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VCF MW 2010 - The SIG

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  VCF MW 2010 - The SIG by Bill Degnan - 09/06/2010 22:09
My exhibit for the Vintage Computer Festival will be titled:

The SIG

The computer hobbyist special interest group, or "SIG", became prevelent in the later 1970's as the original homebrew computer clubs fragmented into smaller groups. These groups comprised of like-minded persons dedicated to a particular computer system or manufacturer, but there was often less of a focus on hardware or the computer engineering process that had dominated earlier groups. These SIGS sometimes broke off completely from their parent group to form their own independent clubs. Whether independent or part of a larger organization SIG's held monthly meetings, published articles, newsletters, and ran manufacturer-centric bulletin board systems. Product-centric groups served as an important communication tool, a software library, a knowledge base, and the source of innovation. Often these groups continued well after a product was canceled or became obsolete, and in this way they were some of the earliest "vintage computer" hobbyists. The number of SIG's declined in the mid 90's as the World Wide Web diminished the need for such groups.

My exhibit will demonstrate systems and materials from Timex Sinclair 1000 (ZX81) clubs and other sources.


More to Come!

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