A Floppy Disk Yule

Instead of gathering around a roaring fire to listen to Clement Moore’s “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” owners of IBM and compatible computers and their friends will be nestled around a computer screen . . . and absorbing the story with Christmas music played through the system.

Called an “animated musical Christmas disk” by Simon and Schuster software ($7.95), the floppy disk starts playing “Jingle Bells” as soon as it’s booted up. Then the animation begins--primitive by cartoon standards but intriguing for newcomers to multidimensional computers.

Snow falls. A rabbit runs across the screen. The music changes occasionally. Santa and his reindeer fly, and the plot is told through successive screens illustrated by plot-related animation.

The disk also includes a Christmas game, a write-your-own letter to Santa, three Christmas cards and two labels to allow the user to copy disks to send to friends as high-tech greeting cards.

According to Erik Wern, manager of Software Etc. in Sherman Oaks, sales of the budget-priced disk have been brisk. “The average price of a good software package is $35 to $45, so these are impulse purchases.”

Some software stores, including Software Etc. in Northridge, carry “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” disks by PC Life Magazine, identical to Simon and Schuster’s year-old offering in price and similar in content.

Greg Doensch, senior editor at Simon and Schuster, says the Christmas floppies have been successful, although he declined to give sales figures. “It’s a good gift item for people with IBMs or compatibles at home or at work,” he says. “People who use IBMs and compatibles are looking for something in the format that’s a bit whimsical.”