BBC Computer Literacy Project

Software control is said to be the key to the importance of the micro. But what does that mean? And how are microelectronics helping small companies to stay competitive at a difficult time?

It is said that companies must think micro, because if they don't, others will. But how can a micro be introduced into a new product? And how much risk is there? An electronic piano tuner, a greenhouse controller, a tape measure, and a digital read-out for machine tools help show what is involved.

Britain's industrial survival may depend on the readiness of companies to adopt flexible, computer-based manfacturing methods. But flexibility is not just a matter of equipment. It's also a question of attitudes and the ability to come to terms with the human effects of change.

Laser supermarket check-outs, new time clocks at British Leyland, and Viewdata terminals in the local garage are only the tips of a number of electronic icebergs-networks of information links which are beginning, for good or ill, to have a far-reaching effect on the high street and on white-collar jobs in industry.

The office is ripe for major changes and there have already been disputes over the introduction of new equipment such as word processors. How do people react to the micro? Is the spread of the new technology inevitable?