Imagining the Personal Computer: Conceptualizations of the Homebrew Computer Club 1975–1977

The Homebrew Computer Club was a hobbyist group in the San Francisco Bay Area dedicated to helping people build their own home personal computers. I analyze their writings between 1975 and 1977, in order to understand how their values became embedded in the technology they built, establishing how the personal computer should be used and thought of. These values were based in ideals of open information, access to computers, and the computer as a universal tool, while also allowing for development of entrepreneurial ambitions to market the computer as a consumer product.