Northeast Computer Show in Boston draws 50,000

BOSTON, MA-Moving robots, cars and watches that talk, computer games and every manner of software, hardware, gizmos and gimmicks were on display at the opening of the Northeast Computer Show, October 15-18. Approximately 50,000 attendees eagerly stroked keyboards and tested software of numerous business, home and personal computers that were on display.

The four-day show featured the wares of 550 exhibitors. The mix of potential and experienced computer users who cruised the aisles led to a steady flow of traffic among hardware and software vendors alike. You could get an immediate “hands-on” feel for the exhibition by using the computerized directory at the show’s entrance. Booth information and location assistance were available on eight touch-sensitive terminals.

One exhibitor, who was asked to compare this years crowd to last year’s, said that he saw a new phenomenon developing. “People are making a $3000 microcomputer an impulse buy-everyone feels he has to have one.”

Other exhibitors disagreed. “They opened the doors and 85,000 kids came running in,” said one. Another felt there were “more than enough interested people to make this all worth. it, although we’ll have to wait and see if it results in more sales.

“We know there are people who won’t visit a computer store but are still curious. They want to take a peek at what’s going on,” said a spokesman for Commodore Business Machines. Commodore, a first-time exhibitor, showed off its Super PET, which the company expects to compete against the Apple Il Plus.

Many price-conscious buyers found their way to the Sinclair Research booth, where the company was selling its new ZX81 computer for $150, as- sembled, and under $100 unassembled. Sinclair representatives showed that the ZX81 could perform a variety of personal and financial functions, besides offering games.

There were more manufacturers of larger systems this year than in the two previous years of the show’s existence. The IBM booth was always packed with people who were interested in seeing the new IBM Personal Computer and the Datamaster. Data General, DEC, NEC and Wang were also on hand, testing the personal and business-computer waters.

The weekend had a carnivallike atmosphere, with people of all ages wanting to learn as well as have fun. A must stop for them was the huge Atari booth, which featured Atari 400 and 800 computers hooked into several color monitors as well as into a large video screen.

Many businessmen were looking for a computer to improve company productivity, ways to upgrade current systems or means to better handle personal finances.

No exhibitor can be totally sure in advance that a show is right for his product. As one person put it, “We learned a lot more from the people who visited our booth than they did from us.”