Both entertaining and educational, this fascinating gateway to the future provides an insight into the limitless potential of human imagination
THE LIGHTS DIM inside the packed theater. Up front, where a stage would usually be, there's a glassed-in computer room. The people inside of it are all dressed normally, save for one a cheerful little man in a 19th Century costume. He briefly introduces himself and begins a song-and-dance number about computers. His clothes are bedecked with pearl buttons, hence his stage name, "Earlie the Pearlie." The other people in the computer room seem unaware that Earlie is there.
Well, he is and he isn't. If this sounds a bit bizarre, perhaps an explanation is in order. What's transpiring is a scene from the Astuter Computer Revue at Walt Disney World Epcot (Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow) Center, a new showplace for exhilarating experiences that opened Oct. in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
And, of course, in keeping with Walt Disney showmanship, "Earlie" isn't a real flesh-and-blood person, but actually-to oversimplify it somewha – three-dimensional moving picture. And if you think that's a clever trick (known in more precise terms as a serial-image special effect), well, you haven't seen anything yet.
This leads to an obvious question: what's a prestigious office publication like A/M doing at Disney World? For one, Epcot represents one of the most ingenious applications of computer technology to date. Jim Fullam, vice-president, communications, at Sperry Univac, the Blue Bell, Pa., computer vendor that sponsors both the revue mentioned above and Epcot's Computer Central pavilion, says it is second only to the space program in sophistication.
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