Reviews computer storage devices designed to provide additional memory for microcomputers--chips, floppy disks, hard disks, optical disks--and describes how secondary storage is used (file transfer, formatting, ingredients of incompatibility); disk/controller/software triplet; magnetic tape backup; storage volatility; disk emulator; and…

Recent work on the development and testing of various components of the Lincoln Training System (LTS) is reported. Plans were further developed for the testing of the LTS-1 terminal at the Keeler Technical Training Center in order to prove that this type of terminal can function as the main medium of teaching in a self-paced training environment.…

Described are types of programs used for processing text (editors, print formatters, and word processors), followed by the comparison of four word-processing packages: Auto Scribe, Electric Pencil, Magic Want and Word Star. With the exception of Auto Scribe, all programs reviewed are CP/M versions. (KC)

Analyzes computer terminal memory performance in terms of overflow probability and average queueing delay, and presents new method to derive a closed expression for data arrivals with Erlangly distributed interarrival times and an approach to derive steady state probability expressions of the terminal memory content process. Twenty references are…

The author describes the floppy disk with an analogy to the phonograph record, and discusses the advantages, disadvantages, and capabilities of hard-sectored and soft-sectored floppy disks. She concludes that, at present, the floppy disk will continue to be the primary choice of personal computer manufacturers and their customers. (KC)

A bulk data input processor which is available for the Rapidly Extensible Language (REL) English versions is described. In REL English versions, statements that declare names of data items and their interrelationships normally are lines from a terminal or cards in a batch input stream. These statements provide a convenient means of declaring some…

Presents a system model for transmission of input data that is coming from terminals of users in a limited user resource-sharing environment. Performance of a mini/microcomputer receiving mixture of picture-phone terminal data is analyzed with constant service times, synchronous transmission, and single-server interruptions through first-order…

A generalizable procedure for the analysis and design of information systems is described in the context of allied and supporting data methods, design assessment, and project management considerations. This procedure follows from a view of information systems development as a complex series of goal-directed iterations, rather than a well-ordered…

This article defines three separate categories of microcomputers--personal, desk-top, multi-user devices--and relates storage capabilities (expandability, floppy disks) to library applications. Highlghts include de facto standards, operating systems, database management systems, applications software, circulation control systems, dumb and…

Describes InfoStation, an information system which integrates a microcomputer with a videotape recorder and facsimile machine, to provide backup storage and selective retrieval of both analog and digital information. The features and applications of the system are described in detail and compared with other computer storage methods. (CLB)

Describes floppy disk information storage systems and discusses capabilities and advantages of floppy disks for microcomputer users. The functions of disk operating systems (DOS) are reviewed and the effect of DOS formats on the choice of an appropriate disk drive system is outlined. (JL)

WISE is an on-line interactive information retrieval system designed particularly for bibliographic data bases, but it is potentially useful for any keyword-oriented data base. The WISE user searches a data base by entering and combining keywords that are appropriate to the data base and the subject area of interest. The user can also enter…

Preliminary specifications of major equipment and programing systems characteristics for a remote terminal central computing facility serving 25-75 secondary schools are presented. Estimation techniques developed in a previous feasibility study were used to delineate workload demands for four model regions with different numbers of institutions…

This thesis describes the requirements for a buffer storage device, with respect to other system components and its own limitations, which is designed to aid in the economic transmission of processed data from a central computer to distant terminals. Proceeding from the fact that tariff rates on wide band educational television channels are…

Reports on the editing display terminals--sometimes called Cathode Ray Tubes--at Kansas State University's school newspaper and describes how these systems can be combined with computers for storing information. (RB)