This Time It Was a Chance for the Littler Guys to Download : Lacking Many of the Major Players and State-of-the-Art Flash, This Year’s Consumer Electronics Show Highlighted Gadgetry Offering Some Simple Fun.

What if they gave a home electronics show and Microsoft didn’t come?

That’s what happened over the weekend at the Consumer Electronics Show, a three-day extravaganza of electronic wizardry that in years past has been one of the primary showcases for new software, CD-ROMs and online services targeted toward the home user.

There was a smattering of intriguing new items for the home computer user on the CES convention floor but less of the excitement and hubbub of years past.

Last year, Microsoft used the show to unveil its long-awaited (and ultimately underwhelming) “Bob” software. But this year computer folks stayed away in droves and most of the “major” announcements from those that did come were lame.

There were two reasons for this, the first being good news for Los Angeles.

Computer trade shows have become so expensive for exhibitors--a major company can easily spend a quarter-million or more on a flashy display--that the companies have become very selective. And at CES, these companies have to share the spotlight with a vast array of other, mostly unrelated products, ranging from booming car stereo systems to the latest in electronic personal protection devices.

So, many of these companies have opted to skip CES and instead head for the relatively new kid on the block, the E3 show, scheduled for this May in Los Angeles. Last year’s E3 was a phenomenally successful, attention-getting showcase for the latest and most exciting products for the home user, a fact not lost on the computer industry.

In Las Vegas, intriguing CD-ROMs were targeted to a range of audiences, from the very young on up.

“The Multimedia Yearbook,” from the Jasmine Multimedia company in Van Nuys, is not going to win any awards for state-of-the-art flash. And that is in many ways a good thing--too many of last year’s highly touted, super high-tech games were practically useless to anyone who had less than the fastest machine available.

This little “Yearbook” is a nicely designed look at the events and sensations of a single year, from 1929 to 1975, each on an individual disk. For example, the 1968 “Yearbook” disk includes news footage concerning the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the presidential election of that year and anti-Vietnam War protests. It also includes movie trailers from “Bullitt” and other popular flicks of the year, plus mentions of 1968’s notable sporting events, books, etc.

Best of all, each of these Windows’ disks costs only $10.

“Sinkha,” a Macintosh and Windows disk from a small Utah company called Mojave, is also fairly simple and straightforward, but far more ambitious. It’s a multimedia novel that features impressively detailed graphics by Italian artist Marco Patrito, plus animation and music as well as text.

In appearance, it’s similar to a comic book, with multiple panels that flash across the screen as the story processes. It’s not very interactive--you simply watch the narrative unfold.

The plot falls into the category of fantasy, a futuristic fiction with none-too-subtle erotic overtones. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s certainly an interesting use of a CD-ROM to tell a story without a lot of gadgetry.

Another nice little development on display comes from PicturePlace, a company that allows you to put a photograph online at very little cost. You send the company a picture and for only 99 cents, it will scan it onto a site that can be accessed through the World Wide Web or America Online. Then, you choose which users you wish to have access to the photo.

As for the subject matter of the photos, nothing too racy or revealing will be allowed, even though the photos are meant to be for private use. They all have to adhere to AOL’s rules, which means nothing more adult than what could be PG-rated.

For more information, look up https://www.pictureweb.com on the Web, or use the keyword “PictureWeb” on AOL.

And, for kids, Fisher-Price has teamed up with Compaq to produce Wonder Tools, a series of keyboard alternatives for the 3-to-7 age set, just in case you want to get children onto the computer especially early. The most complex one, the “Wonder Tools Cruiser,” comes with a steering wheel, number pad and various buttons and switches designed in the colorful, Fisher-Price mode.

The tiny tot follows the directions of on-screen, animated characters to learn how to use the various parts of the device.

The price of the “Cruiser” will be anything but tiny, however, when it hits the stores this summer. Fisher-Price officials at the show estimated it would retail for about $150, plus about $30 for each software program used with it.