In the 1980’s(circa 1981-1984) each middle class mall had at least 1 non-anchor store dedicated to personal computers, peripherals, and software. I remember sp

In the 1980’s(circa 1981-1984) each middle class mall had at least 1 non-anchor store dedicated to personal computers, peripherals, and software. I remember splitting my time in malls between bookstores and computer stores. The first flight simulator software I recall seeing was in a mall computer store approx 1982. Very vivid memory of the software box, with very optimistic visuals and description of its capability. In retrospect, the mall computer stores in the early 80’s seemed unfocused. They didn’t seem to be targeting businesses, but they didn’t seem to be targeting consumers effectively either. Even with a father working in semicon, I recall my parents not being able to articulate a compelling reason why to purchase a personal computer. But they did anyway. It felt very much like a “because it’s the future” rather than “because it can do X”. Our first family computer was a TRS-80 with magnetic cassette storage and transfer. I remember when Basic code was printed in magazines to re-type like a monkey to play simple games.