The many local home computer uses I am in touch with all agree on one thing: the future of the home computer lies in the past.

The idea that the home computer has any part to play in the domestic environment is another way of building castles in the air. Of course we shall see many domestic devices with EPROMs and keys for SELECT, OPTION, START and STOP, but these will be a far cry from a home computer.

It is, for instance, far quicker to look up a printed telephone directory, or cookbook, etc, than to load and find the same item on your computer, even from disk, and who on earth will spend £300 plus for such a slow system?

No-one is surprised to see the software houses now coming to a sticky end, and many computer publications may follow. The software houses had, perhaps, half a dozen routines which they dressed up with slightly different sprites each time for a new game, which might interest a more or less intelligent child for about ten minutes.

The future, such as it is, for the small computer is undoubtedly in the small business area - if easy to use, account keeping, stock ordering, inexpensive machines can be produced and marketed.

And why do I still have a home computer? Well, I am a radio amateur. It enables me to communicate over the air with radio teletype, machine sent morse code, AMTOR, and to exchange data with fellow amateurs, both directly and via satellite.

R. Davis, W Bridgeford, Notts.

You've found a use for your micro, the rest of us can do likewise. - Ed