, [349]–50
• Disk-based word processor, [305]
• Disk crashes, [192]–93
• Disk drive
  • head of, [23]
  • twin, [23]–24
• Disks, rules for protection of, [193]–94
• Documentation, [49], [288]
  • evaluation of, [304]
• Dot matrix printer, [294]–95
  • size of characters, [142]
• Double-density feature, Kaypro, [24]
• Draft quality, [297]
• Dvorak keyboard, [146]

• EBCDIC, [352]
• Echo back, [352]
• Echo mode, [357]–58
• EDIT command, [82]
• 8088 Chip, [20]
• Electroluminescent screens, [161]
• Electronic bulletin boards, [223]
• Electronic Information Exchange System (EIES), [222]
• Electronic mail, [228]–33
  • advantages of, [230]–31
  • capabilities of, [228]–29
  • computer conferencing, [230]
  • negative aspects of, [231]–32
• Electropheretic screens, [161]
• Encryption, [189]
• Environmental factors, See Ergonomics.
• Epson, [43]–44, [59]
• Ergonomics, [128]–62
  • air conditioning/heat/ventilation, [152]
  • aspects of good ergonomics, [129]–30
  • back/muscular problems, [156]–57
  • computerized pacing, [133]–37
  • CRTs, [159]–60
  • eyestrain, [158]–59
  • furniture, selection of, [147]–49
  • health factors, VDTs, [152]–54
  • keyboard, selection of, [143]–47
  • lighting, [149]–51
  • liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), [160]–62
  • noise reduction, printers, [151]–52
  • participatory monitoring, [137]–38
  • psychological problems, [157]–58
  • radiation from VDTs, [154]–56
  • screen, selection of, [140]–43
  • word processing operations, [134]–35
• Error-checking, modem, [350]
• Escape key, definition of, [47]
• Ethernet, [236], [244], [246]–47
• Expansion slot, [41]
• Extremely low frequency radiation (ELF), [155]
• Eyestrain, computer use and, [158]–59

• Field, [81]
• Field names, [81]
• Field type, [81]
• Field width, [81]
• File
  • data base, [81]
  • definition of, [47]
• File locking, [242]
• File server, [244]
• Filters, for glare, [151]
• Flat screens, [160]
  • weaknesses of, [161]–62
• Flow control, [351]
• Foot candles, [150]
• Full duplex modem, [351]