Sorcererdagen & Weekend Live-Ins: A cross-cultural investigation of the social history and reception of the Exidy Sorcerer microcomputer in Australia and the Netherlands

The Exidy Sorcerer microcomputer was released in 1978 with user groups quickly forming around the world to provide support services including newsletters and monthly meetings. The Sydney User Group (SUG) and the Dutch user group, Exidy Sorcerer Gebruikers Groep (ESGG), went further. SUG members stayed on-site from Friday to Sunday at “Weekend Live-In seminars” while the ESGG Sorcererdagen (Sorcerer Days) attracted up to 2000 enthusiasts for a day-long event. This cross-cultural study engaged 9 participants across the SUG and the ESGG to record detailed oral history testimonials of these communal microcomputing experiences which are largely missing in the archival record.