Hobby Computer Club
Encyclopedia
The Hobby Computer Club (HCC) is a Dutch computer club, based in Houten
, the Netherlands
which was established on April 27, 1977 by a small group of people who lived near the town of Utrecht
and which grew to become a nationally significant club of over 200,000 members in 2003. The HCC was inspired by the legendary Homebrew Computer Club
which organized meetings in Silicon Valley
since March 1975.
The first HCC meeting was in a building of the Delft University of Technology
, at that moment the HCC had 12 members.
A small stenciled (A5 size) newsletter was published irregularly, but after attending a meeting for model train hobbyists the HCC grew explosively. Soon the HCC had branches in every part of the Netherlands, and through the years the HCC grew to more than 150,000 members. The small newsletter turned into a monthly computer magazine (Computer!Totaal
) that still has an internal newsletter called hcc!link. The HCC now also offers a free Internet service to its members, as well as free technical assistance with computer problems.
For many years a big exhibition called the "HCC dagen" (HCC Days) was held in the Jaarbeurs
in Utrecht with many hundreds of thousands of attendees.
Houten
Houten is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. The expected population in 2015 will be 50,000. The municipality consists of the following towns:* Houten * 't Goy * Schalkwijk...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
which was established on April 27, 1977 by a small group of people who lived near the town of Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
and which grew to become a nationally significant club of over 200,000 members in 2003. The HCC was inspired by the legendary Homebrew Computer Club
Homebrew Computer Club
The Homebrew Computer Club was an early computer hobbyist users' group in Silicon Valley, which met from March 5, 1975 to December 1986...
which organized meetings in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
since March 1975.
The first HCC meeting was in a building of the Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology , also known as TU Delft, is the largest and oldest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands...
, at that moment the HCC had 12 members.
A small stenciled (A5 size) newsletter was published irregularly, but after attending a meeting for model train hobbyists the HCC grew explosively. Soon the HCC had branches in every part of the Netherlands, and through the years the HCC grew to more than 150,000 members. The small newsletter turned into a monthly computer magazine (Computer!Totaal
Computer!Totaal
Computer!Totaal, conveniently abbreviated as C!T, is a Dutch monthly magazine about computers and related subjects. C!T is published by IDG Nederland. Computer!Totaal is the largest computer magazine of the Netherlands....
) that still has an internal newsletter called hcc!link. The HCC now also offers a free Internet service to its members, as well as free technical assistance with computer problems.
For many years a big exhibition called the "HCC dagen" (HCC Days) was held in the Jaarbeurs
Jaarbeurs
The Jaarbeurs is an exhibition and convention center in Utrecht, the Netherlands, which is well-known in the Netherlands because of national events such as formerly Space '86 and the Hobby Computer Club Days ....
in Utrecht with many hundreds of thousands of attendees.