An annual event where small computing enthusiasts meet to share ideas, projects and knowledge and connect with other people who are passionate about small computing.
What is small computing?
Simply put: small computing computing at human scale.
Small computing is an umbrella term for anything that involves designing, building, programming and using computers in a way that is approachable and sustainable for individual people or small groups. It’s not just for programmers annd engineers, but for anyone who has ever felt inspired by the potential for computers to make life better.
To a large degree it is what the term “personal computer” originally referred to, and while retrocomputing is a part of it, small computing is not merely nostalgia. Many small computing projects and enthusiasts are working on the future as well; a future where computers work for the people that use them, can be made and maintained by everyday people and do not contribute to the collapse of the ecosystem necessary to sustain human life on earth.
By applying what we know now to the philosophies of the past we create a future where computers can be made by people instead of corporations, can be programmed by the people who use them instead of experts and make the lives of each of us more fun, safer and less work than the computers that most people use today.
The Congress
By bringing these enthusiasts together in one place each year we create an environment where we can be inspired by one nother without the demands or distractions of the “tech industry” which dominates computing in most online spaces.
By bringing our creations out into the world we test their ability to travel with us and work without being tethered continuously to the Internet and it’s “cloud”. We teach echother to use one another’s creations, to apply each others ideas and to be inspired and awed by what can be done by people when computers are made to fit us.
We create a temporary autonomous computing zone where we can share our work with others without mediating our thoughts and ideas and interactions through global commercialization and surveillance networks. In short, for a few days we can live in the future we are building for each other.
When and where?
I don’t know the answer to this yet, but I think it’s somewhere small. The small
computing enthusiasts I know live in every corner of the world, on land and sea, so it’s hard to say where the best place for them to come together might be.
But if the idea of this congress inspires you, get in touch and let’s figure it out together!