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Introduction
Difficult as it may be to believe, there was actually a time when only a hand-
ful of people had computers in their homes. For those of us who got on the
bandwagon early, finding a use for such an expensive appliance was a chal-
lenge. Some people used their computers to run spreadsheet applications
like Lotus 1 2 3. Others, like us, found that just playing around and explor-
ing how they functioned was justification enough. And no one wanted to
admit they played games on their computers; it was nearly shameful.
How times have changed. Today, personal computers are considerably
more affordable, and nearly one in every four homes has at least one. More
than a third of those homes have broadband Internet access. In the old
days—when computing resources were enormously expensive—an idle
CPU was money wasted. Today, processing power is cheap, and we’ve got
cycles to burn.
Personal computers can enhance your life at home in ways you may not have
thought of. For example, your PC can be the nerve center of an advanced
environmental control system, monitoring occupancy and adjusting light-
ing and temperature according to your preferences. Improved multimedia
capabilities allow personal computers to play a central role in home enter-
tainment. Combining data acquisition with the general-purpose nature of
computers enables your home and computer ...