Microcomputers in Local Government
本文介绍微型计算机在地方政府中的易用性和常见应用，如现金流管理和选民登记，并讨论负载管理等具体案例，帮助官员和职员了解如何快速回收设备成本。
If you believe that computers are expensive to buy and difficult to learn how to use, perhaps you have not seen the new generation of microcomputers. With easy to use software and readily available programs, it is now possible for local government staff and elected officials to have up-to-date reports on everything from cash flow to voter registration. In this article we shall attempt to review some of the more obvious and readily available applications for microcomputers in municipal government. Some specific applications, such as load management, will be discussed in detail because of their unique application and potential for rapid payback on the cost of the computer equipment. Other applications such as general office needs will be discussed in lesser detail, on the assumption that many of the readers are already familiar with these programs and are, perhaps, already utilizing them either at home or business. The hardware needed to run these programs is essentially a microcomputer with probably 256k RAM,' a minimum of two 5 ?/4-inch disk drives and, ideally, both a letter quality and dot matrix printer. This equipment can be purchased from IBM,2 for instance, for probably less than $5,000. It is not the intention of this article to recommend or discuss specific hardware or software in detail and brand names when they are mentioned are only used as examples.