will be amazed what these little gadgets can do. >> the idea was that ordinary people might have a use for computers. now, it took a while to figure out what those uses might be. >> the mane thing was spreadsheets and word processing. the computer was the best typewriter you could ever have. it gave you a new way to write. you could change things around. and check your spelling. it would always look perfect. >> bottom line numbers. >> my dad had the large ledger sheets, done them all by hand, and i remember taking a computer to show him the spreadsheet. and i remember taking a computer to show him a spreadsheet. and suddenly, he understood the value of a personal computer. >> there was a drastic mindset change in the whole country about what a computer was. and happened over a very short period of time. >> gather around and we'll tell you a lit bit more about the system. >> here at the west coast computer fair, the speed of development is so great that each fair outdates the previous one. >> it is lower prices that has helped the tremendous boom. about one home in ten will have a computer by the end of this year, by 1990, the number could be two out of three. >> we knew the personal computer