Richard Grigonis is a regular contributor of articles on artificial intelligence and future microcomputer designs for Dr. Dobb's Journal. He is currently employed by the Children's Television Workshop. E ven the most enthusiastic home computer owners have little idea of the link their machines represent in the historical chain of computer technology. It is a chain that runs from the ancient abacus and Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine of the nineteenth century, through the Apples and Commodores of the present, all the way to the awe-inspiring fifth-generation computers of the future. Consider this: the "home computers" of the 1990s will surely have processing capabilities equivalent to those of the Cray-2, today's most powerful computer. What kind of computing power are we talking about? As far as sheer processing speed is concerned, the present situation looks like this: A typical home computer, with microprocessor switches turning on a...