Transnational (Dis)connection in localizing personal computing in the Netherlands, 1975-1990
Examining the diffusion and domestication of computer technologies in Dutch households and schools during the 1980s and 1990s, this chapter shows that the process was not a simple story of adoption of American models. Instead, many Dutch actors adapted computer technologies to their own local needs, habits, and cultural settings. For one, actors developed different views about the relations between Dutch users and North American suppliers. This chapter identifies different types of producer-user relations and the varying ways in which Dutch users and North American suppliers viewed their relat... Mehr ...
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Dokumenttyp: | Part of book or chapter of book |
Erscheinungsdatum: | 2014 |
Verlag/Hrsg.: |
Springer
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Sprache: | Englisch |
Permalink: | https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27605690 |
Datenquelle: | BASE; Originalkatalog |
Powered By: | BASE |
Link(s) : | http://repository.tue.nl/781598 |
Examining the diffusion and domestication of computer technologies in Dutch households and schools during the 1980s and 1990s, this chapter shows that the process was not a simple story of adoption of American models. Instead, many Dutch actors adapted computer technologies to their own local needs, habits, and cultural settings. For one, actors developed different views about the relations between Dutch users and North American suppliers. This chapter identifies different types of producer-user relations and the varying ways in which Dutch users and North American suppliers viewed their relationships. Dutch computer hobbyist considered themselves equal partners with their trans atlantic counterparts and the coproducers of the computer technologies. This relationship involved production of technologies for local markets and lowering of corporate boundaries by a "computer Esperanto" to facilitate software exchange. By contrast, governmental computer literacy programs tried to de-link from US producers. When introducing computers in schools, policies favored national computer industries. Local practices of cracking and copying of software, showed how computer users found themselves at safe distance from legal procedures by U.S. Commercial companies against their "illegal" copying. In computer users’ view, their practice did not harm the wealthy foreign manufactures across theAtlantic. The chapter shows how in these interactions views of American producers implicitly and explicitly played a role.