March 1983

EDITOR at large

So many people seem so ill at ease with computers, so fearful or dismayed by the machines' spreading influence, that I'm moved to set forth a few positive points as a prelude to the major report in this issue called "Home Computers: Ready or not, here they come!"

Cutting Your Heat Bills With Solar Panels

Even on the coldest days, a row of wall-mounted solar panels on the side of your house can keep your rooms toasty as long as the sun is shining. This simple collector may be one of the most overlooked and misunderstood heat sources available, partly because it's marketed under such a bewildering array of labels: wall collector, convective air heater, solar wall heater, even thermosiphoning air panel.

Food Storage Tips

Keep foods at their best by handling them properly. You'll discover that if you give purchased foods a little extra care when you bring them home, you'll be rewarded with fresh-tasting foods at all your family meals.

UPDATE

A new Disney attraction called Epcot Center marks its inaugural summer in central Florida this year. This $800-million educational/entertainment extravaganza joins a host of long-standing attractions that make the Orlando area a family vacation haven.

Oil WHAT'S RIGHT FOR YOUR CAR?

Oil performs simple functions in your car's engine: it coats moving parts with a slippery shield to prevent metal-to-metal contact from wearing out engine parts; and, in the process, it cleans, cools, and seals engine parts. But working conditions for the oil are tough; engine temperatures can reach 300 degrees, and the combustion process generates harmful by-products that are dumped into the motor oil crankcase and must be held and rendered harmless by the oil

Taxes: Is Itemizing Worth the Trouble?

For most families who own their own homes, itemizing tax deductions probably will save some tax dollars. But it's possible you could save even more by not itemizing-- and you'll be spared the additional paperwork that itemizing requires.

Gardener's log

If cabin fever hits you when the bite of winter is still in the air, head for the woodlands to hunt for one of spring's first green wonders. The skunk cabbage will appear this month, even if patches of snow remain on the ground.

Crocheted Stickpin

Transform a plain metal button into a distinctive stickpin with a bit of crochet. You'll need a size 12 steel crochet hook, size 70 tatting thread, a button, and a metal stickpin (available in hobby stores). Just follow the instructions below.

Tips, Tools, and TECHNIQUES

This feature is written by you. It's a wide-ranging collection of shop hints, installation tips, and repair shortcuts that you-- along with millions like you-- have picked up from your experience as a do-it-yourselfer. We pay $25 for each problem-solver we publish. See the box below for submission details.

Our Pick of THE NEW FLOWER & VEGETABLE VARIETIES

When you open this spring's garden catalogs, you'll discover a pageant of new flowers and vegetables that can invigorate your garden plan. Ever since the late 1800s, when Father Gregor Mendel developed the science of genetics, plant hybridizers have been working overtime to create new and better varieties.

A DOWDY CONDO GOES HIGH STYLE

Sooner or later, most of us will need to deal with a room that's in a rut. It's a common situation: there's nothing wrong with your room's basic furnishings, but the overall effect is just plain dull or dated. Here's help! We'll show you "befores" and "afters" of successful room rescues in one small, nondescript home.

How to Choose a College

These days, reports about college admission and financial aid tend to be conflicting and confusing. It's easier to get accepted at some schools; others are more selective than ever. When it comes to financial aid, many discouraged middle-class families have been led to believe that they are totally ineligible for college aid from Uncle Sam (fortunately this is not the case). One thing is certain: Shopping the colleges today takes savvy-- knowing the right questions and whom to ask. How can you piece together the college jigsaw puzzle and help your youngster make the right choice? Here's advice.

START-FROM-SCRATCH DECORATING Customizing A Split-Level

Decorating-- or redecorating-- from scratch is your chance to do something really special to your home. It takes some planning, but you can make your look-alike house a standout. Our redo of the living and dining areas in this suburban split-level shows you how. Selection of flexible, rearrangeable furniture, a unifying window treatment, and dramatic lighting are just a few of the decorating ideas we used to give this home fresh, one-of-a-kind styling, as well as more functional use of space.

HOW TO TAKE 40 YEARS OFF YOUR HOUSE

Slapping a new coat of paint on an old house may not ... much to banish that telltale dated look. But there are other ways to roll back the years and make your house look young again. Even the shabbiest old place can gain a new lease on life, if the basic structure is still sound. The four remodeling projects we've assembled on these stages focus on exterior face-lifts. As you view each of these transformations, note the simple strategies the homeowners incorporated-- adding new surface materials, switching to another architectural style, or correcting flaws in the original scheme.

Top-Notch KITCHEN ISLANDS You Can Build

To make your kitchen function more efficiently, you can do more than just reshuffle the equipment and storage units along the walls. Put the floor space to work, too-- with an island. There's no place in your present kitchen to tuck away your blender or crockery cooker? Store them in special compartments on an island. Not enough room to spread out your baking projects? Create an island bake center.

Low calorie recipes that taste terrific

Streamlined cooking for people on the go

A whole year of our choice recipes all in one book

Order Featured Items Here

Cooks' Cutouts. 12 creative shapes just for decorating! Make cutouts from vegetables, fruits, aspics, and pastries just like our Better Homes and Gardens cooking experts make! Kit contains 12 shapes made from aluminum, each approximately ½ in. to 1 in. in diameter.

HOME COMPUTERS

Trying to ignore personal computers these days is a bit like trying to ignore the weather. Ads for home computers fill the media. Computer stores are cropping up everywhere. Several major department stores, national companies like Sears, as well as some drugstores, supermarkets, and discount stores now feature computers.

Antiques & COLLECTIBLES

Old American timepieces have long caught the eyes of collectors. But there still are many fine examples available at auctions, antique shows, and specialty shops-- and at reasonable prices. Most of these antique clocks tell time as well as they did when they were new.

Shopping editor's choice

Discover the ease and pleasure of shopping by mail. Order from the convenience of your own home with complete confidence. If not delighted, each company will happily refund your money.

The Man Next Door

Chris says we're coming into the three-in-one season-- "It's spring on the calendar, winter in the fuel bills, and summer in the clothing stores."