ABSTRACT
Computer and videogame cultures seem to have a paradoxical relationship to temporality. This chapter focuses on an example from early 1990s Czechoslovakia, where an active community of Sinclair ZX Spectrum users survived despite the invasion of 16-bit computers. It explores the efforts of Spectrum enthusiasts to extend the lifespan of their platform of choice. Importantly, Czechoslovak Spectrum fandom was intertwined with various small local businesses that provided software and services for the platform. The local community was largely autonomous in the 1990s, producing games and productivity software in Czech or Slovak for the Czechoslovak market, somewhat independent from the developments in other countries of the region. To some extent, the emotional attachment to the Spectrum was due to its being the first home computer Czechoslovak citizens could own. The chapter presents a case study of the Czech Spectrum, which demonstrates that computer enthusiasts rarely just 'discard' old technology as trash.
