Source Book

A computerized store

For all the marvels of the miracle-chip revolution, home computers have remained expensive toys ($500 to $2,000) purchased mainly by hobbyists and electronics buffs. Reason: a paucity of programs available to make the investment worthwhile. Now, however, a department store of information called, appropriately enough, The Source is available to anyone with a simple terminal screen and a telephone coupler. Created by William von Meister, 37, chairman of Telecomputing Corp. of America, the new data bank is a pool of information from more than 2,000 programs.

What a fount of facts! The latest news as well as stories filed in the New York Times information bank. Energy-saving suggestions and automotive news, theater directories and wine guides, horoscopes and biorhythms. For the academic, language tutorials and physics lessons. Recipes for the culinary minded, general ledgers and inventories for businessmen, backgammon and Monopoly for children. Not to mention information on income tax deductions and mortgage payments. Indeed one can even order airline tickets through the service.

To tap The Source, the owner of a home computer pays a $100 hookup fee, plus a service charge when his terminal is in use: $2.75 per off-peak hour (6 p.m. to 7 a.m.) or $15 per business hour. Once connected, the consumer can call up programs by placing a toll-free call to a computer in Silver Spring, Md., and asking The Source questions--in English. Available since June 5, The Source's home and business services are just a phone call and a terminal screen away for 500 new subscribers.

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