When I bought my Apple IIe Word Processor, I discovered the capabilities of split-screen programming. By pushing the right combination of buttons, I could look at two things simultaneously. The top, for instance, could show data typed in earlier, while the bottom remained blank.

I asked my instructor how this could be useful.

"It is used primarily for plagiarism," he said candidly. "By putting someone else's material on the top screen, you can then rewrite it.

"It's done all the time," he winked.

I thought of the mess Alex Haley got in when he was accused by an obscure writer of having stolen his material-word for word-to be used in Roots. Too bad Haley didn't have a split screen.

I almost did the same thing with one of my earlier books. I copied material I thought was a taped interview but turned out to be material my secretary had copied from someone else's book. Horrors!

Now my computer instructor tells me I'll never have to face that problem again. With my split screen I can change just ...