Play Meter

Hibarger Will Unravel the
Mystery of Computers
any operatOrs used co eval-
uate their routes with a
calculator or pencil and
paper according co gross revenues.
But more financial expertise is
needed coday. Costs and expenses
must be considered, and many oper-
ators know a computer is perhaps
the best tool for figuring them out.
Computers . Expen e . Gras
revenues. Computerizing a bu ines
can be a confusing, fru crating
process for the operatOr. T o help
remedy chis ituation, Ray Hibarger,
president of Han on Distributing in
Bl oomingt n, Minne t a, will
present two computer - rel a ted
seminars at the Fifth Annual
Amu ement Operator Expo, March
9-11 at the O'H are Expo Center in
Chicago.
Hibarger, who has been workin g
with computer since 196 , will pre-
sent : " Computerized Route Ac -
counting yscem - Are They fo r
You? " and " When Considering the
Use of a Computer, What Do You
Do Next? "
Hibarger educated him elf ab ut
computers co increase hi bu ine
knowledge, and he believe educa-
tion will bring operatOrs out of the
financial Dark Age . The A E
shows are a " ignificant fo rce" in
educating the indu try , he a id. " I
have always been a upp rcer of the
AOE. The concept of education wa
and remains an important function
Hiba rger diversified hi distrib-
utOr hip co ocher equipment line
and during chi time his natural
curio icy drew him co co mputers.
The bu ines m an de eloped a fair
experci e in microcircuitry , but he
too k a wait-and -see attitude about
hi computer intere cs knowing th at
they would eventu all y in vo l e h i
bu ines a nd perhaps hi indu try.
When the
o mm o d o r e h o m e
co mpute r was intro du ced a t a
o n umer Eleccro ni
how, H ibar-
ger kn e w then th a t co mput e r
w uld b in eve ry ho me. "The re t i
hi sco ry," he aid .
M
8
Coin-op system
RaJ' H iba rge r
in the indu try. AOE broug ht co the
indu try a new co ncept in tr ade
ho w which h a
inc been imi-
tated."
Hiba rge r i an engineer by educa-
tion and chat' ho w he bega n wh at
he term hi " tempe cuo u love
a ffa ir with co mpute r . " Then he be-
an wo rking o n hi PhD in che mica l
engineering and rea lized he didn 't
like it. Hiba rge r m t o rne pe pie
who we r intere ted in foo ball and
began co rec g nize its bu ine s
po tenti al. He eventually beca me a
di tributor who "ga ve up a eriou
career and started a seriou ca reer. "
Hiba rger wa not interes ted in
the ho bbyi t ma rk et and in read
be an off ring oftw a r a nd hard-
wa re fo r a p ciali zed m ark et, t he
co in-op in d ustry. Hi
oft wa re i
na m d
.A.M .E .. (fo r
e nera l
me nt Manage me nt
alua -
ti o n y te rn ), and h i hardwa re
range fro m the Co mpuPro de kto p
lin to Dig ital Equipment orpora-
ti n' product line. ( Play M et e r,
e ptemb r I, 19 3, p. 77 .)
Hiba rge r' co mput e r ex pe rci e
de ve lo ped a philo o ph y chat he
pra rice at H anson ' : "Trad it io n-
a ll y the co in-o p indus try ha eva lu-
ated route on gro s revenu e . Th at
wa adequ ate ye cerd ay not today .
o t r ex pen e i the key faccor."
Th di tributo r practice wh at
PLAY MET£P.. December 31 . 1983