Computer Chronicles

- Season 8

(1990)

As the decade of the nineties began, it became clear the United States was dominating the world software market.

The first major upgrade to Windows was the 3.0 version, launched in 1990. This program reviews Windows 3.0, some competitive products and looks at some Windows add-ons designed to make it work better.

Apple's Hypercard 2.0 brought new sophistication to the concept of hypertext, and laid the groundwork for the powerful Internet concept of hyperlinks.

After a series of failures, new home computers are being launched to bring the business back, including the IBM PS/1, the Tandy 1000, the Magnavox Headstart, low cost Macs such as the LC, and the Commodore 64C with GEOS.

While we now take a computer mouse for granted, fifteen years ago there was still a debate about what would be the ultimate pointing device.

For fans of the Commodore Amiga, the introduction of the new Amiga 3000 was big news, even though the price tag was nearly $4,000. This program looked at the new Amiga computer and new third-party applications.

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Viruses are spreading to personal computers and causing havoc to individuals and businesses. A look at how to prevent viruses from destroying your system.

In the early 1990s, the computer industry settled on a CD-ROM standard and that fanned the growth of CD-ROMs as a storage medium.

Most popular software titles get there as the result of an expensive sales and marketing campaign. Other programs are so popular they climb to the top of the charts just through word-of-mouth, or BBS chat.

A look at how doctors and health professionals are using computer technology to change the practice of medicine.

With the growth of desktop publishing, scanners became an important new PC peripheral, with sales in the early 1990s growing at 250% per year.

The third annual Computer Bowl with East coast geeks up against West coast nerds to see who knows more about computer trivia.

The conclusion of the third annual Computer Bowl contest, held as a fund-raiser for the Computer Museum of Boston.

Neural networks are artificial intelligence systems modeled after the human brain. This program looks at several examples and applications.