2- Q. Is it true that GE has more patents than anyone? A. Yes. And more this year than any other... about 1,000. Q. Someone in the financial community suggested or brought up the possibility that technology and not the Utah merger could be the best hedge against inflation. A. Of course you're talking to someone who's prejudiced about technology. Technology is a great hedge against inflation, which presents both opportunities and threats. GE has the opportunity now to apply its technology to appliances. We can show it's a good investment to buy a more efficient appliance. Q. If the energy program were not adopted as mandated would that still be worthwhile? A. In some cases. We're increasing the efficiency of refrigerators. Don't know what the payoff will be. But they will pay off. Industrially from the energy point of view the same story holds true. Equation same as it's always been to a rational industry decision maker. Q. In the consumer field, some argue the pace of really exciting, completely new products is slow. Don't we have any great stimulation here? A. Granted, in the consumer field it might seem slower. The lastest big thing was microwave oven. That was 10 years ago. But it was a real innovation then in the appliance field. What you might be saying is: what's the next microwave oven? Q. Or what's the next television? A. Well, the cost of systems in micro computers is coming down so fast that we can see these in homes, within another 10 years. Q. But you're out of the computer business. A. We'd be in on a different basis with this... a mass-consumer product, to cash in on our distribution system. Q. What else do you see? A. I think we'll see large-screen television. The experience of watching large-screen TV is so qualitatively different. You're really part of the action. I'm very optimistic about the fact we're going to see this.