From Compute! Issue 46 - March 1984

Peripherals In The Year 1999

Kathy Yakal, Editorial Assistant

Is it compatible with my computer? Will I need to buy extra cables? What if I decide to buy a different computer a year from now—can I still use the same modem? The issues of standardization and compatibility are likely to change in the next decade. What’s more, new technologies are continually appearing in each new generation of peripherals.

Purchasing the right peripherals for your computer can be complicated. The buyer must make some complex technical choices: IEEE-488. Hayes-compatible. RS-232. Requires 80-column card. Requires special cables (available separately). IBM-compatible.

A Package Deal

One possible response to the compatibility problem is to avoid third-party hardware manufacturers and buy everything for your system from the company which made your computer.

Coleco encourages this with their new Adam system. “The reason we’re offering a package concept is that we perceived a great deal of confusion in the home,market,” says Barbara Wruck, director of corporate communications at Coleco. “Many consumers were buying inexpensive CPU’s, only to find out that that’s all they had—a CPU.

“It’s important to give the new computer owner every piece of equipment that lets them do it immediately, a system that is useful, easy to operate, and affordable.” As an Adam owner grows in knowledge and needs new equipment, says Wruck, Coleco will continue to produce “carefully selected peripherals” to expand the power of the system.

Is this the answer to peripheral problems? “I think the consumer is saying that it is,” says Wruck. “We believe this is the correct approach.”

Why am I quoting this magazine article from almost 22 years ago? Because Barbara Wruck is my mom. Hell, I think her ideas make sense! The author doesn’t seem to:

Buying any computer, disk drive, printer, and modem and having them work together at once might seem like high-tech heaven, but it’s not likely to happen.

So funny. As a side note, I come from a toy/gaming family: Mom worked at Coleco, Dad worked at Hasbro, and my grandfather worked for Parker Brothers (where my mom had her first job). I guess it’s in my blood.