See the article in its original context from September 5, 1984, Section D, Page 1Buy ReprintsView on timesmachineTimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers.About the ArchiveThis is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.

With their domestic market in a slump, more and more U.S. computer makers and software firms are looking longingly at the Soviet bloc. But if the experience of SPSS Inc. is any guide, these companies better be long on patience, too.