Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
These different strands came together at the series of 'Homebrew'
club meetings started in
. These were largely informal gatherings
of those interested in computers in various venues around Silicon
Valley, where news of emerging technologies, clever 'hacks' and
gossip were all exchanged. Mostly, despite the attempts on the part
of some participants to bring political issues into the discussion,
these meetings concentrated on technical issues. One event in
particular stimulated the founding of the Homebrew clubs. In the
beginning of
1975
an electronics firm in New Mexico, MITS, offered
a computer for sale on the cover of the magazine
Popular Electronics
(illus.
1975
). The machine in question was in kit form, was hard to
assemble, and, when assembled, did more or less nothing. It could
be programmed by flicking switches, but, lacking any kind of output
device, the only visible evidence of operating was of a series of
lights flashing on the front. Despite this almost total lack of appar-
ent usefulness, MITS was inundated with orders for the machine,
which was named 'Altair' after a planet in the TV series
Star Trek
.
The idea of owning a computer, whatever it was capable of, proved
extraordinarily attractive to the thousands of electronics and com-
puter enthusiasts whose needs were not being addressed by major
computer companies. The Homebrew clubs were largely devoted to
ways of engaging with this simple technology, and as such appealed
to 'hackers', those who enjoyed making computers do a thing for
41
41 The Altair
microcomputer,
c
. 1975, reputedly
the first Personal
Computer.
