The books were published under the trade name of Magic Eye pictures. When everyone else got on the bandwagon, they became generally known as 3-D pictures.
I would imagine you could see them on a computer. One of the techniques for seeing the hidden pictures was to view them through glass - you focussed away from the actual picture on your reflection, and then let your eyes wander, so I would say yes, it's possible. On some of the more densely patterned backgrounds on the old Windows set up, you could get the effect of a 3-D image - I used to try and see if there was a hidden image in them, but just got fuzzy patterns!!
or
You can see them on your computer screen, it actually is probably easier to do, as someone told me the best way to see them is imagine you are looking into a box, just beyond the picture itself (like you are looking through it).
dont worry if you have problems seeing them, once your eyes click on one, you will be able to see them all!
