Far-reaching changes in the marketing, delivery, and installation of computers and computer-related products will soon be seen. Those organizations whose primary business is the reselling of such products will find it necessary to perform new roles and to employ different methods of operation if they are to succeed in tomorrow's marketplace. Their success, indeed their survival, may depend on how well they plan and prepare for the transformations in the market that are about to take place.

The changes in marketing will be due, in large measure, to new software and hardware products that are now being developed and that will be introduced in the next few years. The new products (some of which are described in the last three pages of this paper) will provide their users with great increases in personal empowerment. The products will change the way people learn, the way they read, the way they communicate, the way they work, and the way they live. After their introduction, both the capabilities of and the demand for the new products will grow rapidly. At the same time, the costs of computing power will be coming down. The combination of increasing capabilities, exploding demand, and decreasing costs will lead to sweeping changes in computer marketing - and to changes in the relationships between computer users, computer marketers, and computer manufacturers. And, all of these changes will be accelerated by the remarkable advances in communications technologies and communications systems that are now coming about. As The Information Age evolves into The Communications Age, the primary role of the computer marketer will change from that of seller to that of service-provider.

Home computers will come to play central roles in the lives of most individuals. With tomorrow's software and hardware, most children will be reading proficiently before ever entering a classroom. More and more of the academic education that people acquire throughout their lifetimes will be acquired through their household computer systems. The "household mainframe" will become the home's basic appliance. The household mainframe will be a central server that will monitor and control most of the electrical and electronic devices used in the home. The household mainframe will serve all the information and media devices used in the home. Through its components and extensions, the home computer system will serve each household member as his or her personal assistant, tutor, consultant, and courier. (See "The Home of Tomorrow" and "Tomorrow's Household Mainframe.")

Changes in the numbers, locations, languages, and affluence of those who are to become computer users will also change the way computers and related products are marketed. The potential number of users is many times greater than the present number of users. Most of those who will, in the future, become computer users are people in the less-developed countries (LDCs). Most of these prospective users are non-English-speaking persons - and most have very limited incomes. But the great empowerment provided by the new tools will motivate large numbers in the LDCs to make whatever efforts and whatever sacrifices are needed to access the tools and to make them available to their families. The profound need and desire for the tools that will come to be felt by those in the LDCs will be gratified, in part, through the kinds of aid and support described in "Operation Hand-Up," below.

The advanced nations can be expected to provide very extensive assistance and support to the LDCs to help them equip their populations with the computer tools that will enable them to become more self-sufficient and more productive. Altruism will not be the primary reason for the advanced nations' support. Their support will be based on the view that the LDCs could eventually become lucrative markets, thus the support that is provided will be considered "seed money" used to cultivate the LDCs as future markets and as future partners. The advanced nations leading the way will be Japan, the U. S., and the European Union. The Japanese government will soon be spending large sums each year helping LDCs around the world. The U.S. congress will overcome its reluctance to provide "foreign aid." Because it is the leading manufacturer of computers and related products, and because of its competitive nature, the U.S. will provide even greater amounts of aid than the Japanese. And, the European Union, in its effort to become the world's largest provider of goods and services, may outaid the U.S. and Japan combined. Most of the other affluent nations will also join in the competition.

With vast markets like China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Africa, and Latin America fervently wanting and waiting for the new computer tools from the more advanced nations, the competition between the wealthy nations to see who can better help the not-so-wealthy nations may prove to be an interesting and wonderful competition.

Initially, a substantial portion of the computer equipment delivered to the LDCs will be used equipment. When users in the advanced nations want to replace hardware products, most will be traded in for new products - and the used equipment will, when practicable, be upgraded or remanufactured and then transported to the LDCs. (In addition to the economic advantages, such recycling of equipment will benefit the environment.) The methods of distribution of the recycled equipment in the LDCs will vary considerably from one nation to another, but often national governments or other national distribution organizations will handle or oversee the receipt, delivery, and installation of computers and related products, both new and used. One kind of scenario that might be played out in the LDCs is depicted in "Information Dispensary Systems," Chapter III in The Mu Primer manuscript.

New kinds of resellers will become involved in the delivery of computer systems to users. For example, homebuilders will become important resellers. In the future most new homes will be sold with computer systems already installed when the buyer moves in - just as homes now come with heating/air conditioning systems, plumbing, wiring and lighting systems, and major appliances already installed. The design and capabilities of a new home's server and network will often be a factor in the buyer's decision to purchase or not to purchase any particular home. In most cases the home computer systems will be installed by subcontractors who specialize in such work. Many of these subcontractors will also function as "home infosystem retrofitters" who will install systems in previously built homes. When home air conditioning systems came into use, air conditioner installers would retrofit older homes with refrigeration and/or evaporative cooling systems. Similarly, many dumb home owners will employ infosystem retrofitters to smarten up their old houses.

Other new agents (several are described in The Mudoc Technology, The Mudoc Corporation's business plan) will become involved in the movement of computers from manufacturers to users. The largest buyers and distributors of computers and related products will probably be national governments - the governments of the LDCs, actively aided and abetted by the governments of the advanced nations.

Explosive growth in the demand for computer products will lead to new marketing strategies. When demand exceeds supply, which will often be the case, "selling" will be largely unnecessary. In such cases, trying to satisfy demand will become a major goal of both the manufacturers and the marketers. If an extended high demand period is seen, manufacturers are likely to assume larger roles in marketing. Manufacturers who have ready, cash-in-advance buyers for all they can produce will see less need to partner with resellers. More of the manufacturers' products will be transported directly from the production line to the user, to the installer, or to the neighborhood or school "MuCenter" (see pages 36-46 in The Mudoc Technology). Products will usually be put to immediate use, not stored in warehouses or dealers' backrooms.

Marketing and distribution of computer products will vary greatly from one nation to another, but in most countries, particularly in the LDCs, most products will flow through distribution and installation systems developed and operated by consortia comprised of combinations of public and private organizations.

The most successful marketers will be those who best serve (1) the needs of the manufacturers (by such things as prepayment or cash-on-delivery for products) and (2) the needs of the users (by helping them access and better utilize the products).

The increase in personal computer demand will change advertising strategies. When demand exceeds supply, little advertising is needed. But even when supply exceeds demand, sophisticated buyers (and, generally, tomorrow's buyers will be far more sophisticated than today's buyers) are much less influenced by specious advertisements. Sophisticated buyers rely more on objective data like consumers' reports, comparative ratings, and other product evaluations. And, in the future, product information like owners' manuals, operating guides, product warranties, product support, product specifications, configuration options, and other data from the manufacturer will come to play a larger role in purchasing decisions. So, manufacturers may devote more of their resources to developing effective product documentation and less to advertising. And much of the creative talents of those now working in advertising may be channeled into preparing product information that is more satisfying and more helpful to users - and to prospective users.

Mudoc Corp's forecast of the changes and growth in the computer industry differ markedly from the forecasts of other industry analysts. Other analysts' forecasts are based largely on the industry's history and the performance of its participants. Mudoc Corporation forecasts far faster and far greater growth because Mudoc Corp is factoring in the advent of a number of new computer tools the other forecasters don't know about. The new tools include a major software invention, interactive movable type, and an array of implementing tools that optimize this new type. In much the same way that movable metal type changed the way people used printing presses, interactive movable type will change the way people use computers. Just as movable metal type greatly increased both the usefulness and the use of printing presses, interactive movable type will greatly increase the usefulness and use of computers.

In short, The Mudoc Corporation is better able to predict computerdom's future because Mudoc Corp is inventing it. Interactive movable type (and the tools used to implement and exploit it) will change computerdom's course. As the developer of interactive movable type's conceptual framework, The Mudoc Corporation is able to foresee the probable impact of this software invention - and the kind of changes that are likely to ensue.

Mudoc Corporation is developing the first set of implementation tools. It is the mudoc software, software that enables users to set and present text in interactive movable type. The mudoc software enables the writer and/or publisher to prepare text and to store that text in the mudoc digital format, a special digital format that permits the reader to present text in a wide variety of forms and formats. For the writer, the mudoc software turns the computer into a marvelous kind of writing machine. For the reader, the software turns the computer into an electronic reading machine that enables him or her to read at faster rates and to comprehend at higher levels. (See "What the Mudoc Software Does for Readers.") The mudoc software will increase personal computer demand because it will enable all of its users to become readers - and will turn most readers into superreaders.

Most of the publications that are distributed over the Internet will be prepared with and consumed with the mudoc software or equivalent software. The mudoc software will enable the user to navigate through and process text far faster and far easier than is possible with any software now in use.

The Mu Primer trilogy, three books that will be published at the same time the mudoc software is introduced, will accelerate the adoption and use of interactive movable type (which, in the books, is called muvable type). The Mu Primer is a text that explains the mu method of writing and reading. It includes the equivalent of 500 pages of practice materials. It also explains how to use the mudoc software. And it describes the functions of the telereader terminal and the other hardware products used to prepare and present muvable type. The second volume in the trilogy is The Performance Evaluation Kit for The Mu Primer, which shows the reader how well he or she is learning to use the mu method of reading - and what additional efforts might be needed to achieve a high level of proficiency. The third volume is The Metafarm, a work that describes, in a fictional format, the world's transition from The Information Age to The Communications Age. The Metafarm will be the first novel written with, and set in, interactive movable type. (See "New Titles from The MuPress.")

The mudoc software will be used in the preparation and publication of The Mu Primer trilogy and many other books in the next few years. The books will be published in both electronic and print-on-paper editions and in many different languages. The books could change the way people think of and use computers.

The Mudoc Corporation will help one or more manufacturers develop a set of hardware tools that will facilitate the use of interactive text - a new human/computer interface, the telereader terminal. The telereader will make it simpler and easier to use muvable type and multimedia publications. It will also increase the demand for personal computers because it will substantially reduce their costs of use. The telereader will be a low-cost, but highly effective and ergonomic, terminal for preparing and/or reading electronic publications, for watching television, and for general computer use. Functions, descriptions, and sketches of the telereader terminal are included in Chapter II of The Mu Primer manuscript. Several other monographs in this website also discuss the telereader and its functions.

A third set of tools that will increase the desirability of and demand for personal computers is Easy, a computer language that can be used like a natural language (see "Languages of the Future," Chapter IV in The Mu Primer). Easy will make it much easier for people to learn how to read, to read with high proficiency after learning how to read, and to work with computers. Easy will be especially helpful for the billions of people who do not speak English (or one of the other languages for which much software and extensive publications have been issued) in learning to use computers. Almost everyone, whatever their native natural language, will be able to learn to use Easy (with the help of computerized translation tools that help translate their native language to Easy - and vice versa). After learning Easy and learning to use computers, learning another language, such as English, will be much easier for most people.

Easy, or an equivalent computer language, will eventually replace English as the principal language used on the Internet. Easy will be developed through the collaboration of many different individuals and organizations (including Mudoc Corporation) around the world , as described in The Mu Primer and the "Easy Development" section of The Mudoc Technology.

The Mudoc Corporation has developed extensive documentation that describes (1) the kinds of computer products that will be employed with interactive movable type, (2) their probable impact on the market, and (3) possible marketing strategies for delivering these products to users. The Mu Primer manuscript describes, in detail, a number of these tools. Included are descriptions of the mudoc software (including the mudoc algorithms), the telereader terminal, and Easy. Mudoc Corp's business plan, The Mudoc Technology, has several sections that discuss the development and marketing of such products, including these sections: "Research and Development" (pp. 10-19), "Mudoc Corporation's Role in Publishing" (pp. 20-35), "The MuCenter" (pp. 36-46), "MuServe America and Other MuServe Utilities" (pp. 47-50), "U. S. Services Program" (pp. 51-61), "International Development Program" (pp. 62-67), "The Easy Development Program" (pp. 68-72), "The Market and The Competition" (pp. 73-87), and "Promotion and Advertising" (pp. 88-93). The data and plans presented in these and other Mudoc Corporation documents show how the wide use of muvable type is likely to affect the computer industry and computer users.

There is little doubt that tools like the mudoc tools will soon come into wide use. It is certain that interactive movable type will be used in both the preparation and the consumption of most electronic publications. It will also come to be used in the preparation of most print-on-paper publications. The development and wide use of muvable electronic type is as inevitable as was that of movable metal type.

But someone other than The Mudoc Corporation may provide the software needed to employ muvable type - software equivalent to the mudoc software. Someone else may, without Mudoc Corporation's assistance, develop and market a human/computer interface comparable to the telereader terminal. And the kind of human/computer language called "Easy" may be developed in ways other than those projected by Mudoc Corp. So, while there is no doubt that such tools will come into use, Mudoc Corp's role in their development is still uncertain. The Mudoc Corporation believes it is the best qualified and best suited organization to lead in the effort, but without support and without partners, the development of these useful products will be carried out by others - others in the U. S. or, what is more likely, in Japan or Europe.

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