Homebrew Computer Club

From Free net encyclopedia

The Homebrew Computer Club was a computer hobbyist club. Its first meeting was held in March 1975 at a member's garage in Menlo Park, San Mateo County, California. Though the Homebrew members were hobbyists, most of them had an electrical engineering or programming background. They came to the meetings to talk about the Altair 8800 and other technical topics and to exchange schematics and programming tips.

From the ranks of this club came the founders of many microcomputer companies, including Bob Marsh, Adam Osborne, and Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Since the first Homebrew Computer Club meeting, other hobby computer clubs have emerged all around the world. For example, The Netherlands Homebrew Computer Club emerged with members meeting near the town of Utrecht. The HCC (Hobby Computer Club) as it is called still exists with has tens of thousands of members, publishing several magazines and providing internet access.