The Z80 Membership Card
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A Classic Retrocomputer Kit from the 1980's
The microcomputer is an incredible, revolutionary invention. Like the electric light, the printing press, and the wheel, it has changed the world. Without microcomputers, the internet, and perhaps even "life as we know it" would not be possible!
Once upon a time, computers were all built by huge corporations, and programmed by the faceless army of a software priesthood. Names like IBM, DEC, and NCR dominated the scene. Computers only did things their way, for their benefit. The only things users could do with them were the same things that a million other users did. What were touted as "breakthroughs" were often minor improvements on the Same Old Things.
Then in the 1970's, the microprocessor was invented. Big companies viewed it as a primitive toy that could lure away customers and thus threaten their computing monopoly. But renegade groups of hackers saw it differently. Yes, it was a toy; but also a playground for unparallelled creativity, and a tool of unprecedented power. They sensed that the microcoprocessor was the next great invention that would change the world. The "lights" came on, the "wheels" started turning, and the "presses" quickly started churning out printed circuit boards that would revolutionize the world of computing.
At last, computer enthusiasts could have their own computer! They could build it, modify it, and even program it themselves! These were truly "personal" computers -- long before IBM co-opted the name for their bureaucratic beige boxes that were anything but personal.
These early microcomputers were pretty crude; like bicycles compared to sports cars. But that's a good thing! A bicycle is vastly cheaper, and much easier to learn. Yet it can still take you anywhere a car can go, if you're not in a hurry. And, a bicycle can take you to places that no car can ever go (with better scenery, too)!
The hobbyists that built them were often beginners and outsiders that didn't know how computing was "supposed" to be done. They made their own rules, invented their own solutions, and came up with entirely new applications that were impossible with traditional computers. In the process, they wound up completely re-inventing the entire computing industry.
This is the story of one such group of visionary hackers, and the computer they made. The story is fictional; but the computer is real! You can buy it, build it, and program it yourself just like the pioneers. And perhaps, invent your own completely new and imaginative uses for these marvelous little machines!
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