Forget lemonade-games want you

Did you know that the Chicago-based Aristotle Software company is run by a 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy? Did you know that a 14-year-old boy in California is making $480 a week writing computer programs in his spare time? And did you know that the largest software company in the country—VisiCorp—was begun by a Harvard graduate student with an investment of only $500, and last year it made about $24 million dollars? Sound good? Well, what’s stopping you?

Many companies realize that youth is their greatest natural resource. They’re no fools. Companies like Atari have the Atari Program Exchange. Amateur programmers are invited to send their work in and it will be offered, through the exchange catalog, to other computer buffs. Atari is not alone. Many other established software houses are looking for bright young stars from whom they can buy new programs—not just games but financial programs, word processing and other practical software as well.

And Electronic Fun is also aware that the programmers of tomorrow are the game players and computer users of today. We are the first magazine to offer you a showcase for your own programs. In our monthly feature, First Screening, we choose a game from you, our readers, and print it—program and all—so that you can get the exposure you deserve.

There are a lot of opportunities in software and programming for young people and the money to be made sure beats selling lemonade on the side of the road. Apology: The editors would like to apoligize to WICO. In last month’s New Products, we said their joystick had a five inch cord. We meant five foot. Sorry.