31.   Philips Electronics NV, Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp. and others are racing to develop the tiny beams of light for CD players and multimedia computers.

32.   Software developers are improving their games as they learn more about maximizing the power of multimedia computers.

33.   Still, we are coming out of a season in which thousands of people were expected to buy multimedia computers with a selection of CD-ROM titles.

34.   The biggest sellers were Presario multimedia computers from Compaq.

35.   The company said desktop PCs and multimedia computers for the home showed strong growth, while sales of workstations and laptops were weak.

36.   The IBM P.C. Co., in its new Aptiva consumer line, is offering two Pentium-based multimedia computers.

37.   The grand prize is a Pentium multimedia computer and a trip for two to the ESPN studios to go behind the scenes at the Sunday NFL Countdown show.

38.   The multimedia computer is quickly becoming the new microwave.

39.   The most expensive of the bunch costs less than a third of a multimedia computer.

40.   The new Presarios are all multimedia computers, equipped with fast graphics, double-speed CD-ROM drives and stereo sound.