The Intimate Life of Computers: Digitizing Domesticity in the 1980s by Reem Hilu (review)

Abstract

In The Intimate Life of Computers: Digitizing Domesticity in the 1980s, Reem Hilu presents a fascinating history of computer companies' attempts to integrate computing into domestic spaces during the 1980s. Growing up in that era, I remember the excitement of getting our first home computer—a bulky beige box that, during the period, seemed like an exciting window to the future. However, that computer was more than just a tool to help me and my brother finish our homework or help my mom manage the household budget; it was a device that often brought us together through shared entertainment. I clearly remember the excitement of playing Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (Broderbund, 1985) as a family. Reading Hilu's book decades later, I was struck by how these seemingly ordinary family moments were part of larger cultural shifts that her book expertly contextualizes.