Great Northern Machine Wars: Rivalry Between User Groups in Finland

The history of computing has been colored by "computer wars" that have raged between various companies competing in the market. The commercial wars have received a great deal of attention, whereas the clashes between supporters of different platforms remain largely undocumented. This article approaches the topic from a Finnish hobbyist perspective through three case studies, ranging from the emergence of affordable home computers and video game consoles in the early 1980s to modern-day wars. The results suggest that even though the social and technological landscape has changed significantly during the last 30 years, the essence of the computer wars has remained largely unchanged.