Instructions that computers can execute.
Physical parts of a computer.
Language for controlling a computer.
Screen-based inputs, buttons, checkboxes and windows that users interact with to control electronic devices.
From 1975—1986, the Homebrew Computer Club took place in California. Anyone could be a member. The point was to share and help others with their computer projects. It was important to the development of the personal computer.
The demoscene is a computer art subculture interested in making demos. Demos are self-contained, sometimes extremely small, computer programs that produce audio-visual presentations. Enthusiasts gather all over the world in events called demoparties.
A disk magazine, or diskmag, is a publication in the demoscene that is released periodically containing articles and demos. Originally they were copied onto physical floppy disks to distribute amongst the community.
A computer server that allows users to connect, exchange messages and share files. It was popular in the 1980s and 1990s before the widespread use of the internet. This distribution network was tightly coupled with the demoscene.
Kilobytes (KB) are a unit of digital information. For reference, the average photo on your phone will be roughly 3000KB. Some demos in the demoscene are 64KB—or for the hardcore 4KB.
The publication that inspired this exhibition. It was about the inherent power that our technologies hold such as the medium of video.
Permacomputing is both a concept and a community of practice. It is oriented around issues of resilience and regenerativity in computer and network technologies. It is inspired by permaculture. ପໄଓ☾☼✫ -☆:*´ Most importantly, there is no permacomputing kit to buy. See permacomputing as an invitation to collectively and radically rethink computational culture. It is not a tech solution searching for a problem.
Software that has its code made publicly available. This usually allows users to use, modify and distribute that code and stands in opposition to proprietary (closed-source) software.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a field of research in engineering, mathematics and computer science that develops computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence. For example, learning and decision-making.
Highlights the value of localised, small-scale approaches to developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems. It is counter to today’s scale-driven, endless optimisation and improvement of AI—regardless of the cost for the planet and humanity.
Evoked by J. R. Carpenter, the ‘handmade web’ refers to web pages that are coded by hand, maintained by individuals and that are provisional, temporary, or one-of-a-kind.
Usually on a weekend, a computer swap meet or flea market was a gathering in which people would bring old and new hardware and software to sell or trade. In the 80s and 90s, it was a popular source for hard-to-find components and electronics.
A computer security hacker is a person who finds and exploits weaknesses in computer systems or networks to gain unauthorized access.
Phreaking is the practice of hacking analog telephone networks by exploiting their tone-based signaling systems. The term was coined in reference to individuals that reverse engineered the tones to gain access to free long distance calls.
The process of building software for expressive purposes. Whilst any technology or programming language can be used, there are specific frameworks and communities that are solely focused on this endeavor. See list in link.
First developed from the 1970s, a personal computer is effectively the device that people understand today as a computer. Designed for people to complete tasks such as web browsing, emailing, spreadsheeting and video calling. The term 'home computer' was also used.
The word 'micro' and 'microcomputer' referred to early personal computers before the devices came with input (mouse, keyboard etc) and output (screens, monitors). These were also generally the realm of electronics hobbyists and many came in build-it-yourself kit or pre-assembled forms.
Originating from William Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer, cyberdecks are custom-built and portable personal computing devices. In 2026, TechCrunch reported that cyberdeck communities have exploded in popularity thanks to women on social media who have created artistic, hyper-feminine cyberdecks.
Unlicensed broadcasting such as pirate radio or pirate television.
A famous 1987 event saw two television stations hijacked by unidentified perpetrators. Both hijackings briefly broadcast pirate footage of an unidentified person wearing a Max Headroom mask and costume to thousands of homes in the Chicago metropolitan area. The perpetrators, responsible for two interruptions (the first lasting 17 seconds, the second 90), were never found.
Racter is an AI program that generates English language prose and was used to create the first publication written by a computer: The Policeman’s Beard is Half Constructed.
Computer Lib was published in 1974 by Ted Nelson, who coined the terms 'hypertext' and 'hypermedia.' In Steven Levy's book Hackers, Computer Lib is described as "the epic of the computer revolution, the bible of the hacker dream."
Text on the computer that references and links other text a user can read immediately. This one of the key underlying concepts of the World Wide Web where web pages are often written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).
Live coding is a performance practice of writing code in real time, in front of an audience. It encourages liveness, improvisation and errors deliberately rejecting fixed definitions of itself and what 'code' or 'performance' should be.
Commonly referred to as the 'first personal computer', it was published on the front cover of Popular Electronics and inspired companies like Apple and Microsoft. For their 50th birthday, Microsoft open-sourced their first software, Altair BASIC, a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800.
One of the world's first completely assembled microcomputers. It featured an Intel 8080 processor, built-in keyboard, video display circuitry for a television or monitor, and cassette storage interfaces, encased in an iconic blue and wooden case.
The IMSAI 8080 was the first mass marketed personal computer and was a clone kit computer of the Altair 8800. Famously featured in the movie War Games (1983).
The first 'portable' computer. It weighed 11kg and was capable of 5 lines of text onscreen at a time. It was designed for businesses to be able to take computing 'on-the-road' and fit underneath an airliner passenger seat.
A popular build-it-yourself single-board microcomputer that was published as a multi-part project in Electronics Australia May—August 1979.
The EDUC-8 (pronounced educate) was Australia's first build-it-yourself computer. Jim Rowe designed and released it in Electronics Australia between 1974-1975. This model is an example of the 2024 EDUC-8 open-source recreation, linked in title, by Gwyllym Suter. It uses modern PCBs but otherwise stays true to the all-TTL design.
State of Electronics
The first 'desktop' computer designed specifically to be on a tabletop.
Launched in 1977, the TRS-80, later renamed the TRS-80 Model I, was one of the earliest mass-produced retail home computers and part of 'The 1977 Trinity' along with the Commodore PET and Apple II.
Launched in 1977, the name PET was inspired from the PET Rock, a collectible toy in 1975 but instead of a rock, they were going to create a pet computer. The PET was Commodore's first all-in-one home computer and was part of 'The 1977 Trinity' along with the TRS-80 Model I and Apple II.
The Apple Lisa series is a line of desktop computers and one of the first commercially available personal computers to feature a graphical user interface (GUI). However, due to its considerable price tag of US$9,995 (equivalent to $33,509 in 2026), it was a commercial flop. The Lisa 2, released later, was priced significantly lower.
Originally released as the iMac, the iMac G3 series is remembered for its fun, colourful and translucent shell designed specifically as an antithesis to the boring beige boxes that computers had become at the time. Originally released in 'Bondi Blue', the computer would go on to be released in 13 different colours.
Coding Train's What was Coding like 40 years ago?
Featured as part of Daniel Shiffman's What was Coding like 40 years ago?, the Apple II series was Apple's first all-in-one computer, sold as complete rather than via a kit form. It was part of 'The 1977 Trinity' along with the TRS-80 Model I and Commodore PET.
Created by the Thinking Machines Corporation in the 1980s, the CM-2 was the second model in the Connection Machine series of massively parallel supercomputers. Inspired by the neural network structure of the human brain, it had 65,536 simple 1-bit processors connected in a 12-dimensional Boolean hypercube network.
12 Dimensions
core_memory
MOTHER COMPUTER
Music Mouse
Spiral 5, PTL
Featured as part of Music Mouse in the exhibition, the Atari ST was a line of personal computers and was quickly taken advantage of by musicians due to its standard MIDI ports and comparatively large amounts of memory for the time.
The Macintosh Classic was the first Macintosh computer to sell for less than US$1000. Its affordability, compact design and GUI made it a popular option in both homes and schools.
Code Jam
MEET ME IN THE BROWSER ୧(•ᴗ•)(•ᴗ•)୨
My ruins
speaking through the sediment
ALG0R@VE
Ants in the Machine
Algorave 2026, Grrrnd Zéro
TOPLAP Solstice Stream, 2023
(Algo|Afro) Futures, 2025
Corsica Studios, 2024
Tiling Time
MicroBee is a series of networkable home computers. Created in the 1980s, the company is still active today in Victoria. It was the first commercially successful personal computer to be designed and manufactured entirely in Australia, and was widely adopted by state education departments, making it popular in schools.
The Australian Amust Executive 816 is a portable computer housed in a standard Samsonite briefcase and made in Melbourne.
Known in Western Europe as the Video Genie, this computer was sold as the Dick Smith System 80 in Australia and New Zealand. It was mostly a clone of the TRS-80 Model I, though it came with some hardware and software differences.
The SC-3000H, the first computer collected in the Buntine Computer Collection, is Sega's first—and largely forgotten—home computer. Though it never received a worldwide release, it reached Australia and New Zealand in 1983 and 1984 respectively.
We were online
Computing Shrines: Shrine to Voice
Computing Shrines: Shrine to Earth
ASL
I knew that if I walked in your footsteps, it would become a ritual
Every Love Song in the World
Disorder
Made by chip manufacturer MOS Technology, the KIM-1 was a single-board computer that showcased the revolutionary and affordable MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor. Iconic personal computers like the Apple I, BBC Micro, and Commodore PET all utilised the same 6502 processor.
Sinclair Research Ltd was a British consumer electronics company responsible for the ZX80/81 and ZX Spectrum series of home computers. Seen as trailblazers in pioneering affordable, pocket-sized technology, they released a home computer for under £100, inspiring millions to learn how to code.
The Amstrad CPC (Colour Personal Computer) is a series of home computers produced by Amstrad, most popular in parts of Europe. The CPC 464 was the first Amstrad home computer and was specifically designed to provide an all-in-one experience with minimal wiring, making it easy to plug together and start using.
Amiga is a series of personal computers released by Commodore. It found its niche in multimedia-focused software, thanks to vibrant colours and stereo audio, as well as custom chips that handled graphics and sound independently.
The Commodore 64 was the best-selling single computer model of all time and was specifically created as "the computer for the masses, not the classes." It remains one of the most loved and remembered computers today.
Astropolis - Live (2001)
Uzi Woozi
Vandalism News #70
gAtari
Cyberthon
128KB
Rave Machine