Computer Literacy Is Focus of New SoftMark

Tandon Corp., the Moorpark producer of personal computers, has suffered financial reversals recently, but its problems have at least one positive side. They helped create SoftMark, a new publishing and educational concern that hopes to improve the public’s computer literacy.

SoftMark, based in Ventura, is headed by Martin Duran, who quit his job as Tandon’s manager of publications in December. “I wanted to start out on my own anyway, so I accepted a generous severance package that they were offering,” he said.

Now, Duran teaches computer classes at his headquarters on Johnson Drive, and he’s marketing a new book, “The Original Computer Idiot PC User’s Guide,” which he hopes will be the first in a series of how-to publications and products.

The book, which sells for $12.50, was written by Duran and “other former computer idiots,” as he described them. It deciphers technical terms, explains basic commands, describes types of software and offers computer buying tips.

Duran said sample copies of “The Original Computer Idiot” were well received at the recent Comdex trade show in Las Vegas.

Marketing the book himself, Duran has sold several hundred copies thus far. “I haven’t offered the rights to a publisher because I’m afraid they would take all the profits. What I’m trying to do is find a company with which I can form a marketing partnership.”