Business Notes SOFTWARE

For a business that relies so heavily on memory chips, the computer industry is surprisingly forgetful. That trait was on display last week in the hoopla over the unveiling of Microsoft Windows 3.0, a $149 program that its maker claims will give IBM-compatible computers the look and feel of a user-friendly Apple Macintosh. What most everyone failed to recall, however, was that Microsoft has been making the same claim about earlier versions of Windows for the past seven years.

But Microsoft seems to have got it right this time, and it is backing Windows 3.0 with a $10 million promotion budget. Microsoft chief Bill Gates has the support of hundreds of independent programmers and computer manufacturers eager for part of the $500 million in revenues that Windows- related products are expected to reap over the next year. Eventually Gates wants to convert the computer world from Windows to OS/2, a new operating system developed with IBM.