It's Bob, Microsoft's Home Helper

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- If you are intimidated by computers with their cumbersome commands or if you have kept your computer work away from household tasks, Bill says try Bob.


"Bob" is a new software program, introduced last week by Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp. He says it is designed for computerphobes, techno-neophytes and those who have limited their computer use to "work" at the office.


Bob is a program that offers eight basic home programs, such as electronic mail, letter writing, checkbook balancing and calendar and address listing.


The core program, which costs about $99 in the United States, will be available in March, Gates told reporters following his formal address at the four-day Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.


We're taking PC popularity "to a whole new level, one that will fulfill the vision of a machine in every home," Gates said.


Gates' speech, which included a demonstration of Bob and future technologies, was his first presentation at the consumer show. It highlighted the Redmond, Washington-based software giant's aggressive thrust into the home. Microsoft's mainstay products have largely targeted the corporate market.


With the debut of Bob, Microsoft is also taking a shot at Apple Computer, whose Macintosh computers have captured the minds and wallets of millions because of their "user-friendly" graphical-based software. Microsoft's DOS and Windows software, while running more than 80 percent of the personal computers sold worldwide, is widely viewed as more difficult to use than the Macintosh operating system.


Microsoft seems determined to have Bob change that. Indeed, Microsoft chose the name Bob because it is an "approachable, friendly" name, said Senior Vice President Patty Stonesifer.


Bob will initially be available only on the current Windows 3.1 software and on the Windows upgrade called Windows 95, expected in August. Stonesifer, who heads Microsoft's consumer product division, said the company is looking at the Macintosh for future Bob releases.


Indicating the need for simpler computing, Gates acknowledged Microsoft spends more than $200 million a year on answering customer questions about how to use personal computers.


He said Bob marks a major shift from the graphical user interface, which Apple introduced in 1984 as a way to let users navigate different applications with the use of icons on the screen, to what he called a "social interface."


"The coming revolution in consumer electronics is social," he said. That means letting individuals interact more directly and naturally with computers and other products they use.


With that in mind, Microsoft has given the Bob program 14 "characters" that give the computer a personality. They act as guides, talking to users and giving gestures or verbal prompts to help them learn new steps.


Microsoft is calling the cast of guides "Friends of Bob."


Among them is Ruby the parrot (Bill Gates' favorite), Java the coffee-addicted dragon, Rover the dog and Scuzz the hip rat, who Gates said is aimed at the MTV generation. Each character offers a different degree of intervention or guidance to appeal to users of different levels of computer literacy.


The program uses images of rooms in a home along with the cartoon characters instead of menus and windows on the screen. Users can also choose from a range of room styles, from contemporary to cluttered.


Bob begins at the front door. By clicking the mouse the user opens the door and enters one of various rooms in a "home." By clicking on a piece of paper on a desk, for example, Bob jumps to the letter-writing program.


The e-mail program lets users send mail to other Bob users as well as over the Internet or to subscribers of commercial online services, such as America Online or H&R Block's CompuServe. Gates said it will cost less than $5 a month for those who want it.